Berry Patch Blog

February 2, 2012 … God In the Humility Business

2012-02-02T07:28:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 10-12 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Exodus 12: 31-32 … 51-52: … [Broken and Believing] ... 31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
… 50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

My Journal for Today: Reading through Chapters 10-12 of Exodus in my chronological Bible reading plan this morning, I was struck by how deep was the pride of Pharaoh and how patient, yet relentless, was God in doing what it took to show Pharaoh that his pride was the only human element which kept God from getting what the Lord desired – i.e., freedom for His people, the children of God’s covenant promise.

My friend, … do we get this message? God is God; and we are not!! And the only way God is going to prevail in our lives – giving us the blessings of His promises – will only happen when (or IF) we’re willing to yield to His will in humility. Perhaps you remember that little saying my friend, Loretta, who’s now with the Lord, used to say to my wife and me. We called it “Loretta 1: 1,” and she would say, “First obedience, … then the blessing.” And to me, that’s the simple – but very hard to learn – lesson from today’s reading. At least it’s tough for this chronically prideful heart to learn this lesson, which all too often has to be broken by God’s humility training in life. How many times have I had to redo God’s humility lessons, teaching me that it’s so much better – and less painful – for me to CHOOSE, on the front end, to be humble, receiving God’s enlightening, enabling, and empowering grace, freely offered by God to allow me to find and carry out His will for my life? And when I do humble myself, freely and willingly, God is so willing to pour out His grace into my life.

HOWEVER, when, like Pharaoh, I buck up an attitude of pridefulness, thinking, in my mind, “Hey, God, I can handle this one (whatever the life circumstance might be),” I’m in for troubles, testing, and all the tribulations God will have bring into my life before I can get God’s lessons of Prov. 3: 34, James 4: 4-6, and 1st Peter 5: 5-7 [and I really hope, if you don’t have these passages memorized, you will go to them and meditate on them].

Unfortunately, Pharaoh never had the benefit of having learned those lessons, which I have so freely available to me from God’s word (and His truth). But Pharaoh learned – the hard way – that God is seriously into the humility business; and the Egyptian king finally moved from brokenness to belief – through all those plagues and problems – learning to be humble and yield to God’s way and His will.

I hope we all – you and me – learn this lesson from God’s truth and we CHOOSE to obey God’s will and His way, which we most often get from His word, BEFORE we have to be humbled by God’s lessons of trials, tribulations, and temptations, … all those fires of life God often has to use to get our attention and to purify us for His purposes in life. I don’t know about you, my dear one; … but I plan to get in on that obedience business as early and as often as I can so that I can receive – willingly – God’s blessings for my life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, the more I know of Your will for my life from Your word, I will walk humbly and obediently in Your way. Amen

February 1, 2012 … Miracles Or The Message?

2012-02-01T07:55:00.005-06:00

Blogger's Note: Continuing on with the chronological reading plan through the Bible this year (found in www.youversion.com for those who desire to following along). Now it's day 32 - in February, getting to know God more through His truth-filled word.

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 7-9 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Exodus 7: 10-13: … [God Speaks, … Man Can’t Hear] ... 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

My Journal for Today: In my chronological reading plan today [Day 32, BTW], I’m taken to the accounts in Exodus of Moses encountering Pharaoh with one miracle event after another, beginning with the one copied above where Aaron’s staff became a snake. And if you’ve studied these miracle plagues which God used to communicate His message of deliverance through Moses/Aaron to Pharaoh, we know that each plague/miracle was a message to the Egyptian king and the people in Egypt that their gods were impotent to overcome God and His plan of deliverance. In each instance, from the simple snake illustration to other more elaborate and horrifying plagues, God was saying to Pharaoh, “You’ve got nothing to overcome Me … because ‘I AM’ !”

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t do a similar gig in these times to show the rulers of the word that things have gotten way out of hand and that God’s people, the Church, are being enslaved by the world and Satan’s schemes? I used to wonder that early in my Christian life; but then God showed me, through HIS-STORY and His word, that we have all the truth this world needs; and we don’t need plagues and wondrous miracles to either establish or bolster our faith. We have THE MESSAGE in the established and canonized WORD OF GOD, the Bible, which carries all the truth we need to know the great I AM and to live according to His will.

Why would I, if I had a hardened heart, like Pharaoh, need anything more that the truth of 2nd Timothy 3: 16 – 17, … and Isaiah 55: 11, … and John 3: 16, … and Phil. 2: 6-11, and Romans 10: 9 – 13 to establish me in faith or to help me to decide the truth of Hebrews 11: 1, 6. I hope you know God’s communication of truth from that chain of messages from the Bible I’ve listed here. If not, I’ll leave it to you to go back, read, and meditate on them. But in a nutshell, these passages say, from God’s word (i.e., Scripture), all we need to know God’s purposes and His plan for our lives; and when we know and believe that truth, God’s love was made complete in the life , death, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ, … that whomever believes in what He did for us on the cross and by His resurrection, … that one will have eternal life.

It’s all there! We don’t need any wondrous miracle or a series of plagues to know God’s message of salvation and His plan of sanctification, … do we? We have the MIRACLE of His word, His MESSAGE, to establish His plan of salvation and His plan of truth for our lives. Oh, there was a time in my life (in fact for the first 39 years) which I was like Pharaoh, … hard hearted, hearing Spirit-led Christians giving witness to God’s truth and His word, but like Pharaoh, summarily rejecting God’s message which was being transmitted to me through His word. But finally, also like Pharaoh, a series of life challenges helped me to receive and believe the truth of His message in His word. But unlike Pharaoh, I was able to humble myself and receive the truth of God’s plan for my life; and I was saved.

I hope – and pray – that anyone who might read this can allow the “plagues” of life circumstance [those are the MIRACLES] to break through and allow you to see that God wants you to get His MESSAGE, from His word, to give you the gift of His saving grace. Yes, we today do have MIRACLES – even plagues - in life to help us see and receive God’s MESSAGE; but it is the MESSAGE, from His word, which carries God’s truth, not the MIRACLES.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I know You through Your MESSAGE of truth from Your word; and I’m bolstered to know You more through the MIRACLES of life which bring me back to Your MESSAGE. Amen

January 31, 2012 … God Showing Off

2012-01-31T07:45:00.001-06:00

Exodus 2: 15: … [God Reveals Himself] ... 1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" 2 Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied. 3 The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.4 Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.5 "This," said the Lord, "is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you."

My Journal for Today: Sometimes God just flat shows off! Have you ever had that happen, … God giving us what I call “a glimpse of His glory?” Well, as I read through Exodus in my chronological reading plan this morning, right at the outset of the three chapters I was led to read today (Exodus, Chapters 4-6), I was taken to Moses’ burning bush encounter with God, where the Lord just flat showed off for poor Moses, who was feeling pretty small in God’s presence.

I can recall one of my own “burning bush” experiences with God when I, like Moses, came to the end of myself and the realization that God cared enough for me to reveal His glory and grace … just for little-ole me. It was a wild set of circumstances for me on April 13th, 1983. And, by using the testimony of a young quadriplegic on an audio-cassette, recorded some years earlier, as well as a wild – truly unbelievable re occurrence of the number 13 in the context of that moment, I realized that all that was transpiring that morning could not have occurred by chance. On that morning in my office, it may not have been a burning bush, but God called me out very much like He did Moses. And also like Moses in the presence of God at the bush that day, I felt totally inadequate to the glimpse of God’s glory which was being revealed to me. But also like Moses, that’s what it took to get my attention and for me to come to the realization that God was calling one Bill Berry to something far greater than I could imagine in that moment.

I really hope you can look back on your life at times when God showed you a bit of His greatness and glory so that you can carry around an awestruck feeling of our God with you. And I pray that we never lose our realization of just how great God is. Moses, as we know, got over his burning bush calling; and he marched forward to follow and serve his Lord with humility and meekness; but it took God flat showing off to get his attention and to call him out for service.

I pray – for you – that if God hasn’t done so … that He will be a show-off for you soon and give you an indication of the truth of what Paul wrote about to believers in 2nd Cor. 12: 9, where Christ was quoted by Paul, … “My grace is sufficient for you; … for my strength is made perfect in [your] weakness.” Paul was another one whom God had to do a big show-n-tell to get his attention; and the NT Apostle came to realize that God’s greatness is sometimes revealed in our humility. So, when we’re being humbled by life’s circumstances and God’s bigness, my friend, let us take a look around us. God’s probably just showing off His glory in the grace He’s providing us through our humble circumstances.

My Prayer Today: … My Lord, thank You so, so much for showing off in my presence. May I never lose the awe You’ve given me in those glimpses of glory. Amen

January 30, 2012 … Being Readied for God’s Purposes

2012-01-30T05:22:00.002-06:00

Passage[s] of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference …Exodus 2: 15: … [God’s Cleansing Plan] ... 15 When Pharaoh heard of this [i.e., Moses killing an Egyptian slave master], he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
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Exodus 3: 1: … [Moses Transformed for God’s Purposes] … 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
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Exodus 3: 10-12: … [God Speaks – Moses Balks] “ … [God speaking] … 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

My Journal for Today: From these readings in my chronological reading plan in the initial chapters of Exodus, I respond with empathy to how God chose to use a very out-of-place descendent of the family of promise, Moses, to be His emissary of deliverance for God’s people. And to accomplish all of this, God had to strip him of his misplaced royal pride and pseudo-heritage and put Moses through a rigorous training program in the desert country of Midian so that Moses could ultimately be a leader of peoples he knew with whom he identified. He would have been a lousy deliverer if God’s chosen peoples, who were desert shepherds and nomads, had they perceived Moses to be an Egyptian prince as he had been raised to be in the palace of Pharaoh.

So, using a series of events to break Moses down, … his killing of an Egyptian slave driver, alienating him from Pharaoh and causing Moses to flee to Midian. From these experiences God began reshaping Moses for the task for which God had birthed him. Moses’ years in Midian, and transformation into the role of shepherd, merely prepared him for becoming the deliverer which God would call out Moses from the burning bush.

And wow, I really identify with all of this, because years before I was called into the ministry, God had to break me down and do a total make-over of my attitudes and people-skills so that I could be called out, anointed, and ordained to carry out the task for which God had brought me into this world to perform. It’s a long testimonial, which will go without detailed description here; but there was a time, being a “professional” in healthcare when I would have been totally unsuited for what God has led me to do as the mission for which I now see He was preparing me for years ago.

Like Moses, I had to be broken down and then rebuilt, through a long process of discipleship, … reshaped into the person He could use for the task He had purposed me. And like Moses, when I first began to learn of the path where God was leading me, I balked – big time, … feeling totally inadequate to the calling for which I recognized God calling me. But like Moses, God connected me with the right people to be my support team; and He showed me that I didn’t have to do His calling all on my own.

And though I didn’t have burning bushes, Aaron casting staffs before Pharaoh, or a series of plagues to use as communication tools, God showed me the truth – from His empowered word – of His calling being His enablement (see Isaiah 55: 11 and 1st Cor. 10: 13). So, overtime, I learned and grew in faith that God will give anyone He calls all the resources and power to carry out His anointed will.

So, I pray that wherever you are in the process of being prepared for God’s calling, … that you are growing in faith so that you can be used to fulfill God’s purpose for your life. And my friend, God most certainly does have a purpose for you; … and whatever it is, He will prepare you for it … IF … you just surrender and let Him.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for remaking me and for continuously reforming me for the task You’ve called me to perform for Your glory. Amen

January 29, 2012 … When Forgiveness is Real

2012-01-29T04:44:00.002-06:00

Genesis 47: 1-6: … [The Real Deal] ... 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

My Journal for Today: Perhaps you may have been in a relationship in your life when someone surprised you with their expression of love or concern by forgiving you. Perhaps you had wronged someone; and the one you wronged showed you a display of forgiveness which you may not have deserved and certainly didn’t expect. As we read through the life of Joseph, we remember how God brought his brothers back into his life and how he forgave them. He even had the opportunity to gain a measure of revenge over the brothers who had sold him into slavery, some of whom had even plotted to kill him; but he shocked the brothers with his expressions of love for them. And at the time it happened, it did seem real; but then there was their father, Jacob (aka, “Israel”) who was still alive. So, maybe Joseph’s forgiveness, as the brothers had experienced it, was just Joseph being that way as an expression of love for Jacob.

Therefore, years later, when Jacob died, the brothers were confronted with the grief of their brother, Joseph, for Jacob; and they became fearful that perhaps Joseph would exact a delayed reaction of revenge for what the brothers had done years earlier to their young brother, Joseph. But the story reveals that Joseph’s forgiveness was the real deal along with his genuine love for his family.

I hope we all have released any/all feelings of anger or bitterness for any past injustices or ill-begotten actions perpetrated on us by anyone in our past. Joseph’s real forgiveness for his brothers was a picture of the love shown by Jesus, Whom we know held nothing but forgiveness in His heart for those who had nailed Him to the cross; and my friends, do you remember that our sins, mine and yours, were the actions that nailed Jesus to that tree at Golgotha? And as He was dying for mankind, He said to His heavenly father on that cross, ”Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Really, all we need to remember – or learn – from this passage today is to make our forgiveness REAL DEAL forgiveness, holding on to no animosity or residual bitterness. And if any of you, who might be reading along with me, have someone in your life whom you need to let go of any past bitterness and forgive them – for real, I pray that we’ll do just that.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank You for purging any/all of those past feelings of revenge or anger towards anyone. And thank YOU, my Jesus, for Your forgiveness of my past, present, and future sins. Amen

January 28, 2012 … Faithfulness Rewarded by God

2012-01-28T05:43:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 46-47 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 47: 1-6: … [God Honors Faithfulness] ... 1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.” 5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

My Journal for Today: There are times in the lives of faithful Christians when we’re not given clear-cut and visibly obvious rewards from God for our faithfulness.. However, after so many years when it must’ve seemed to Joseph like God was silent or absent, in today’s focus passage we read of Joseph seeing clearly God’s reward for his humble faithfulness.

And as I have read through Joseph’s story of his family reunion and his family being allowed to settle in Egypt, which was a total breech of culture (i.e., shepherds living in the land of Pharaoh), Joseph and Jacob had to have seen that God was rewarding Joseph for his past life of faithfulness; and I thought of this being illustrative of the truth in the New Testament chapter on the “hall of faith,” … Hebrews, chapter 11. In verses 1 and 6 of that chapter, it says, … 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. … 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.

And that pretty well describes the life of Joseph, doesn’t it? All those years he languished in slavery and in prison; but finally, we read today of his humble faithfulness being rewarded by God; and Jacob and his family got a glimpse of glory in their lives, … the glory which awaits the faithful believer who diligently seeks a relationship with His God.

That was most certainly Joseph; but are we being humble and faithful followers of God? Joseph was a clear Bible picture of Christlike faithfulness? And meditating on Joseph’s life today … in this quiet moment with my Lord and Savior … I’m praying that I can live a life as a faithful follower of the One Who died so that I could follow Him into eternity as an heir of salvation. And I’m so thankful that God has given me such a picture of Joseph … a life of faithfulness which He, God, so clearly rewarded.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to faithfully follow You, knowing that my reward is eternity and a reunion with the family of God. Amen

January 26, 2012 … God’s Real Deal

2012-01-27T07:35:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 43-45 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 45: 4-7: … [God’s Providence In Our Relationships] ... 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

My Journal for Today: Don’t you just love the way the Bible paints God’s providence and His planning … by telling REAL stories about REAL people in REAL life. And that’s what we glean from the story of Joseph, where God’s book takes more space in telling his story than most of the other characters in the Old Testament. Only Moses in the OT gets as much written space as does Joseph. But, of course, and it’s Moses who’s telling this story about the history of God’s people, like Joseph, in God’s Book of the Law – the Torah.

But I digress. My main point here today is to note how the story of Joseph, revealing himself to his brothers, as in today’s segment of his story, is a picture of Christlikeness in the OT. In fact there are many parallels in Scripture which show us that Joseph’s life in the OT is a character type and a pre-incarnate picture of Jesus in the New Testament. And in today’s focus passage, copied above, we read of how Joseph so compassionately told his brothers of God’s plan in allowing them to do what they did to him, their brother, and how all of it was God’s plan for all of His children, including Jacob and his family.

If we look back at our own lives, we may very likely be able to see events and circumstances which have taken place where we certainly would not have planned our lives the way things unfolded; but we now recognize that God’s plan – i.e., His providence – was for our good and for His purposes in the shaping of our lives. I certainly can see that … from the many years I walked in bondage to habitual sinful living and how God used those weaknesses to show me how much I needed a Redeemer and how that Redeemer could only be Himself … as my LORD and Savior.

And I’m not going to belabor this point here today. If you’ve been reading along with me about the life of Joseph, all of what has been written about him in Genesis paints for us a picture of the character and future life of Jesus, The Christ; and we can certainly see this in how Joseph shows compassion to his brothers, who had such evil in mind for him, selling him into slavery in Egypt. But, … God knew Joseph was the one – and only one – who could go ahead of his own family to Egypt to save so many people – including Joseph’s own family – from famine, … as well as to show them God’s character in the life and forgiveness of Joseph for his own brothers. And Moses writing about Joseph in The Torah (i.e., Genesis) tells all of mankind about the character of our loving, forgiving, and redeeming God. And that’s a story … HIStory … we need to read.

Don’t you just see the character of Jesus shining through in Joseph? Don’t you just hear Jesus, through the life of Joseph, saying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

And though I would have never put me through my history … the way it unfolded, I now recognize that it was God’s plan, in His timing, and in His way for my good and His glory. So … once again I say, from my heart, Hallelujah; and thank you, Lord, for where I’ve been and what I’ve done.!

My Prayer Today: … Praise You, Lord, for every bit of my life. Amen

January 26, 2012 … God Is In Control

2012-01-26T07:46:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 41-42 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 41: 14-16: … [God’s Providence and Design] ... 14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

My Journal for Today: Have you ever had a set of circumstances in your life which you can look back on and see clearly that God was in total control in your life and all the happenings were being outlandishly engineered by God for you to live out HIS purposes for YOUR life? Well, I have; and the circumstances of Joseph’s life, as illustrated by the reading today in Chapters 41-42 of Genesis, is illustrative of the principle that GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL of what is going on in our lives. And isn’t it wonderful and mysterious that the LORD uses our free will and human choices to weave His tapestry of eternal design!

Today, I was led to read of Joseph, after being two years in prison unjustly, … then being brought – by a wild set of human interactions – before Pharaoh because of a perplexing dream with the king had, a dream which none of his court magicians could adequately interpret. Gee, I wonder Who planted that dream in the Pharaoh’s mind? And gee, I wonder how the court cup-bearer just happened to remember an event when his was unjustly in prison earlier where this young Hebrew had interpreted a dream of the prison guard which just happened to unfold exactly as this boy (who was Joseph, of course) had interpreted? … … DUH! … Enter Joseph into the life of Pharaoh – just by coincidence of course [… NOT!!!]. And if you’ve read ahead in Genesis we see how these circumstances, which so “mysteriously” transpired, allowed Joseph to become Pharaoh’s governor and second in command; and they also – so wonderfully - allowed Joseph to be in control in Egypt when his long-lost father, Jacob (“Israel”), sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to obtain grain during a providential famine in the land at that time. And just who – coincidently - did the ten brothers, who just happened to have sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery in Egypt years before, encounter? Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, “You know the rest of the story!”

I think back on the wild, wacky, and wonderful set of circumstances, which, on April 13th, 1983, led me to recognize my spiritual brokenness and allowed me to be able to see that only by surrendering to Christ’s control in my life would I be able to find the spiritual strength which I had so unsuccessfully been trying to find in those days in other religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, or New-Ageism. I’ll not go into all those details of my testimony; but save it to say, on that fateful date in my life, I saw that only an omnipotent God could have engineered the circumstance in which I found myself and only God could be THE One to set me on a course which could reset my course in life in a direction of spiritual strength and not the weakness which I was experiencing. ONLY GOD!!!

But in today’s focus passage, when Joseph was brought by the Pharaoh to the court to interpret the king’s dream, Joseph knew exactly WHO was in control. And in Verse 16 of Genesis 41 above we read of Joseph witnessing to Pharaoh that ONLY GOD could interpret the dreams for the king. And this showed, later when the dreams were correctly interpreted, that Joseph, by surrendering to the one, true God, had power that could only come from a powerful God, … Whom we know of as THE ONE AND ONLY GOD!!! And our God, of course, is THE GOD … Who is control of all things and all circumstances in the lives of believers on His Name; and as it says in Romans 8: 28, all of those circumstances in life – as they did for Joseph – work together for the good of ALL those who believe in the Lord and are THE CALLED according to His purposes.

That was true for Joseph. It is true for Bill Berry; and if you believe in the same God Joseph and I follow, it is true for you too! Oh, how I hope we all believe and recognize that God’s control in our lives … as did the young boy, Joseph.

My Prayer Today: … My LORD, God, … I truly know and believe that You have worked it all out in my life … by Your design … and for Your purposes. And to that all I can in praise is HALLELUJAH!!! Amen

January 25, 2012 … Flee … Flee … Flee!!!

2012-01-25T07:33:00.004-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 38-40 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 39: 6-12: … [Integrity in the Face of Temptation] ... 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” … 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

My Journal for Today: If you’ve read through Chapters 38-40 of Genesis, which was my chronological reading assignment today, you read first, in Chapter 38, of the broken leadership and character of Judah, the oldest son and designated heir of Jacob (aka, “Israel”). Then, for a character contrast lesson, in these next two chapters, we read of the plight and walk of faith of Joseph, the young brother Judah and his brothers had sold into slavery in Egypt. And in the focus passage today from Genesis 39: 6-12, which I’ve copied for you this morning, we come to a passage which means a lot to me, … personally.

It’s the very revealing confrontation between the wife of Potiphar, the rich man who had become Joseph’s slave master, and Joseph, whom Potiphar had appointed as steward of his home. “Potipharina,” as my Pastor likes to call this sex-driven temptress, came after Joseph repeatedly, doing all she could to lure the young man into a sexual encounter. But we see Joseph being a model for us of Godly character, doing all he can to avoid Potiphar’s wife and finally just simply fleeing this sex-starved woman, … who then, unjustly, had Joseph thrown into prison because of the rejection.

I say here that this story is very close to me personally because for many years I was not able to do what Joseph did, … to flee from the temptation of sexual sin; and my unGodly behavior almost cost me my marriage, my family, and my career. It was only much later in my life, after I came to know Christ as LORD, that our merciful God, whom Joseph stood for (see Verse 9 of Gen. 39 above), was able to disciple me into learning the strategy of righteousness, taught by Paul in 2nd Timothy 2: 22, which Joseph exhibited as a personal model, … and that is to do all one can to resist sexual temptations; … and then – if all else fails – to simply FLEE – no matter what the human cost.

I now lead a Christian discipleship ministry, called Battle Plan Ministry (“BPM” – website linked here), formed to help men of God to become more Godly and battle-strong warriors in our hypersexual culture. We call Joseph’s battle strategy the “2.2:22” battle plan, which is labeled after Paul’s exhortation in 2 Tim. 2: 22 [which I hope you know by heart – if not, please look it up!]. This strategy of spiritual warfare was exemplified in the encounter Joseph had with Potiphar’s wife. In BPM, we teach our men to do all they can to anticipate and avoid sexual temptations in their lives (which are extremely pervasive these days); but when all proactive strategies of avoidance are exhausted, the “2.2:22” strategy MUST be implemented … and we simply do what Paul exhorted, … to … Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Today, we live in a world where sexual triggers and temptations abound. Men, and women, but especially men, are surrounded by a culture which tries to lure them into dishonoring God by giving in to the ever-present sexual temptations we face EVERYDAY. Quite often, all one can do is to go to the “2.2:22” battle strategy and FLEE … FLEE … FLEE, remembering that – as with Joseph – bad things may happen. However, … in the end we know that God always – as HE did with Joseph, honors the warrior who’s willing to stand in the gap for righteousness and do the right thing.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me flee any ploy of the enemy which is stronger than my own will to resist. Amen

January 24, 2012 … Big GOD or Little “gods” in our Lives

2012-01-24T07:35:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 35-37 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 35: 1-7: … [Getting Rid of All the Little “gods”] … 1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
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Genesis 35: 11-14: … [Remembering God’s Promises] [And after Jacob [Israel] and God’s people arrived in Bethel] 11 And God said to him [Israel], “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

My Journal for Today: Well, in being shepherded through Genesis, Chapters 35-37, today in my chronological read through the Bible, there is much about which I could reflect and journal. Certainly the chronicles of how the teenage Joseph, which we read about in Chapter 37, and how he was sold into slavery in Egypt by all his jealous brothers, would be solid meat for discussion today; but right at the outset of Chapter 35, the discussion of old Jacob, after he had been renamed “Israel” by God was emboldened to my attention for my comments this morning.

And if you’re reading with me here, you’ll note above in the text how Jacob (Israel) honored his LORD by establishing some boundaries and protocols on how God would be remembered and worshipped by his family and by God’s chosen peoples under his leadership. He set up a special altar in Bethel and made sure that the people were discarding any superficial or superstitious religious idols, jewelry, and/or trinkets, which was a common practice of the day, coming from a lot of the pagan superstitions and idol worshipping of the Bedouin cultures.

Today, a lot of young people wonder why it’s important for the worship of God to have church buildings and culturally-based religious ceremonies, contending that it’s not necessary to worship Christ (i.e., God) by coming to a designated “house of worship” and participating in corporate worship. BUT … today’s focus passage speaks to us and helps us answer that cultural trend today.

First … and foremost … our God is WORTHY of our WORSHIP! Jacob certainly recognized that; and God had reminded Jacob, being one of the sons of God’s covenant, that Jacob should lead His people by ridding them of all frivolous, small-g “gods,” which took the forms of superstitious jewelry and worthless personal idols. And so, Jacob (Israel) did exactly as God instructed him to do. He had the people shed all superfluous idols; and he set up a special altar – at God’s instruction – so that the people could remember Whom they were to worship and to be able to do so in a corporate – as well as an individual – manner.

Kids today do see through the superficiality of modern “religious practices.” And those criticisms and cultural revulsions about Christianity (or other religions) would be valid in my estimation. But when God’s people, … His New Covenant Church, … come together to remember what God has done for them in fulfilling the Old Covenant in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus, they are coming together to signal their worship of THE GOD of the promises of the Old Testament [or Covenant] as well as to worship together THE GOD of the hope in Jesus Christ of the New Testament [or Covenant]. And such “religious” practices are much like those which were being established – under God’s command – by Jacob.

Certainly we need to rid ourselves of any use of idols in our lives and especially such religious practices as symbols or jewelry which we have in our lives to merely identify us as “christian” (with a small “c”). But if we wear a cross or put a “fish symbol” on our car to give witness to the God Who saves us; or we dress up and come to church on Sunday to remember and to genuinely desire to witness our faith practices in corporate worship of the living God, these practices are not only GOOD THINGs, they are a “Godly things!”

Yes, we do need to guard against religious practices which become legalistic and ritualistic, without having an “altar of purpose” which honors God and helps us to remember Who He truly is in our lives. Young people today would be right in criticizing and rejecting such practices. BUT IT IS NOT WRONG – in fact IT IS VERY RIGHT – for believers in the same God Jacob worshipped for us to have altars of worship in our lives which help us to worship the God of Jacob and the LORD of all with our lives. And we need to have these altars of worship in our lives 24/7 … as being the “living sacrifices” which Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1.

So, I for one, being reminded and instructed by God’s word in today’s study, will continue to get dressed up on Sunday, to honor my LORD, and to come together with other like-minded CHRISTIAN worshippers on a traditional Sunday morning to sing praises to our Savior and to rekindle our remembrance of what He did for us in fulfilling the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob back in the days we’re reading about in God’s word today. And I pray that I’ll be able to eradicate any idols from my life which would detract from my lifestyle of living worship to my God.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, strip me of worthless idols and make me over into a living sacrifice of worship – everyday and in every way – for You. Amen

January 23, 2012 … Wrestling With God

2012-01-23T08:22:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 32-34 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 32: 22-28: … [Jacob Becomes Israel] … 22 That night [as Jacob was waiting in fear for the arrival of his brother Esau, whom he assumed hated him] Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and A MAN wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When THE MAN saw that He could not overpower him, He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with THE MAN. 26 Then THE MAN said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 THE MAN asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then THE MAN said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

My Journal for Today: There is much which could be discussed in the chapters which I was led to read today in Chapters 32-34 of Genesis in my chronological reading plan. However, the section in Chapter 32, which I’ve copied above (i.e., Verses 22-30), has always spoken to me personally.

First of all, we remember that God’s providence had allowed for Jacob’s name to be “Jacob,” which means schemer or conniver; and here, at this moment in Jacob’s life (in Chapter 32 of Genesis) we read of Jacob fearing for his and his family’s life as Esau approached them with 400 men. And here was Jacob, again coming up with a bribing/conniving scheme to appease the anger he assumed Esau would have for having stolen Esau’s birthright. And in the midst of all this intrigue, comes “A Man” Who wrestles with Jacob; and Jacob stays in this battle, somehow knowing that he is wrestling with God Himself.

Most Bible scholars interpret that this very special “Wrestler” was a Theophany, .. a human, pre-incarnate appearance of The Messiah, to man – in this case, Jacob, whom God knew was more than the scheming conniver who had “wrestled” the birthright away from Esau by conning his father, Isaac. And so, after their wrestling match, The Lord, helped Jacob to be transformed … from one who would selfishly think of himself to one who would struggle with God for God’s purpose and direction in life. And to characterize this transformation, seeing that Jacob was serious about wanting God’s blessing, God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel,” which, in Hebrew, means, “one who struggles with God.” And what more perfect name could have been given to the man whose bones would later be carried out of Egypt to the promised land by God’s chosen people, as the nation “Israel,” was freed from captivity. And we know how much “Israel” then struggled with God and still does even these millennia later; and so, the name God gave ISRAEL was perfect to describe His child Jacob and His later children, the Hebrew nation, Israel.

But my personal application comes from this focus passage today because I was also one who wrestled with God for many years of my life, denying who I really was and rejecting God’s desire to transform me into a man who could follow Him and glorify Him as my Lord. And all those years my name was “William,” which has a Germanic background meaning, “helmeted warrior.” And in my youth I had become a warrior for selfishness. But in my middle years, as was Jacob when he wrestled with God, I had a breakdown wrestling match with God, Who used a rather bizarre set of circumstances, as He did with Jacob and much later, the Apostle Paul, to knock me off my high horse and to give me sight from my spiritual blindness, allowing me to see God for Whom He is, … my LORD and Savior.

No, I didn’t wrestle with the Angel of the Lord; but I had a personal, spiritual battle which allowed me to take off the helmet of selfishness in my life and put on a new helmet of salvation so that my name WILLIAM could take on a new character name which honored God rather than dishonored Him. I was transformed (and am still being transformed) from a warrior for Satan into a warrior for The Savior.

So, I identify strongly with what Jacob and what he went through to become “Israel;” and if you are one who struggles to follow God, sometimes having to struggle with self and a Savior Who wants to transform you into His image, stick in there. Keeping fighting the good fight, knowing that the struggle against selfishness and the battle for God’s blessing of righteousness is worth it. God wants us to struggle against self and to surrender to His transforming grace, even if we become wounded, as did Jacob. Any struggle which moves us into a surrendered discipleship role to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is well worth the wrestling match.

So, as I often symbolize this struggle, let me put this here - <’KOKO>< - which means, “Keep On Keeping On in Christ.” Keep wrestling for God’s blessing, my friend!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I know I often struggle to gain Your grace; and forgive me if my struggle against my selfishness dishonors You; but I will keep fighting self to be like You; and I pray your blessings upon my struggles. Amen

January 22, 2012 … When Will We Learn God’s Patience

2012-01-22T06:17:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 30-31 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 30: 1-5: … [Horizontal Impatience Ignoring Vertical Guidance] … 1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
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Genesis 30: 22-24: … [Waiting on God Pays Godly Dividends] … 22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

My Journal for Today: Are we getting the message yet? For a number of these devotionals in Genesis dealing with the lives of the great Patriarchs of the faith, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we see a message weaving itself repeatedly through the lives and stories of these men, their wives, and their children. And if you’ve been reading along with me, what do you think that message is?

Yes, it reads through loud and clear, doesn’t it >>> WAIT ON GOD!!”

And I’m not going to go into great depth here in this journal entry by reviewing all that the story of Abraham and his family has taught us about this issue in these past readings this month in Genesis. But quickly, some of the prime lessons – at least for this humble seeker - are …
>>> First, we need to wait on God by seeking His will and then move by following it. … How often did we see Abraham’s family try to circumvent God’s promises and His will with their own planning, only to find their run-on-ahead schemes causing great problems into the future of the family and for mankind.
>>> Secondly, our horizontal planning can never be as good as God’s will and purpose for our lives. An old friend, who’s now with Jesus, used to tell me, “First obedience, then the blessing!” And that is so right on target. When we seek out God’s will, primarily from His word, even if we have to wait and wait, knowing that our heavenly Father always knows best, we’ll come out a winner for the wait.
>>> Thirdly, as Christians, it often boils down to how much we believe the truth of Romans 8: 28; and I hope that we all have memorized and internalized that one and are faithfully comforted and directed by its truth in our lives.
>>> And finally, we need always to remember, as New Covenant Christians, having so much more of an advantage over Abraham and his roller-coaster examples of faith and faithlessness, we have the record of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; and we have, as committed members of His Church, i.e., the Bride of Christ, the sealing ministry of God’s Spirit, indwelling us to give us the grace of sanctification as well as the grace of salvation. In this, all we need to do is live as a disciple of Jesus, the Christ and our Messiah, Who told all of His disciples, … to deny ourselves and follow Him … to love others as we love the Lord, … and to go and make disciples, with the power of Christ always with us to carry out His commission.

So, I hope you join me … to follow Him … and to go as we’re called to, being patient to follow His way and to lead others to Him by living as we are directed by His truth from His word.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, may we wait by seeking, and then follow to go, leading others to You and Your way through Your word. Amen

January 21, 2012 … The Consequences of Sinful Impatience

2012-01-21T07:00:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 27-29 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 27: 21-25: … [“Oh The Web We Weave When We Practice to Deceive”] ...
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.” 22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. >>>> “I am,” he [Jacob] replied. 25 Then he [Isaac] said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”

My Journal for Today: Wow! The read through Chapters 27-29 of Genesis in my chronological read through the Bible – today, Day 21 – was rich with information of interest and personal application; but I’ve chosen to focus this day on the story in Genesis 27 of Jacob’s plot, along with his mother, Rebekah, to masquerade himself as his hairy brother, Esau, and to con their father into giving him the family inheritance blessing. Once received, this blessing, in the culture of the day, was irrevocable; and so Rebekah, wanting her second son to receive the blessing, hatched the plot, which was agreed to by Jacob, to deceive the old, blind father Isaac. You can certainly have read or can read the story in depth by going through Chapter 27 in Genesis.

But once again just as Jacob’s grandmother, Sarah, had done years before, Rebekah, knowing directly of God’s promise to allow Jacob receive the blessing (see Genesis 25: 24), just like Sarai did by giving Hagar to Abram, forged ahead of God’s timing and decided that she would expedite God’s plan with her own scheme. And to the old saying, which I’m sure you readers have heard, may I add just a couple of words. It goes … (with my additions). “Oh the [messed-up] web we weave, when we practice to deceive [God].”

And that’s what happened when Rebekah didn’t [or couldn’t] wait on God to lead her in HIS plan to give the covenant promise to Jacob (later to become “Israel”). When she came up with her own plan, forging ahead of God’s timing, the web of deceit which she and her son, Jacob, who was in compliance with the plan, led to a whole series of messy, messy events, … all of which could have been avoided by waiting on God.

Today in reading my Parsons Commentary, it reviewed the series of consequences of the sin of Rebekah’s and Jacob’s impatience. And here they are, quoted from the commentary: “(1) He [Jacob] never saw his mother again; (2) his brother [Esau] wanted to kill him; (3) he was deceived by his uncle, Laban; (4) his family became torn by strife; (5) Esau became the founder of an enemy nation; (6) he was exiled from his family for years.” And as the commentary also pointed out: “Imagine how different his [Jacob’s] life would have been had he and his mother waited for God to work his way, in his time!” … Who knows, … perhaps Jacob would never have had to wrestle with God later for God’s blessing [see Genesis 32] if he and his mom had not been disobediently impatient and conned old, blind Isaac into giving the family blessing to his younger son … to whom God had promised would receive the blessing anyway.

I’ve covered this earlier this year; but it bears repeating, by asking: “How often do we in our pride or arrogance either don’t seek out God’s will or HIS way by digging into His word; … or by just forging ahead in pridefulness and moving ahead – on our own strength and perceive direction – without ever consulting God in prayer and Bible confirmation, how may problems do we create? I’m afraid I must say that it has happened all too often in my past, especially when I was anxious or fearful, given circumstance which required me to make a critical directional decision in my life.

How about you?

Well, I wont’ go into my solution (or should I say “God’s solution”] in depth here; but I do now have a protocol which I believe God’s Spirit gave me to go through, seeking God’s peace when I have a “scheme” to solve important problems or dilemmas. My paradigm involves the truth and promise in Philippians 4: 6-7; and if you want to know how my planning tool from this truth always works, just email me (at billb13@bellsouth.net or willieb13@rocketmail.com ]; and I’ll be glad to send you a planning protocol which will always keep you from getting ahead of God’s way and fasten you into His will by using His word. And with that I’ll shut down this time with you today.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to stay in Your timing, ALWAYS following Your way in Your timing and after seeking consultation with You from Your word. Amen

January 20, 2012 … Ignoring Our Inheritance

2012-01-20T05:11:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 25-26… To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 25: 27-34: … [Selling Out Our Future] ... 27 The boys [the twin sons of Isaac] grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

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Genesis 26: 1-7: … [Shaping Our Family’s Future] ... 1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

My Journal for Today: Today, in my chronological read through the Bible, I was led through two passages which speak to how we shape the future of our world by how we live and who we are.

The first of the two focus passages above is Genesis 25: 27-34, which is the story of Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob, the twin boys whose interaction and character shaped their future and our current world. And it is a study of the character of these two twins, which reveals so very much about who we’ve become in our world and lives today.

You’ve probably read this story before, … how Esau, the first-born, sold away his birthright to his conniving, con-man brother, Jacob; and we know that the enmity of the Arab nations, who were descendants of Esau, resent and hold hatred for the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by their God. And this enmity of the Arabs and the Jews was born in the interaction of these two blood brothers; and is felt to this day in our world, isn’t it? Can we see the lesson here as to how we live and who we become having influence on the future of our progeny?

How I live and my character, especially as a parent or as a leader in my sphere of influence, will become a driving impact on my children or upon those whom God has led me to lead in my work life. That fact is certainly seen in the outcomes of the interaction of Esau and Jacob, whose character and personal interaction shaped their family interaction and has shaped our world even today. Think about it. What we do and how we live, as parents and stewards of leadership, can – and usually does – have a powerful effect upon how others live into our – and their - future.

If I’m a parent and give my kids a certain example of my character, don’t you think that example is going to have an impact on the character of my kids and how they live into our future? Of course it will; and this was clearly exemplified in Genesis 26: 1-7 as part of the reading in my trek through the Bible this morning.

In this passage we read of Isaac developing a scheme involving his fear of how he might be treated by one of his enemies, the Philistines, whom he feared might kill him and his wife, Rebekah. So, what plot did Isaac use? Déjà vu all over again – it was the same plot which his daddy, Abraham, had used twice in the past to avoid being killed by his enemies. Family heritage impacts a family’s future.

So, I think both of these passages above powerfully illustrate that how we live and who we become has a powerful and lasting impact on our families and those whom God has led us to lead in our lives. And that is why it’s so important that we become – in character – whom God has purposed us to become. And as Christians, we are purposed to become as much like our Lord and Savior as we can [see Phil. 2: 5] so that we can shine or reflect His light (or likeness) into our families and be a witness for Him in our culture/world (see Matt. 5: 16 and Acts 1: 8). I will leave it to you to you to study and meditate upon the truth of those verses; because who we are and what we become will influence those around us, especially those in our family lines.

I pray that I can be who my kids and grandkids need to see so that they can see Christ in me and carry His image forward into our future.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to become like You so that those who come after me will see and seek You. Amen

January 19, 2012 … Responding to THE Test

2012-01-19T07:42:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 22-24 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 22: 1-3: … [Abraham: Pure Faith] ... 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” … “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love — Isaac — and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

My Journal for Today: Today I was led by my chronological reading plan to read/study/meditate through Chapters 22-24 of Genesis; and from that reading the incredible account of God testing Abraham simply has to be my chosen focus passage for my devotional journal this morning.

I charge anyone who’s reading along with me today to go back and please re-read [I’m sure you’ve read it before] Chapter 22 of Genesis, focusing on this outlandishly and seemingly viscous test through which God takes Abraham and his “son of promise,” Isaac. And every time I’m led to read or study or teach on this passage, I just can’t get my mind completely around WHY God would put this chosen “father of the faith,” … God’s man Abraham, … through such a horrible crucible to test his faith. Sure I can see that putting any believer though the fires of life purifies his faith. But this test???

The whole thing is just WAY OVER THE TOP with regard to what was asked of poor old Abe. Even the distance from where Abraham was abiding, in the Negev desert, in Beersheba, traveling way up to the mountain country in Moriah (probably to Mount Moriah itself) was a very arduous task. That’s about a 60 mile journey – a three-day journey minimum in those days. And can you just imagine what was going through the mind of God’s faithful servant, Abraham, and his son as they trekked to the mountain.

But the message is quite simple from this passage, isn’t it? God called Abraham; and Abraham went? And even though God was asking Abraham and the boy to the most extreme of tests, the father of this one son – Abe’s only son, … the son whom God had promised would become the father of many nations and all of God’s chosen peoples, was to be placed on an altar to God and burned as a sacrifice.

And in this test of faith – what I’m calling “THE test,” we see what had become Abraham’s maturity of trust in his God. Abraham and Sarai, who BTW dies and is buried in the chapters of our reading today, had seen the wondrous, incredible-to-unbelievable miracle of Isaac’s birth. They had seen God carry out His promise, mercifully, in spite of the failings of faith exhibited by both Sarah and Abraham before Isaac was born. And so, when God now said what he did to Abraham in our focus passage today, old Abe trusted God completely. And this may be the most powerful biblical example of the truth of what we’re taught by God’s word in Proverbs 3: 5-6 and in the NT from 1st Corinthians 10: 13 and by Jesus in Luke 9: 23; and I do hope you, fellow Christian, know these three passages by heart.

They tell us that when God calls, we are to follow. Oh, we may have questions; and God will even listen to our questions; but faith – especially mature faith – is following God obediently … even when it doesn’t make any human sense. It’s carrying our cross daily through trials of fire in our life. It’s following God’s direction and His narrow path even when the world is telling us to take the wide path which makes so much more worldly sense. And that’s exactly what Abraham did; and that’s exactly what we should do.

So, I’m not going to complicate this very simple lesson (I didn’t say EASY, I said, “simple”) with a lot of speculative analysis. It may be a trial of fire to test the purity of our faith; but when God is calling us to “GO,” we should be saying, “Where, Lord?” And when He shows us the way, we should, as did Abraham, … go!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, shine a light on my path, and I will follow. Amen

Blogger’s Note: As often is the case when I’m meditating on God’s word, the thought of a song comes to mind; and that’s what happened this morning. So, may I lead you to meditate on what I’ve written today by adding this link to a wonderful song, performed by Daniel O’Donnell, Here I Am, Lord. To hear it, you can go to this link.

January 18, 2012 … Strongholds of Sin

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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 19-21 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Focus Passage - Genesis 20: 1-3: … [Recurring Pattern of Sin] 1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

Recalled Reference Passage - Genesis 12: 11-13: … [The Genesis of Abram’s Sin Stronghold] … 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

My Journal for Today: Wow … déjà vu all over again! Out of my chronological reading of the Bible (today from Genesis, Chapter 19-21), one scenario involving Abram, now called “Abraham,” jumped out at me; and that is the focus passage above (from Gen. 20: 1-3). It hit me because here we see Abraham involved in a set of life circumstances which was very much like that when he had moved down to Egypt earlier and became fearful as to what the Pharaoh might do to himself (then called “Abram”) and Sarai, his wife. So, now – in today’s focus passage – Abraham and Sarah (both with changed names) are in Gerar, an area in the Negev desert ruled over by King Abimelek. And here is Abraham, fearful again; and we recall what he did back in Genesis 12: 11-12 [copied above], reacting out of fear, rather than responding out of faith, by telling the ruler that Sarai was Abram’s sister. And so what does Abram (now Abraham) do when he’s fearful of what Abimilech might do as they enter this ruler’s domain? You guessed it! He reverts back to his old sinful scheme and tells the king Sarah is his sister. Reminds me of the old saying: “Oh the web we weave when we practice to deceive.”

One commentary on this Genesis 20 passage (copied above) reported the following (from Parsons QuickVerse Life Application Study Bible): Abraham had used this same trick before to protect himself (Gen. 12:11-13). Although Abraham is one of our heroes of faith, he did not learn his lesson well enough the first time. In fact, by giving in to the temptation again, he risked turning a sinful act into a sinful pattern of lying whenever he suspected his life was in danger. … No matter how much we love God, certain temptations are especially difficult to resist. These are the vulnerable spots in our spiritual armor. As we struggle with these weaknesses, we can be encouraged to know that God is watching out for us just as he did for Abraham.

This commentary really struck home with me because for many years of my life I was in bondage to a pattern of recurring sinful living which had me habitually reverting to sinful patterns of cover-up (i.e., lies and deceit) to live a “Dr. Jeckyl – Mr. Hyde” lifestyle. To the world I presented myself as “Mr. Goodguy.” But in reality, I was “Mr. Badguy,” deeply into hidden patterns of sexual sin. And it was not until I surrendered my life to Jesus (as my Lord and Savior) that I was able to bring my life into a surrendered pattern of self-control and Godly behavior.

But as with Abram, who became Abraham, God was merciful and forgiving with me. My Lord, and Abraham’s God, knew that we (Abe and me) could, and would, have a life which conformed to His purpose and for His glory; and so, God let us – and led us – through these recurring patterns of sin to show us that we must surrender to His will and live His way, according to His word, in order to be – and to become – the men God had purposed us to be.

My friend, we all have strongholds or personally vulnerable areas in our lives which are comfort zones of sin, into which it is so easy for us to slide, … sinful patterns which seem to give us emotional protection. For Abram/Abraham it was this pattern of lies involving Sarai/Sarah. For me it used to be the recurring pursuit of sexual pleasure. For others it might be addictive patterns, like the use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. For others it might be reacting in raging anger, or the opposite, … surrender into submissive passivity. For others it might be the adrenalized pursuit of excitement in dangerous sports or compulsive gambling. But Satan picks up on our weak and vulnerable - and sinful - patterns of living; and he will pour gas on these embers of sin, trying to make them roaring fires of worship for his way rather than of God’s way.

I would hope that we all can come to recognize or weaknesses, confess them, and surrender them to God, allowing Him to turn our pursuit of the flesh into a Godly pattern of pursuit of fruitfulness as we surrender to the Lord’s way rather than revert to our strongholds of weakness. That is my prayer today.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, give me Your insight to see my weaknesses of the flesh; and to turn them into strengths of fruitfulness for Your glory. Amen

January 17, 2012 … Waiting On God

2012-01-17T06:52:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Genesis, Chapters 16-18 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 16: 1-5: … [Abram (Abraham) ] … 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

My Journal for Today: Today in reading through Chapters 16-18 of Genesis [linked above for your study if you’re reading with me through the Bible this year], there are many lessons which I could reflect upon in this journal entry; but one bubbled to the top in my consciousness; and I believe it’s the one the Holy Spirit is trying to emphasize for me. Perhaps it is one from which any reader along with me here can benefit [especially you married men].

Right at the outset of Chapter 16, in Verses 1-5, we read of Sarai making a decision, independently, to give Hagar, her maid-servant, over to her husband for conjugal intercourse in an attempt to conceive a child for Abram and Sarai, … a child that would be theirs by the law of the day. Now, this was not an unusual practice in that day when a couple could not conceive and bear a child. However, we know from previous reading of God’s covenant promise to Abram, that the God Whom Abram and Sarai worshiped was going to insure that they would have a child naturally. But Sarai was impatient and felt that God could and would answer the promise if she intervened and involved Hagar in the scenario.

How often do we find ourselves “jumping the gun” when it comes to God’s promises or in trying to be obedient to the Lord’s will? But this human impatience is nothing new, especially in a marriage, is it? The tendency goes all the way back to the first married couple, when Eve listened to the Serpent in the garden; and she decided it would be okay to eat of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. And Adam, who had been set aside by God as the keeper of the garden and Eve’s covenant leader in their marriage, stood by and let Eve eat of the fruit of the tree; and the result we all know was expulsion from the garden.

And here with Sarai and Abram, once again in human history, we see a wife not able to wait in faith on God; and we see a husband, sitting idly by and buying into the disobedience by consenting to the sinful act. To me this illustrates a couple important lessons – for me, personally.

The first is … each of us, as surrendered believers and worshipers of the living God, need to be able to seek out and hear God’s will; … and then to wait on God for His promise; … and then to also wait for God to provide the way He has promised. It is the premise of my wife’s life verse in Scripture, Proverbs 3: 5-6, which you probable have memorized: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [OR – “will direct your paths”]

BUT … how often, when we know God’s will or His promise, as did Sarai and Abram, are we tempted to move out and try to “jump start” God’s plan with our own. And that’s what Sarai did by coming up with the plan to involve Hagar as the vehicle to fulfill God’s will and to provide the couple with the promised child.

Now, … the second lesson – for me – is that, like Adam in the garden, Abram, also knowing God’s will and promise, passively listened to his wife and did not assert himself as the Spirit-led leader in their covenant of marriage. God has establish the male partner in His institution of marriage to be the primary spiritual leader in that marital covenant. Now I know that is not a politically correct position to take; and the concept of female spiritual “submission” in a marriage is widely (and often wildly) unpopular, especially with women who believe that they should be totally equal with their husbands in a marriage.

But in this marriage illustration today, as well as the first couple in the garden, we see that the male spouse really should not (actually, CANNOT) ignore his God-instituted role as spiritual leader in the marriage. Both Adam and Abram clearly knew God’s will when their female spouses decided to short-circuit God’s plan; and when their wives involved them in the plan, they had the opportunity to stand up – in obedience – and exercise their God-led authority to say “NO” to the impatience, asserting that it was the couple’s responsibility to be obedient to God and wait on HIS will and HIS way, following HIS word.

However, in both of these instances, the wife asserted her plan, not being willing/able to wait on God; and the husband buckled and went along with the will of the wife rather than the will of God, their mutual Father, … their leader in the covenant of marriage. And my reminder lesson today is that, as the husband in our Christian covenant marriage, I’m responsible to lead us, as a couple and as a family, in seeking out and following God’s will for our lives now that we’ve been joined spiritually in marriage. I must not become passive when I know God’s will and I perceive either of us, me or my wife, moving too quickly ahead on our own and not waiting on God’s promises or His plan.

Certainly we know the result of Adam’s and Eve’s inability to wait on God and to be obedient to His will; and we are reminded of that same marital lesson here today in this passage about God’s promise for Abram and Sarai. May all of us learn to wait on God; and may we husbands, in God’s institution of marriage, BE or BECOME the leaders we were designed to be in a marriage.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for this reminder of who I am – or need to be – in my marriage. Help me to be Your man of obedience and purpose with my wife so that we may – together – glorify Your Name. Amen

January 16, 2012 … Traveling Through Life In Faith And In Fear

2012-01-16T07:53:00.007-06:00

[Note: Click on map to see a larger view - then click on "renew/restore" on your browser to return to the blog for reading]

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Genesis, Chapters 12-15 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 12: 1-4: … [Abram Goes Out in Faith] … 1 The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
Genesis 12: 10-13: … [Abram Travels In Fear] … 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are.12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live.13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

My Journal for Today: Moving back from the Book of Job, in my chronological read through the Bible this year, the reading plan has me (and any reading with me) to go back into Genesis; … this time doing a read into God’s calling of Abram (later, of course, to be renamed “Abraham” by God). And here, mostly focusing on Chapter 12 in my journaling today, we see how great and how small a believer’s faith can be as they travel through life; and Abram is a prime example of a follower of God having a rather schizoid faith.

At the outset of Chapter 12 in Genesis, our highlighted hero, Abram, is living in the land of Ur, which, you can see on the attached map above [click on image to enlarge for viewing], is now located in modern Iraq, very close to where the supposed garden of Eden might have been, near where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers join. Abram was a very wealthy Bedouin sheepherder, traveling the deserts of the Chaldean region of that area. And for whatever reason, God chose Abram to be the father of two so-called great nations … that of the Jewish line and that of the Arab line of peoples, both who claim “Abraham” as their “father.”

And what the Holy Spirit has impressed on my reading today is the vacillation in faith exhibited by the one Chaldean tribesman with whom God chose to bring His everlasting covenant of salvation [which you will read about in Genesis, Chapter 15 of today’s reading plan]. Note, however, in reading above in the early verses of Chapter 12, God calls Abram, likely through a dream or vision, to pick up his family and all he has and head northward. And without much contemplation, Abram, in full surrender to God’s call, pulled up stakes, followed God, and moved to Haran (also spelled “Harran”), which on the map provided above is about 600 miles northwest … from what is now southern Iraq, moving to southern Turkey … a significant trek with all of Abram’s family and belongings. Yes, Bedouins in that time were used to picking up and moving to find water or food; but this was a major move; and God had not told Abram where to go. God just said GO “… to the land I will show you;” … and Abram, in faith, went.

Now, that is a model of surrendered faith to God’s will or His call on our life. And one might assume that Abram will continue – in our study of his life in Scripture – to be a compliant model of faith. However, just a few verses later in Chapter 12, we read of Abram balking in fear as He was called by God to move down to Egypt from living near Jerusalem to avoid a famine; and again Abram followed God’s leading. However, when he approached Egypt we see this Spirit-led “man of faith” become a very human “man of fear” as he hatches a scheme with his wife, Sarai, to play the role of his full-blood sister (actually she was his half-sister, though being his wife) to avoid Pharaoh taking her into his harem and claiming all of Abram’s wealth. Well, we know the outcome from Genesis. The scheme worked and Pharaoh expelled her and sent Abram on his way; but we know that these schemes only worked because of God’s mercy and His covenant with Abram to take Abram’s descendents into a promise land, which, again was based on Abram’s faith.

All of this speaks volumes to my heart; and being a man of faith who can, in times of challenge, become a man of fear, I’m lifted up by the fact that God has given me the hope of His eternal NEW COVENANT, which is far superior to the OLD COVENANT which inspired Abram, later to become “Abraham,” to follow God in faith. I know, because of God’s covenant of salvation (see Romans 10: 9 -13) which was perfected and completed in the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God, my Savior and Lord, Jesus, I can and will find the promised land of glory with God, the Father, because I’ve placed my faith in Jesus, as Lord and Savior, Who died to save even sinners of wavering faith like Abram and Bill Berry.

Praise God that He sees in Bill Berry, just as he did in Abram, enough faith and something of purpose to call me to be with my LORD forever. In doing so, I will one day be in Heaven, with Abraham, worshipping Our Savior and Messiah, Jesus. And now that our God has called me, and I have come as did Abram, in faith, … He will do what He promised, through Paul in Phil. 1: 6 … to complete me and reshape me into the image of the One Who died to give me His forever covenant of everlasting life.

My Prayer Today: … To God be the glory! And HALLELUJAH! … Amen

Map of Abram's Journey ...

January 15, 2012 … “Fix Me, Jesus” …

2012-01-15T07:50:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 40-42 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Job 40: … [Job Surrenders to Hear God]
1 The LORD said to Job: 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” 3 Then Job answered the LORD: 4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. 5 I spoke once, but I have no answer — twice, but I will say no more.”

Job 41: … [God Seals The Deal]
9 Any hope of subduing it [the crocodile] is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

Job 42: … [Job Gets It! And God Gives His grace]
1 Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 "I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
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10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

My Journal for Today: If you’ve been reading through the Book of Job with me into this New Year, we now come to the climax, which is produced when a surrendered servant of God humbly repents and really trusts in his (or her) LORD for whatever God has for the future of the true believer.

And Job finally got it! He got it through and through; and after God took him behind the woodshed and allowed Satan to give him a “whoopin” (as I used to call it when I was a boy), Job could finally see that all that he went through, no matter how unfair it seemed, was for his good and God’s glory.

Job didn’t have the advantages we Christians have today with all of God’s word and His truth to rely on when we’re in doubt. And I hope you – like I do – lean heavily on God’s absolute and infinitely inspired word when you get into Jobian conditions in life which are so confusing and perplexing.

My friend I have several memorized and internalized passages which I cling to when I get to feeling down as Job must’ve felt; and PTL, they bubble up into my consciousness when I get into pity parties like some of the great men of faith experienced – as do we all. Men like Jonah and Elijah and Moses and John the Baptist and almost all of the Apostles got into periods of blue funk where many of them actually prayed for God to take them home to heaven; but they all finally came to the conclusion, as the Apostle Paul wrote, that … all things work together for the good of those who love the LORD and who are the called according to His purpose. [Romans 8: 28]

Job had to learn that lesson the hard way; but, as we read in Chapter 42 of his book, our hero learned this lesson; and he repented of his doubts and surrender to His LORD. And when he did, God did what God does, … He restored … He replaced … and He renewed Job so that God’s man of faith could live out his life under the blessings of God and then Job would find all those loved ones who had been taken from him again in glory.

Good ending for Job; and good ending for all who believe in and surrender to God’s purpose and design for our lives.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I am Your surrendered servant! Amen

Blogger’s PS: Last night on a “date night” my wife and I took in a delightful new release movie, Joyful Noise. And during the movie, which was loaded with a lot of great Christian music, Queen Latifah, playing one of the lead roles, sang a haunting refrain which really captures the attitude of Job; and so I’d like to link you here to that beautiful song, especially if you feel like you need your God to do some extreme making over in your life now. Here’s that link to this song, entitled Fix Me, Jesus … which is the title I chose for today’s devotional journal entry. wrb

January 14, 2012 … When God Speaks – Time To Listen!

2012-01-14T05:34:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 38-39 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Job 38: … [When God Speaks]
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
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34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Job 39: … [God Speaks … Time To Listen]
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
======
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”

My Journal for Today: Okay, now, as Job continues to contemplate his horrible set of circumstances; and his so-called “friends” have given Job their two-cents worth (and that’s about how much their advice was worth), now it’s God’s turn to speak. And when one gets to these two chapters in Job’s book, I can’t help but think of the old E.F. Hutton commercials on TV.

Do you recall these commercials back in the late 70s? If you’re too young or don’t remember them, here’s a link to one of them on You Tube - where, “… when EF Hutton talks, people listen.” And that’s where Job was when God decided to straighten our hero out. And my friend, WHEN GOD TALKS, IT’S TIME TO LISTEN!!!

And in our reading today, when God did intervene with Job, I couldn’t help but note a couple of important elements of God’s intervention. And the first of these was God’s decision to speak to Job out of a storm (see Job 38: 1). I can just imagine Job, sitting on a hill of garbage, picking away at the sores on his body, thinking of all of his personal loss and contemplating all the jerk-water complaints from his friends; and all of a sudden it begins to rain on him … in torrents.

Have you ever been in a bad set of circumstances; and all of a sudden “a storm” of more bad stuff befalls you? Well that’s where Job was when God decides to give him some insights into how things really work. And that’s why, when we’re in the midst of a storm, we need to be looking for the messages God has for us out of the storm.

Do you remember the New Testament account of how the disciples were in the midst of a terrible storm (see Matt. 14, Mark 6, or John 6); and Jesus came to them, walking on the water; and they had trouble hearing what Jesus was calling to them. In fact they didn’t recognize that it was Jesus because of their fears of the storm. Well, this story, as well as the one about Job, illustrate that God wants to communicate to us through the storms of life and teach us that He’s in control … that He’s always there for us, … and that we can trust Him in the midst of even the worst storms of life. And so it was for Job.

But Job was having trouble understanding all of those things, given the storms God had allowed Satan to visit upon him. So, in Chapters 38-39 of Job, we get God’s in depth lesson in cosmic astronomy and biological creation. God levels question after question, which Job hadn’t a clue as to the answers, illustrating to Job – as to us – that there is so much of life that we cannot or will not be able to explain. It often gets down to the first sentence in our Bible: “In the beginning, God!” And as I’ve referred to already in my journaling this month, we need to remember the lesson God taught to the Prophet Isaiah [see below] …

Isaiah 55: 8 – 9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

And that’s the lesson which God so often wants to impart through the storms of life. And I need to remember, to seek out my God when I find my mind/heart overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. I need to be in a listening mode when life’s storms come, doing all I can to hear God speaking.

My Prayer Today: … I hear You, LORD! … Amen

January 13, 2012 … Seeking and Knowing Truth

2012-01-13T07:47:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 35-37 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Job 35: … [Elihu continues his argument before Job and “friends”]
1 Then Elihu said: 2 "Do you think this is just? You say, 'I am in the right, not God.'
3 Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?' >>>
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9 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. >>>
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12 He [God] does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. >>>
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16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Job 36: … [Elihu continues]
1 Elihu continued: 2 [To Job] “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf. 3 I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 Be assured that my words are not false; One who has perfect knowledge is with you. >>>
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26 How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

Job 37: … [Elihu’s conclusions]
19 “Tell us what we should say to Him [God];
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness. >>>
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23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?[k]”

My Journal for Today: Well, if you were with me yesterday as I’m here trudging through Job in my chronological read through the Bible, … day 12 saw the introduction of a new, younger critic of Job, who has been crying out to God in his [Job’s] tribulations. And this younger “friend” demonstrates what happens when people see life unfolding and think they (in this case young ELIHU) have a corner on knowing what is going on.

I think it is quite interesting that the younger critic, Elihu, actually criticizes Job for the arrogance to cry out to God, not trusting that God is in control and knows all about Job’s condition. Yet, Elihu openly, and very arrogantly, declares that he, himself, has the inside track of knowledge on the nature of God (see Job 36: 1-4 copied above). And isn’t that the way we are many times, thinking – and even speaking – like we’ve got the answers to the problems of others.

Now it turns out that Elihu does, in fact, speak much truth to Job about the nature of God; and this young man does show a lot of faith in God’s sovereignty and the Lord’s promises to be there – ALWAYS – when we get into circumstances we cannot explain, as did Job find himself. But we must take care in counseling others that we don’t think that we completely understand or speak for God.

As I sit here, writing this journal entry – as I do on so many days – I feel that God does give me insight into life from His word; but I have to take care, as I would hope you do in seeking after God’s truth, that I don’t arrogantly think I’ve got the answers or that I can, with great confidence, interpret God’s word in my trek to understand His will for my life. That’s why, as I study God’s word, I very often use God’s word itself to try to interpret or understand His written truth (i.e., The Bible). In studying the Book of Job, for instance, I’m led by good study Bibles to many other books of the Bible and other passages of Scripture to understand what is going on in the life of Job as he seeks for understanding into his very painful human dilemma.

And above all, I have to avoid letting my VERY HUMAN feelings get in the way of my search for and my understanding of God’s truth. As I read through the Bible this year, I will be on my guard to do exactly what Elihu, Job’s young critic, is saying today. I will be going to God (in my case through His written word) to understand my LORD rather than relying on my own internal compass of understanding. But I know from God’s own word and promises (see Isaiah 55: 11, Lamentations 23: 19, or 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17) that I can trust, with the help of Spirit-led enlightenment, what God gives me in and through His word (i.e., the Bible), using it as my guide to understanding life. And thankfully, I have so much more of His truth in His word than did Job.

However, I cannot or will not be able to tap into this vast and perfectly accurate source of truth unless, as Job wrote about in Chapter 28 of the Book of Job, I did deeply into the minefield of God’s mind by going deep into His word, which is my minefield full of nuggets of pure truth. And so, I will continue to mine for God’s truth daily in this place. And if you come here to dig with me, you’re going to have to pick up your pick and shovel of motivation and dig out the gems of truth from our trek chronologically through the Bible this year; … and so, we move on!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank You for offering up Your gems of truth as I dig into Your minefield of infinite knowledge. Amen

January 12, 2012 … Listening For God

2012-01-12T07:42:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 32-34 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Job 32: … [Elihu, a younger “friend” steps forward]
1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
Job 33: … [Elihu goes on with his opinions]
12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
13 Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another — though no one perceives it.
Job 34: … [Elihu states his final premise]
34 “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
36 Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man!
37 To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

My Journal for Today: Well Job has been going around and around with his three “friends” and critics, all of whom feel that Job has some hidden, unresolved sin which he’s unwilling to confess or from which Job has not repented. And now enter a younger critic into the scenario, Elihu, who takes a different approach to the criticism of Job in his down-and-out condition.

Elihu, basically is saying that Job needs to be a better listener to God; and that Job has no right to be questioning God and asking “WHY” God has brought these trials in to Job’s life. As one Commentator has put it about Elihu’s comments: ” He [Elihu] maintained that Job wasn’t suffering because of sin; he was sinning because of suffering. Elihu pointed out that Job’s attitude had become arrogant as he tried to defend his innocence. Elihu also said that suffering is not meant to punish us as much as it is meant to correct and restore us, to keep us on the right path.“ [From Parsons QuickVerse Bible Commentary]

And if we analyze Elihu’s comments in these three chapters of the Book of Job, we see that, like the other three critics, Elihu spouts out elements of truth. It is true, as Elihu contended, that God does engineer or allow trials into the life of men so that they can be tried and proven in the fiery trials of life. And many times those who’re in these tribulations – like Job – can’t see or discern the “WHY” behind God’s ways. But Elihu, possibly because of his lack of life experience being younger than the other critics of Job, was wrong in contending that Job had no right to come to God with his “WHY” questions.

If you’ve read these three chapters from today’s study, you’ll see that Elihu is “right on” with the idea that we need to search hard and listen to God, Who always desires to teach us His ways and His will from the challenges of life. But apparently Elihu didn’t hear or wasn’t listening when Job gave his eloquent word-picture on how we must dig deep into our relationship with God, seeking for God’s wisdom as the miner digs deep into the earth for precious ores and jewels. [See Job, Chapter 28]

Yes, as Elihu contends, we need to be good listeners to God through the trials of life; but no, God doesn’t expect us to just listen to the obvious voices in our life, like those around Job, his friends and family. God does want us to come TO HIM, with our questions and our pain. And our first source in this seeking and listening process is – for the New Covenant believer – God’s word. And in the book of Deuteronomy, written, many scholars say, about the same time as the Book of Job, we can read from the Old Covenant’s word from Deuteronomy 4: 29 – 31, the following …

... 29 But if from there [a place of sin or separation from God] you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

That’s what Job was doing in the midst of his trials and feeling of being separated from God; and that’s what we should do when we feel that God is far away or not hearing our prayers of desperation. We need to just keep-on-keeping-on in our search for God’s will and His way; and we need to do our front-line searching from His word. And it’s God’s promise, which Job was ultimately to learn, that God will be there for us when we come to Him in our search for truth and light. That’s the message, of course, from Jesus in the parable of the “Prodigal Father/Son,” isn’t it?

And so, my friend, as the old Carol King song declares through another voice, … well, ... just listen to it by going to this link … And as our LORD always wants to be, … Jesus is our Friend! He was for Job; and He will be for you or me.

My Prayer Today: Lord, I call out Your Name … and You are my friend! Amen

January 11, 2012 … Learning to Be Humble

2012-01-11T07:15:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 29-31 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Job 29: … [Job, reflecting on his past – desiring to have it back again]
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
Job 30: … [Job is a broken man]
14They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down. 15I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind.
16“And now my heart is broken. Depression haunts my days. 17My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones. 18With a strong hand, God grabs my garment. He grips me by the collar of my tunic. 19He has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.
20“I cry to you, O God, but You don’t answer me. I stand before You, and You don’t bother to look. 21You have become cruel toward me. You persecute me with Your great power.
Job 31: … [Job recognizes his position before God]
1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2 For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
4 Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
- - -
24 “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

My Journal for Today: Today’s study in the life of Job from Chapters 29-31 in the Book by his name are Job’s reflections on his life in the midst of the fog of confusion and despair in which he finds himself. And if you want the full force of the lesson God is teaching Job to help him see how pridefulness is easily a fault of those who try so hard to walk the walk of righteousness, these chapters certainly teach us the challenges of having to rely on God to teach us how to be humble.

If you take the time to read through these chapters, as I have today, you will likely – as I have definitely – find Job’s reflections to be very revealing and self convicting. Job here is looking back over his life and reflecting on where he was, longing for the “old days” when he was a respected Elder in his community. And he now sees that he’s totally broken, having lost all respect from the young in his community and culture. And he also sees that past glories, past goodness, and past greatness are not where God desires for our life to be centered.

Job is beginning to get the picture God is painting for him about life, the likely purpose why God has allowed Satan to enter Job’s life and to bring him down to this place in life where Job was forced to look UP at God and see His Lord for Whom He really was/is. And this is dangerous precipice of pride we climb toward when we are walking – as was Job – the walk of Godly pursuits. Job did “have it all.” He was living “the good life;” and he was able to command the respect of everyone around him. But we see that God wanted Job to see his dependence on God and to humbly pursue their relationship rather than to rely on worldly goods or to rely on the respect of other men. God was giving Job a lesson in humility, one which Job apparently was not able to learn on his own; but God was – at this point in Job’s life – the Rabbi Job needed to learn eternally valuable lessons in humility. And in these three chapters, Job comes from reflecting on his past goodness to see that all that he is – or ever was – was in God’s hands.

Oh, how I pray that I can learn this lesson intentionally and with voluntary humility rather that having to be placed in the forge of God’s fire for purification as He molds me into my Savior’s image. It is said – about the Christian – that God will either reward our humility or He will teach us to be humble, like Jesus, by the lessons of trial and fire. Job apparently had to learn this lesson the hard way. I pray I can learn it by my own desires to choose to humbly seek out my relationship with my Lord.

My Prayer Today: Oh, my God, I recognize how dangerous is my prayer for humility. But I humbly pray that I can learn to CHOOSE humility rather than have to walk through the fire – Your fire - to learn the lessons of how to be humble like my Lord. Amen

January 10, 2012 … Mining for God’s Mind

2012-01-10T08:06:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 24-28 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Study Passage: Job 28: Today’s focus and my journaling will focus on Chapter 28 in Job’s book. Here is a link to that chapter …

My Journal for Today: If you’re motivated to dig into what my reading plan has led me to study this morning [i.e., Job – Chapters 24-28], you’ve read that Job is continuing his dialog with his three critics (later a fourth joins); and Job strongly – at times even cynically – defends his own innocence and the biased misconceptions of his critics. Job agrees with them that God does – in truth – punish the wicked and gives favor to the repentant and contrite believer. However, Job also strongly contends that man cannot always know the mind of God, a place which can be a deep struggle for us in to know the purity of truth. Yesterday, I referred my followers to Isaiah 55: 8-9 [linked], which documents that searching for God’s way, His will, and/or His wisdom can often be very, very difficult.

And this brings me to my journal focus for today, which is found in one of my favorite poetic chapters in all of the Old Testament – actually in all of the Bible; and that is Chapter 28 of the Job’s book. And for any reader following me today, I must exhort you to click on the Chapter 28 link above or go to that chapter in your favorite version of Scripture and read/meditate on the entire chapter.

In Chapter 28 of the book by Job’s name, we read a poetic word picture of what man’s search into the mind of God is like; and for the human author’s (remember it is the Holy Spirit Who is the base author of Chapter 28) biblical picture of this search, he uses a description of the mining practices of that day. In past studies and teaching on this chapter, I’ve done my homework on this process by studying the middle-eastern mining practices in this age, which was in the iron-age historically. And bear with me for a moment while I describe these practices briefly.

In that day, miners would dig singular shafts down into the earth just wide enough for one man to enter each dig. When the hole was deep enough, they would rig themselves with a harness and lower themselves into the shaft to use digging tools to dig out the iron ore, jewels, or precious metals (gold/silver) which could be picked away from the mine shaft. Since this was a one-man operation, the miner would dig deeper and deeper into the earth so that he could reach the sides of the shaft to extract the valuable rocks, jewels, or ore he was seeking. Therefore, as the shaft deepened, the process of mining for what the miner was seeking got more and more risky. The holes sometimes got quite deep; and in general the deeper the miner went with his shaft the more productive would be his mining.

And if you’ve read this far with me, this is a wonderful word picture of what Job felt was the task ahead of him as he sought to mine the very MIND OF GOD for the wisdom he sought to answer all the WHY questions he had as to how he (Job) had gotten into this minefield of life where God had led him. Job knew that he was going to have to go on a risky trek to mine our the gems of wisdom from God’s mind (i.e., mine), digging and digging to find the jewels of explanation for why Job was where God had led him at this perplexing time in his life.

And this is a great word picture for all of us who seek to mine the very mind of God for all that God has to offer us in terms of Godly wisdom, trying to turn darkness into light with regard to our circumstances. The mining picture would say to us that we need to be willing to dig deeply into the minefield of God’s truth, which we know as Christians is God’s word (the Bible) to find God’s ways and His will for our lives. And just like the mining practices of that day, the digging is not easy; and maybe it can even be a bit risky; because sometimes, in pulling out gems or truth, we discover that those gems tell us clearly that God wants us to go down a different path in life, … a painful path we would not likely have chosen for ourselves.

And the summary of all of Chapter 28 in Job, … this mining picture into our search for wisdom, is found in the truth of the last verse in the chapter, Job 28: 28, which resoundingly states: And he said to the human race, … "The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding." And you’ll note that this verse is a quote, which comes from other Old Testament sources such as Proverbs 1:7-9 also Ps. 111: 10. And this shows this humble miner of God’s truth that the human author of the Book of Job was doing his truth mining directly from the same minefield where our mining for wisdom should center and that is God’s word (i.e., Scripture). But, my friend, we have a far richer minefield to dig for Godly gems of wisdom than did the author of Job’s book, don’t we?

Having the assurance of 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17 [linked], we have ALL of what we know of as SCRIPTURE (i.e., the entire canonized Bible) to dig for God’s pure gold of truth or for His gems of wisdom. The author of Job only had a few mines of the Old Testament into which he could mine for truth. We have ALL of Gods’ word – our entire Bible – as our minefield to search for God’s wisdom, His ways, and His will. I can only pray – as I will below – that we’re willing to dig and dig and dig for Godly wisdom as I’m trying to do with my mining of God’s word chronologically this year.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me – and my friends who come along with me – to go deep into your mine of truth, the Scriptures, this year as we search for your purified wisdom. Amen

January 9, 2012 … Frustrated … But Faithful

2012-01-09T06:39:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 21-23 … To study these chapters, go to this link >>>
Study Passage: Job 21-23: [Comment: Today it’s difficult for this blogger to highlight any one passage for my journal comments. I’m afraid the reader will have to take in all three of my study chapters today to get a flavor of my journal entry today.]

My Journal for Today: In my reading through the Book of Job as part of my trek through the Bible chronologically this year, there continues to be this serial dialog between Job and his so-called “friends,” … the three who keep trying to convince Job that his condition and circumstances point to some hidden sin or pattern of disobedience of their God, Jehovah, Whom they all hold in reverence. But poor Job keeps holding to his position – partly held in confusion and frustration – that his friends don’t seem to get the truth that bad things happen to good people and good things (by man’s judgment) happen to bad people. And Job’s position is supported by his faith in and reverence for their God, Whom Job knows is always right and always in control.

And I don’t know about you; but I have a tendency to hold Job’s three “friends,” who’ve become his harshest critics, in some degree of malcontent, … feeling that they are just not seeing Job’s situation with any degree of empathy for their “friend.” They also just seem to be closed to the reality that God sees things – all things – with His infinite and all-controlling omniscience, which is a picture that no man can see clearly. And as I read this interaction between Job and the three, I think of the words of God’s clarity from Isaiah 55: 8-9, where God states to the Prophet, 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” And I can’t seem to hold back my judgment of Job’s friends as I think, “Why can’t you dudes see this truth!”

Job’s “WHY ME” search is certainly natural; and the misshaped criticisms of his critics in this portion of the Book of Job are really understandable as well. So, … I need to have a little more charity for Job’s three friends; because I, like them, have a tendency to judge the motives and ideas of others based upon what I see in their lives; and I often make judgments about people, thinking that I know and can see what God knows and sees. NOT!!! >>> These days we call it “profiling,” don’t we? And it’s just, flat WRONG!!!

Given Job’s circumstances, especially being the righteous man he was, why wouldn’t Job be asking God, “WHY?” And in anybody’s life, as we view others, maybe we all need to back off with our judgments and trust that God knows best and that He’s ALWAYS in control; … and, especially for born-again believers, God is always working things out for the good of His children. Isn’t that the message of truth in Romans 8: 28, … which is a passage with which I always seem to challenged by my weak faith.

Job was challenged too – to the “Nth” degree; but even though God was teaching Job a lesson in humility that our Lord obviously felt Job needed to learn, Job held on to His fear of the Lord and His reverence for God’s sovereignty in the midst of all of the circumstances which were so baffling to him. I would hope that we all can hold on to our faith as we face life’s most challenging trials, … letting God do His thing … ALWAYS for our good.

My Prayer Today: … Help me, Lord … to hold on to my faith in Your sovereign good. Amen

January 8, 2012 … My Redeemer Lives

2012-01-08T07:30:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 17-20 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Study Passage: Job 17: [Job to his three critics]
10 "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.
Study Passage: Job 18: [Bildad’s reply to Job]
2 "When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight?
Study Passage: Job 19: Job 19: … [Job’s response to Bildad]
21 "Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23 "Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!
25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; …
Study Passage: Job 20: [Zophar to Job]
6 Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'

My Journal for Today: Back and forth it goes [in this case in my reading today between Job and two of his critics]. Job’s so-called “friends” keep coming at poor Job, so beaten down and yet, holding on to his faith. And note that Job still calls these men his “friends” in spite of his frustration and pain from their criticisms. I really don’t think I could have been so charitable. If fact I often refer to these three dudes as “Job’s three stooges,” which is certainly not the Christlike attitude to which I should aspire.

But we have to try to understand that these men held onto the prevailing theological ideas of their day about salvation, redemption, and how God treats sin; and in order for them to understand why Job was being treated – by God – these men simply were expressing the prevailing attitude that God punishes wickedness and sin the way Job was being broken.

But through all of this comes one of the most startling statements of faith in all of the Old Testament. Here was a man, Job, who was bodily broken, … who had lost everything of earthly value to him, … and one who was pushed aside and railed against by his wife and friends over and over again; and a man who was confused by how God seemed to be treating him, … a righteous man (in his own eyes). Actually Zophar’s pronouncement above in Chapter 20 would seem logical … that God was treating Job like human feces. But in the midst of all of this, what was Job’s clarion declaration?

Say it with me (from the emboldened verse above in Job 19: 25a, Job says …

”I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!”

And anything I would blog or journal here would detract from that incredible truth and pronouncement of faith. And so, let me just pray that we all, no matter what our life may be presenting us, can sing along with Nicole C. Mullen, as I listen to her from this You Tube piece, I know that my Redeemer lives! … linked here for your meditation in song.

My Prayer Today: … You live, Lord! HALLELUJAH!!! Amen

January 7, 2012 … It’s Not About Me!

2012-01-07T07:10:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 14-16 …
To study these chapters, go to this link -

Study Passage: Job 14: 14 If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal [or release] to come.
15 You will call and I will answer You; You will long for the creature your hands have made.
16 Surely then You will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.
17 My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; You will cover over my sin.
Study Passage: Job 15: 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind?
3 Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?
Study Passage: Job 16: 18 “Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest! 19 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

My Journal for Today: Wow! Pouring through these three chapters of Job this morning (you can do so online by the link provided above), I was taken back to the days when, as an atheist years ago, I used to argue with believers who held on to their faith in the face of personal trials. In the passages I’ve highlighted and reprinted above, we read of Job, without any real knowledge of whether there could be or would be a resurrection, holding out with desperate faith (in Job 14: 14-17) for his beleaguered life and sins to be covered over by his God.

And then, Eliphaz, one of Job’s “three stooges,” as I call them, comes back with one of my old worldly arguments (see Job 15: 1-3) … that Job’s words were meaningless in the grand scheme of life. I used to put Christians down who argued for their God by telling them that since there was no way they could prove their case, the words of these believers were just worthless. For these faithful Christians, many of whom were probably strugglers just like Job, I was their modern Eliphaz, pointing out what I believed to be the fruitlessness of their faith.

But as the passage in Job 16: 18-21, reprinted above attests, Job held on and showed prophetic faith, declaring that, no matter what Eliphaz (and the other so-called “friends”) declared, Job just knew that he had a God Who was his advocate in heaven. And we Christians certainly should know, with the advantage of historical knowledge of Christ’s advent and resurrection, Job had it right – EXACTLY RIGHT!

My fellow Christian, from the documentation of our New Testament witnesses and the truth of God’s word (see Isaiah 55: 11 and 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17 from the Old and New Covenants), we can declare, as did Job, that we have an Advocate, a Heavenly Friend, our Lord and Savior, Jesus, Who stands by us in heaven, even in times like those experienced by Job. We have a Redeemer upon Whom we can place all of our trust and with Whom we will share eternity.

Somehow, in spite of all of his circumstances – and even in spite of all of his “WHY” questions – Job held out in faith for a God Who would save Him; … for One who would witness to our heavenly Father of his faith, … and for One Who would take him home when the LORD decided it was his (Job’s) time.

That is the faith, my friends, we should hold to … even when we have doubts; … even when we go to God with our “WHY” questions; … yes, even when we are bowled over by bad circumstances. We can, like Job, know that we know that we know that we know, that our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is always there, before God’s throne of grace, arguing and witnessing on behalf of our case.

My Prayer Today: … And my LORD, I thank you for Your being my Advocate to the Father even at this moment, in spite of my beleaguered faith. Amen

January 6, 2012 … Pity Party Time

2012-01-06T06:31:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference – Day 6 … Job: Chapters 10 - 13 … Study Scripture Reference: Job, Chapter 10 NIV … Go to this link to read/study

Chapter 10 in the NIV
Job, Chapter 10 in the Message Version - linked for your study

My Journal for Today: Today, if you’re reading along with me, it would help for my fellow miners into God’s word to have read through all of the Chapters our reading plan has had me read for today in the Book of Job (i.e., Chapters 10 – 13). However, if you want to shorten your reading, given time constraints, you can just click on the links above and read Chapter 10 in either or both of the NIV and/or Message versions of Scripture.

Last night my wife and I went, as we do weekly, to our church small group meeting where we fellowship with a group of about 8 other fellow church members; and we dig into God’s word. Last night we began to discuss the church’s reading-through-the-Bible plan for 2012; and the subject of Job came up. And one in our group expressed that he just “hated the Book of Job” in the Bible because it made him feel so personally uncomfortable; and several in the group expressed empathy with that feeling.

Well, if one is looking for why Job’s character makes Christians feel uncomfortable, you need look no further in Job’s account than the 10th Chapter. Because this chapter, as much as any other, is a very human mirror of truth; and very few people really like to look into a mirror, especially when one is naked. And Chapter 10 reveals Job, completely naked before His God, … deeply into feelings all of us have felt or maybe are feeling right now; and that would be feelings of self-pity.

In Chapter 10 of Job’s account, he is in one big pity-party. And I’m sure his so-called friends, the ones who had sat with him so caringly earlier in the story but now are railing against Job’s denial of his perceived sinfulness, have helped him feel so down-hearted about his set of painful circumstances. Earlier in the story, we marveled at Job’s faith, with all that had happened to him, as he said something like, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” But now, in Chapter 10, Job has become much more like most of us when we are confronted by horrible circumstances. It’s pity-party time for Job; and I’m sure we can really empathize with what we read into our biblical hero here. And maybe that’s why my friend last night said that Job’s life made him FEEL so bad.

I think we’ve all been where Job is in Chapter 10; and then in Chapter 11, we read of Job’s friend, Zophar, who really gets ticked off at Job; and he just lays poor Job out, accusing Job of having no right to take his complaints to God when Zophar perceives Job to be an obvious sinner, given all the bad stuff which has happened to Job. And Job, in Chapter 12, verses 24/25, acknowledges that God is the only one who can really know the heart of any man well enough to judge; but Job is still in a quandary as to why God has brought all this pain on him. And then in Chapter 13 of our reading for today, I really love how Job, somehow being very perceptive in the face of all of his pain, nails his three friends (see Job 13: 4-5), comparing them to quack doctors who just can’t diagnose any condition accurately; and he just tells them, in essence, to “shut up!”

Well, in all of this, God’s word today has shown me that it’s okay to FEEL bad when we are down-trodden; but we should, like Job, take our feelings vertically to God, rather than listen – exclusively – to the horizontal observations or counsel of other men (or women). Yes, God’s word [for example in Prov. 15: 22] tells us that it’s even wise to get counsel from others; but when we listen EXCLUSIVELY to other men/women, without taking, as did Job, our feelings directly to God, we can be led astray. But by going directly to God and using God’s Spirit-led discernment to analyze or reject the skewed counsel of his so-called “friends,” Job shows us that he did – as we should – keep things in proper perspective, allowing himself to be led by God’s light of truth, rather than mankind’s distorted views about life.

I pray that we all keep our lives, no matter how driven to self-pity we might be, in proper alignment with our vertical relationship with Christ FIRST-AND-FOREMOST. Oh, we may listen to others, especially those we know are astute and wise Christian counselors; but our pleas and pursuits of God’s will and His way should always be our first course of understanding. And praise be to Job, showing us the right way from God’s truth.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, as Your word teaches in Psalm 119: 105, Your truth is my first source of light in the darkness of life. Amen

January 5, 2012 … Being Real With God

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference – Day 5 … Job: Chapters 6 - 9 … Study Scripture Reference: Job 6: 8-13 NIV …
8 "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for,
9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
10 Then I would still have this consolation — my joy in unrelenting pain—
that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 "What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?
12 Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze?
13 Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?

My Journal for Today: Today, in Day 5 of my chronological read through the Bible, I’m reading about Job’s interaction with God and with of his so-called “friends,” … this time, Bildad. And as I completed the reading for today, I had several – I believe salient – observations. And the first of these, and the one upon which I’ll focus my writing today, is that Job was real and completely vulnerable in his cries to God and his interactions with his friends. So often in our suffering or circumstances we have a tendency to “stuff things;” and we don’t come to God with a totally open approach; or we stuff our feelings and we’re unwilling to discuss our feelings with our “friends,” especially those closest to us, like our spouse or immediate family. I’ll bet you’ve been there; haven’t you?

But Job was totally open, honest, and REAL. He laid it out for God to hear his feelings. God, of course, knew his feelings; but our Lord and Savior wants to hear our feelings. And Job certainly expressed them, even to the point of getting criticism (in today’s reading) from his friend, Bildad, who felt that Job had no right to rail at God.

Have you ever been in a place where you were so confused or angered by your circumstances that you just wanted to pack it in; or maybe you were angry at God for what was going on in your life. Well, as you read in the highlighted passage I’ve reprinted above [i.e. Job 6: 8-13], that’s where Job was; and he let God know about it, even to the point of openly expressing that he’d rather just die than to go through what was his lot at that time.

And Job, in the Bible, is not the only one who became so depressed or down-trodden that he wished or prayed for God to take his life. Elijah, Jonah, Moses, and in the New Testament, Paul, all became so depressed about life that they wondered why they were alive or even sought the release of death rather than to go through what God had intended for them. And you, like I, probably have “been there, done that, and have that T-shirt,” … haven’t we?

BUT … aren’t we glad that God doesn’t answer ALL of our prayers with an automatic, “YES!” And God certainly didn’t grant, in this case, exactly what Job wanted. No, even though God wants to hear, in our prayers, our distress, our grief, and yes, even of our desire to give it all up; but for us, He grants the sincere believer ONLY WHAT WE NEED and not what we want. And for that, do I sense a very sincere, “AMEN!” … or “PRAISE THE LORD!”

So, the application I glean today from my reading is to bring it all to God –first; and even be willing to bring our feelings openly to our friends openly and honestly. However, in doing so, we must also hold to God’s truth, which comes to my mind here, in my memory of Romans 8: 28 (and I really hope you have that memorized – if not, go back and meditate upon its truth!) … or 1st Cor. 10: 13 … or 2nd Cor. 12: 9.

Job was totally open and real with God … and even with his well-intentioned, but cynical, “friends.” But this beaten-down soul was also a model of faith, … holding on to his love of God and his trust in God’s will; and, my friends, we should incorporate this trust into our lives (as expressed my wife’s favorite verse) from Proverbs 3: 5-6. That’s what Job modeled for us in today’s reading; and prayerfully it’s how we’re living our lives of worship as well.

My Prayer Today: Lord, I’m so thankful I can come to You anytime with all that I feel and all that I am (or am not!). … Amen

January 4, 2012 … Faithful Follower In Life

2012-01-04T07:52:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference – Day 4 … Job: Chapters 1 - 5 … Study Scripture Reference: Job 1: 1 - 5 NIV … 1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

My Journal for Today: Okay, today in Day 4 of my chronological read through the Bible, we switch from Genesis over to the book of Job, which was the first of the five, so-called, books of poetry and wisdom in the Old Testament (the others being Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon). Now I don’t want read here like I’m some Old Testament expert. No, … because the reading plan shifted me over to the book of Job, I did some internet digging and found a nice piece on the book of Job, which along with a couple of others, helped me to put this inspired piece of writing into Scriptural perspective for me. So in that regard, let me link any of my readers here to this productive little study piece for your study as well.

If you read through that piece, you’ll see that there is historical/biblical controversy among Bible Scholars as to the authorship of Job. But knowing and believing in the truth of Isaiah 55: 11 and 2nd Timothy 3: 16 – 17 , I KNOW that God, the Holy Spirit was the truth-bearer in this Book, as He was for all of our Scripture study. So, no matter which human author we might opine, God was our author of truth as we read about Job.

And after reading the first five chapters, I returned to the first five verses, describing the character of Job as what God’s Spirit wanted me to focus on in my journal entry for today. And after one reads about what God – and Satan – put Job through, we have to know that Job was a good – a very good – man; and he didn’t deserve any of the trials God allowed Satan to put upon him.

Job, whether he was a real historical figure or the character of a poetic parable [as some think], … he was a righteous man, … a disciplined believer, … a good father, … and a man “who feared God and shunned evil.” Yet bad, … very bad, … yea, EXTREMELY BAD … things happened to this good man.

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you’ve felt, or maybe even declared to others, “I don’t deserve this!” I’d bet here that most of us have. But Job’s circumstances “take the cake,” don’t they? Here was a very righteous dude, doing all the right things in his life; and WHAMMO [!], he’s hit with a mack-truck in his life; and God is at the origin of it all. Way no fair, God!

And then the poor guy is set aside with poor advice from his wife and three friends, who seem to personify the old adage, “If these are my friends, who needs enemies!” Wow, … maybe you’ve gone through a scenario in your life where you were run over by one of those mack-trucks and then you got well-intentioned, by skewed advice. It’s certainly no surprise that our hero, Job, gets thrown into a tailspin of confusion and feelings of abandonment – even from His God, Whom he had trusted – even through all that bad stuff which came down on him.

In going through these five chapters of Job’s story, and especially the first five verses of Chapter 1, I’m really praying that I can be like Job should any “mack-truck” circumstance come my way. I want to be one, going through “Jobian” times, who will stick with my God, … who will continue to trust my Lord, … who will keep pursuing God’s will and His way no matter what happens down the road of life, … who will listen to others but will judge what they say based on God’s word not on the feelings which come in bad times, … who become a warrior for God in spite of the circumstances rather than let Satan get the upper hand in my life; … and I want to be one who will come through the minefields of life (knowing the end of Job’s story), following the only ONE Who can lead me successfully to/through God’s passage. I want to follow my Savior and His light through life, as did Job, even though I may struggle, moving ever onward until I achieve the prize for which God has for me down the road (see the NT and Paul’s writing in Phil. 3: 13-14), which is eternal life in glory with Jesus.

That’s where Job’s story points me; and for it, I say a loud … HALLELUJAH!!!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for Job’s template of life. Help me to be like him when I face the trials life. Amen

January 3, 2012 … Communication: God’s Vehicle of Humility

2012-01-03T07:15:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference – Day 3 … Genesis, Chapter 8 – 11 … Study Scripture Reference: Genesis 11: 1-8 NIV … 1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.6 The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

My Journal for Today: It’s DAY 3 of my chronological journey through the Bible; and I’m getting into God’s dealings with His sin-ridden children as they came out of the big flood with God imparting His covenant with Noah. But as we read in Chapters 8 – 11 of Genesis, God’s people, the ones remaining after the cleansing flood, reverted to their sinful and prideful ways; and God had to use another vehicle to bring mankind into submission; and to do this, as we read in today’s passage above from Genesis, chapter 11, God used the vehicle of verbal communication to humble mankind and prevent them from getting too prideful.

As mankind came out of the tower-building episode in Babel, God scattered His children all over the world, causing them to speak in varied and regionalized tongues. And being a speech pathologist during most of my adult, income-producing life, I’ve always been intrigued by God’s strategy to humble mankind, choosing to keep the various tribes and people groupings separated as much by language differences or through communication barriers as through geographic differences.

When we look at any human difficulty in interaction, where is usually the heart of the brokenness? It’s poor communication, isn’t it? The number one force which breaks up marriages is communication difficulties. … When people try to settle their differences in court, what is the vehicle of advocacy by the lawyers? It’s verbal communication. … When there are fighting wars between peoples, why do they use bombs to communicate? It’s because they can’t communicate with words. … And when we have difficulty interacting with any of our friends, let alone our enemies, what is the primary reason? Well, it’s our prideful use of words which creates a barrier of brokenness in our relationships.

ALWAYS, when relationships between individuals, institutions, and/or countries are broken down, it is a brokenness and pridefulness of verbal communication that has been at the heart of the brokenness; and it will only be through a humbling of the words which will heal the brokenness or bring a repair of the interaction between God’s people. And I believe that is why the Apostle Paul wrote, when he was trying to get God’s church in Ephesus to heal the brokenness which had erupted in that church, WORDS of exhortation about how man should use verbal communication. He wrote the following God-inspired verbal directive concerning verbal communication.

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Ephesians 4: 29 … Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
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We humans, just like those who were scattered from Babel, have this incurable disorder of pridefulness to deal with in interacting with one another. And when pride expresses itself, it is almost always is done through the vehicle of verbal communication, which either exacerbates the interaction distances or exercises healing in bringing peoples back together. God has given mankind free will; but only when we freely find and use Godly, humble words to communication will we, as God’s children, be able to express God’s love to one another.

When you read Paul’s exhortation from Eph. 4: 29 above – from God using HIS WORDS to us – what does it simply and clearly say to us about how we should communicate verbally to one another? … Well, to me it says, … If I communicate with you, I NEVER should use words which are disruptive or words of mal-intent. Instead I MUST use words which either build you up or give you grace – God’s grace. In other WORDS, … if it doesn’t edify you or express God’s loving grace to you, I should not say it! Because if I do, I’m only babbling (interesting term in that communication difficulties resulted from pridefulness in “Babel”) selfish pridefulness, which will always bring brokenness to relationships.

So, today, DAY 3, of my trek chronologically through God’s word, He used HIS WORD to say to me that MY WORDS are important … and that I must humbly seek to use them to edify others and to communicate God’s grace into my interaction with others.

May we all take heed to God’s word about our words.

My Prayer Today: Lord, help me use my words to reflect Your Word. … Amen

January 2, 2012 … Living Sacrifice

2012-01-02T07:11:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference … Genesis, Chapter 4 – 7 … Study Scripture Reference: Genesis 4: 1-5 NIV … 1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. … Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

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Genesis 7: 1-5 NIV … 1 The Lord then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." ,,, 5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

My Journal for Today: Day 2 of my year-through-the-Bible chronologically. I hope that some who’re reading my journal entries might have joined me in this reading plan – or maybe some other plan to read through God’s word this year. But even if you’re just following here what I’m journaling, we’ll be going through some great truth issues; because they’ll be coming directly from God’s word – for His purpose; and we know the promise of Isaiah 55: 11 (check it out!).

Today, from a vast source of scriptural meat in Genesis, Chapters 4-7, there was much one could choose to discuss; but God’s Spirit seemed to bring two passages to my consciousness, the ones I’ve selected and reprinted above, … first from the story of Cain and Abel and then from the account, later in history, when God charged Noah to save mankind. These are two biblical accounts of the results of man’s fall from grace in the Garden to have to deal with the evil effects of sin.

But both of these stories do illustrate clearly how God deals with man’s choice to either succumb to selfishness in sin or for mankind to choose righteousness, which is his “LIVING SACRIFICE” of obedience to God’s will and His way.

When we view the account of the first two siblings, Cain and Abel, we see how one, Abel, chose to give God his best, i.e., Abel’s living sacrifice, and the other chose to give a more restrained, selfish sacrifice; and we know the result of how God looked upon the two … as well as the human result of Cain killing his brother because of his jealousy.

Then there is the account of how mankind had degenerated in their sinfulness to the point that God had to cleanse the earth. And the Lord chose Noah as His vehicle of cleansing; and we read in this story how God gave His free grace to the one, Noah, who was obedient and had lived a life of LIVING SACRIFICE.

Are we getting the picture? God favors and imparts His grace upon those who CHOOSE to live their lives in obedience and worship to the Lord. God gave mankind this God-like ability of free choice; and when we exercise it, God wants to see that exercise of free-will to be a LIVING SACRIFICE to the Creator rather than the created.

Yes, we who have chosen – by our free-will – to surrender our lives to God in the living sacrifice of faith are going to get the same rewards as did Abel and Noah. But you may be saying, “Didn’t God allow Abel to be killed.” Yes, he did; but my friend, if you’re a born-again Christian, one day you’ll see Abel in heaven; and you may even see Cain … IF … he repented of his sinful act of murder and came back to God, living the rest of His life in contrite pursuit of God as a LIVING SACRIFICE.

But we’ll definitely see Noah in heaven; because his life was an exemplary one of sacrifice in righteousness for His Lord. In this regard, we all need to be asking ourselves if we’re living as the Apostle Paul charged believers to life in Romans 12: 1-2 [hope you have that one memorized]. Are we living lives of worship … i.e., “LIVING SACRIFICE,” … apart from the very human and worldly tendency to live for self rather than to live for our Savior. Jesus was THE One who came to us to redeem us from the forces which drove Adam and Eve from the garden or caused Cain to kill his brother, Abel. Jesus was God’s plan to save us from those self-driven forces which caused God to bring a flood to cleanse mankind of the evil brought into the garden by the serpent and into the hearts of mankind by their own sinful choices.

My friends, we need to take stock of how we’re living as we move into this New Year. Are we living life as a second-rate sacrifice (as we see in the life of Cain); or are we bringing our best to God in the way we live (as did Abel)? And are we living as did Noah, … lives of obedience and surrender to the will and the ways of God, rather than lives like the world around us? In other words, are we living up to what Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, … i.e., “… lives of LIVING SACRIFICE, … holy, … acceptable to God, which is our reasonable act of worship?”

If we are doing the latter, we’re off to a really good start in 2012. If not, … well I think it’s obvious then where we need to direct our choices.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, Lord, help me to remain true to Your will/way with a life of living sacrifice to You. Amen

January 1, 2012 … In the Beginning, Man’s Sin

2012-01-01T07:43:00.005-06:00

Blogger’s/Pastor’s Note: For the information of any who might follow with me in 2012, I will be using the YouVersion.com chronological bible reading plan, which can be accessed by going to this link. ... Each day I will reference the Bible chapters/verses which I’ll be reading on the chronological reading plan; and any who follow me can go to that passage to read/meditate. I’m hoping that any who do follow along with me will not undertake to read my thoughts (i.e., my journal entries daily) without first reading the entire passage I’ve read. However, if I end up concentrating on one section or passage of the reading plan for my day, I will reference that segment or print it out for the follower’s benefit. And you should know if you’re following here, all scriptures I use, unless otherwise referenced will be in the New International Version of the Bible.

Passage of the Day: Reading Plan Reference … Genesis, Chapter 1 – 3 … Study Scripture Reference: Genesis 3: 6 … 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

My Journal for Today: Genesis: Chapters 1 – 3. … Wow! What a start for my reading of the Bible chronologically for 2012. But I guess it’s certainly logical to start a chronological reading plan in the Bible by starting “in the beginning.” And as we read in Genesis 1: 1: ”in the beginning, God!”

One could spend days meditating and journaling the spiritual and personal applications and lessons in these three chapters. There is certainly a lot of spiritual meat to chew on in these passages. Theologians have written volumes on just these three chapters alone. Preachers have preached for weeks on the theological applications found in what the reading plan had me study today. However, as I read these three chapters on my first day of my reading plan, I guess it was the Holy Spirit’s plan for verse 6 of Chapter 3 to jump off the page for me; and so I’ve reprinted that verse above [in the NIV] above in bold/italics.

And I could probably craft a 20 minute homily or even a longer sermon on just this one verse alone. But I’ll just try to bring out one pertinent aspect of this verse which has a lot of personal meaning for me (and hopefully you, too).

As I read Gen. 3: 6, another Bible passage I had memorized years ago bubbled up from my consciousness. It is in the New Testament, … 1st John 2: 15-16 Let me copy/paste it here for your edification: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Now, my fellow Christian, mediate on that passage and compare it to the one printed above from Gen. 3: 6. Do you see the comparative parallels? In reality, when John was writing about the inclusive categories of sin in 1st John 2: 16, he may have had our Gen. 3: 6 passage in mind; because if you notice, all the sin types which there are in human nature - and they are many - would fit into the three generic categories of sin outlined in these two passages – “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

And as you can see from Gen. 3: 6 those where all three types of sin exhibited by Eve when she was being conned into taking of the tree of life by the serpent. She saw that the fruit was good for food (“the lust of the flesh”). She saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eyes (“the lust of the eyes” ). And finally, she reasoned that the fruit was, as the serpent had argued, desirable for making her better than she was at the time (“the pride of life”).

So, my friend there you have what you and I deal with every day of our lives, … being tempted in the same way written about for Adam and Eve in Garden. However, the Apostle John wrote about these same sin forces (i.e., temptations) with which we are confronted in our current lives; and we, like Adam and Eve have been banished from the garden as we learn to deal with our sin nature, inherited from these two whose choices were actually much simpler than our tempting choices are today.

Every day we must deal with the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” just as did Eve first and then Adam. They blew it; and their sin nature is ours, banished from God’s garden. But God has made a way back to the garden; and His plan will take us to a place – a New Garden – where we will not have to deal with the lusts of our flesh and eyes; and our pridefulness will never be an issue. Do I sense a “Hallelujah [!],” my fellow Christian. And that plan, of course, was God’s plan for mankind right from the beginning … to bring us His Son to redeem us from our sin nature and take us back to that bliss-filled state which we read about in Genesis 1-2 … before mankind had to deal with the serpent.

And, … when we come, in faith, to receive God’s free gift of grace and His salvation, we – one day – will be returned to a place – like God’s garden for His creation, mankind – to walk with God, for eternity, in the bliss of the relationship He created for us to enjoy with Him “in the beginning.”

Well, there’s my first day in reading through the Bible this year. And if you come along with me, I’ll be journaling my trek right here in this site each morning. Maybe not as long as this entry; but every day here. …

Happy New Year, my friend!

My Prayer Today: … Teach me, Lord, each day from Your word as I come here to get to know You more. Amen

Starting Over in the New Year

2011-12-31T07:10:00.004-06:00

As I write this after my quiet time with God this morning, it is the very end of my December; and we’re looking down the barrel of a new year, … that time when we human creatures are culturally and personally driven to review our past year and go into “New Year’s resolution” mode. Maybe you, as I am, are in this mode of thinking.

I think most of us, as we head into the New Year, would like to change something, do something better, or go into a restart mode of thinking; and so, if you feel that way (at least a little bit), stick with me here and let me share a few “starting over in the New Year” thoughts.

Each year, my computer is programmed to have me go back – on December 31 – and read/meditate on a poem which was written a number of years ago by the radio Bible teacher, Woodrow Kroll. It’s entitled, “START OVER.” Let me share it with you here.

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Start Over --- Woodrow Kroll

When you've trusted Jesus and walked His way,
When you've felt His hand lead you day by day,
But your steps now take you another way …
START OVER.

When you’ve made your plans and they’ve gone awry,
When you’ve tried your best 'til there’s no more try,
When you've failed yourself and you don’t know why …
START OVER.

When you’ve told your friends what you plan to do,
When you’ve trusted them but they’ve not come through,
Now you’re all alone and it’s up to you …
START OVER.

When you’ve failed your kids and they’re grown and gone,
When you’ve done your best but it turned out wrong,
And now your grandchildren have come along …
START OVER.

When you've prayed to God so you’ll know His will,
When you’ve prayed and prayed but you don’t know still,
When you want to stop cause you’ve had your fill …
START OVER.

When you think you’re finished and want to quit,
When you’ve bottomed out in life’s deepest pit,
When you’ve tried and tried to get out of it …
START OVER.

When the year's been long and successes few,
When December comes and you’re feeling blue,
God gives a January just for you …
START OVER.

Starting over means victories won,
Starting over means a race we run,
Starting over means the Lord’s “Well done,"
… so don’t just sit there ..
START OVER.
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And each year, as I am right now, I see at least a little bit of myself in Kroll’s poem; and I feel the need, from a deep-seated conviction, to move forward and “START OVER” with some aspect of my life. And having read the poem yourself, maybe you’re feeling a drive to lose some weight, to exercise more, or to manage the time or money God has given you more prudently or productively. Aw common, friend, admit it! You’d like to do a “start over” in some aspect of your life, wouldn’t you?

Well, as Woodrow Kroll so poetically writes, we can change, if we decide to … START OVER; and I’d like to give you some very powerful thoughts from no less than God’s word to help us be successful in doing our own, very personal, START OVER for this upcoming New Year. In each segment below, I will give you a passage from the Bible which I believe is going to help me do my START OVER for this next year. My prayer is that these words from this humble servant – but more importantly from God’s truth – will help you do your own START OVER into this next year. Actually there are many truths from Scripture which God can use to give us a START OVER boost into the New Year; but here are a few.

However, up front I need to make it clear that my writing and thoughts from here on are unashamedly for Christians who’re reading here. Since I will be invoking God’s word, if you’re reading this as a non-believer, or you don’t think that the Bible is absolute truth, you might as well just save your time and quit reading my thoughts. But, if, like me, you believe any scholarly translation of the Bible to be a vessel of God’s truth, then come along with me and let’s look at how God’s Spirit, the Author of His word, can give us some real help in our START OVER project.

And right here, one more important point, … my consciousness was pricked with the desire to be personally and spiritually successful in my START OVER for this upcoming year. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had New Year’s resolutions which fell by the wayside, in failure, … usually quite early into the year when I had declared these resolutions. I’ve done all the classics, … made resolutions to lose weight, which I need to do again this year; or maybe it was the ever-faithful, “I’ll exercise more” goal, both of which usually were broken in about a month or so. Therefore, if I’m going to be doing any START OVER moves this year, I want it to be a success. How about you?

Well, in that regard, I could not help but think of the very pertinent START OVER story of Joshua, right at the outset of the book in the Old Testament by his name. I’m sure many of you remember the historical context of the first nine verses of the Book of Joshua. Let me print them out for you here in the NIV …

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Joshua 1: 1 – 9 … 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
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I’m sure you probably remember this passage in context. Old Joshua was very likely all upset about his mentor, Moses, having just died; and God was charging Joshua to take His people across the Jordan into the long-awaited “promised-land.” And you just know in this “START OVER” task, Joshua had to have been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Certainly he had never done anything like this because Moses had always been THE leader of God’s people; but here he was thrust into that role. Overwhelming? You bet!

But God was there for Joshua, and above we read the very words of God, encouraging old Josh to move forward; and the Lord even gave this leader, probably feeling inadequate to the task, a START OVER prescription. Read verse 8 in bold above; and you’ll see that God told Joshua that he would be successful in this God-led task if – and only IF – Joshua would stay in God’s word, following the Lord’s truth, day and night, and doing everything in that Book of Truth to insure that Joshua would stay on track as he led God’s people into God’s promised land.

I don’t know what you’re promised-land is. Maybe it’s being a more healthy you. Maybe it’s being a better steward of God’s finances. But somehow you know that you need to START OVER; and you desire to do it right this time. Well, one principle we can glean from Joshua 1: 8 above and God’s charge to Joshua, is that to be spiritually successful we need to be in God’s word and follow it obediently – day and night!

That’s also the message of such Old Testament passages as those I’m going to lay out for you right here … Psalm 119: 105 … Your word is a lamp for my feet, … a light on my path. Or … Proverbs 3: 5 – 6 … Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; … in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

These three verses, the one from Joshua 1: 8 and the latter two, were drummed into my consciousness years ago with the help of a mentor, who taught me the spiritual value of Scripture memory. And I hope that you have seriously undertaken this discipline in your life as well. You see, when something comes up in my life; … maybe a controversy; … maybe a serious decision I must make; … very often a Scripture I have memorized will bubble out of from my consciousness, by the Holy Spirit, I believe, to help give me God’s truth or to guide me, especially if I’m moving to START OVER in some aspect of my life.

Even right now, as I write this, the very words of Jesus, which I memorized years ago from the NKJV, are bubbling up to give me guidance. They are found in Luke 9: 23; and you may know this exhortation which Jesus made to many of His disciples, … “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” It’s almost like Jesus is saying to me, “Bill, if you really want to do a START OVER, just let Me lead you; and if you’ll just surrender your circumstances to me, I’ll help you get this thing done!” And in this I’m also bolstered by two other truths which I’ve memorized from God’s word, … Proverbs 3: 5-6 again [quoted above] and Paul’s writing to believers in 1st Corinthians 10: 13 (if you don’t know this one, please go look it up).

As I’m sitting here, all of these truths are saying to me, “Bill, if you’re looking for a START OVER, let ME guide you into My promised-land; and when I give you MY START OVER, just for you, … you’ll know that doing it is the best START OVER for you; and also, if you go for it, following Me, and staying in My word, I’m going to lead you to success.” How about you? Is that what God’s truth, as I’ve laid out here, is saying to you? If not, I’d sure like to know what God is saying to you – from His word – about the need for you to follow God’s will for you in a START OVER.

My friend, God has given me my START OVER for the New Year. It is to read, meditate on, and journal (i.e., blog) what God gives me daily in reading through the chronological Bible reading program our church will be using in this next year. After some seeking and prayer, that’s where God is leading me into my own START OVER. ... What’s yours? ... I’d sure like for you to share your own START OVER with me; and if you’d be so inclined, you can email me @ willieb13@rocketmail.com and let me know your START OVER for the year … and maybe what God has given you from His word to encourage you as well.

Bill Berry, … December 31, 2011

December 31, 2011 … The Preeminence of Christ

2011-12-31T06:32:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 18 - 19 [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: This is the final devotional study focusing on Christology on the final day of this year. Note that John MacArthur has chosen to focus his teaching to believers about Christ by using Col. 1: 15 – 19 in these last days of the year; and we read MacArthur in his Strength For Today entry, charging his readers to “… be encouraged to meditate on the glory of Christ as revealed in this passage.” He goes on to write “… doing so will help you be transformed into Christ’s image and will prepare you to behold His glory in Heaven.”

And as we enter into a new year, meditating on the glory of Christ is a wonderful and most practical resolution for next year. For, as we read in Col. 1: 18 above, Christ is the Head of His Body; and we, the Church, make up that Body. Christ is our source and/or our beginning. He is the first and preeminent One from all who have been or ever will be raised from the dead for God’s glory.

Therefore, as we close out one year and enter into another, God’s Spirit leads me in this moment to return to a 19th century hymn, … the chorus which I have quoted several times in my devotionals this past year and one which penetrates my heart as I listen to it as I write this, … [And if you’d like to hear/sing along with this old hymn as you meditate here – go to this link]

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Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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As I’ve said, and hopefully practiced in my devotional life, … given the preeminence of Christ in the heart of any believer, … there can be no more powerful or practical meditation than can be found in the words of that hymn and the hope we have in Christ especially for the New Year.

Everyday this month, I’ve exhorted any who are reading these devotional entries to “stay tuned.” And the only way that I would do this for the New Year would be to say “STAY TUNED to Christ” in your life as you surrender to God’s Spirit and allow The Lord to rule and reign in your heart.

My Prayer Today: I look longingly, Lord, on You for all things in this upcoming new year. Amen

December 30, 2011 … Sustaining the Universe

2011-12-30T05:15:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 17 [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: Today in his Strength for Today devotional entry, John MacArthur highlights and discusses something that is a bit overwhelming in scope for many Christians (well, at least yours truly!) … that Christ holds all that He has created together to fulfill His Covenant plan for all time (see Col. 1: 17). Thinking of the vast expanse of all Christ created in the universe (see John 1: 1 – 3), little ole me would seem to be a very small part of God’s grand cosmic scheme. And one day, as we read in 2nd Peter 3: 10 - 13, God is going to fold all His former creation by fire into nothingness, creating a New Jerusalem (i.e., new Heaven) for His church; and that includes – you guessed it - little ole me. And though God is the Alpha and Omega and was/is the great I AM (see Micah 5: 2, Rev. 22: 13, and John 8: 58), He is MY Savior and Lord, making little ole me of infinitely great importance to Him and a very real part of why our Lord will bring down His new Heaven for His Bride (as was promised in John 14: 1 – 4).

And all I can say, very meekly and humbly here, is … WOW!

Think about this in the grand scheme of the universe. God created little ole ME (and you) for HIS glorious purpose; and so, this makes it a very BIG deal for me to live my life in accord with His purpose (i.e., His will). Meditate on this further, my dear one! Just as Christ, the Alpha and Omega, will sustain the whole universe He created; so, in His purpose and timing, He will sustain me (and you) as well … as part of His very special plan for His Bride.

Really, bringing this into focus makes one realize just how important it is for us to live in pursuit of and vigilance for God’s plan for our lives. That’s what Peter discussed as he referred to Paul’s teachings on this matter (in 2nd Peter 3: 14 – 18); and most certainly it’s all about what Paul was preaching/teaching in a number of his New Testament letters … that our lives are to be lived in obedience to God’s will so that God’s plan for our lives can be fulfilled in our relationship with Christ.

As we enter this upcoming new year, are we, as Christians, aspiring to and living out God’s will for our lives? If not, there is no better place and time for us to make the commitment to do so than right NOW! I pray that I do that; and I pray, dear one, that you do so as well. But we have one final day this year to concentrate on Christ and what He has done for us as believers; and I would predict that you’ve already said it for me – “… stay tuned!”

My Prayer Today: Hold me, Lord; and sustain me for Your design in Your time. Amen

December 29, 2011 … Christ Is The Creator

2011-12-29T06:04:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 16 [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: I think we’ve all, on a clear night, have looked into the night sky, being awe struck by all the stars we see. And then to think that there are billions of galaxies, each of which have millions or billions of stars that we can’t see with the naked eye. … Wow!

And the Apostle Paul, through the message of today’s passage to believers at Colosse, wanted to make it clear to Christians who had been exposed to heretical teachings about Jesus that it was Christ who had created all we see in the heavens. However, MacArthur writes something we all need to keep in mind, “Even more amazing is, not that man [sees the stars] or has gone into space, but that God came to earth. In Christ, the invisible God who created everything and everyone became visible to man. How sad that while man looks into space, he refuses to look at the One Who came to earth.” … To any Christian who reads this, do I sense an “AMEN?”

Certainly the lost – i.e., those who refuse to worship the God-Man - reject the One Who became our Savior. But I’m afraid that even Christians all too often do not worship God with the awe Christ, our Creator, deserves. For those who reject or humanize Christ’s deity, such ignorance of worship is understandable; but we who call Him “Lord” should come to our Savior, before His throne of grace, absolutely and utterly in awe. Think of it! We are able, because of God’s grace, to come to the very Creator of the universe with our any/all of our needs and to petition the exalted Lord Himself, anytime, anyplace. Is that not the most awesome deal there ever was?!!

And yes, in these waning December days there will be a little more opportunity to learn and to meditate more about Him; so, as I’ve said each day this month, “Stay tuned!”

My Prayer Today: O, Lord, please forgive my pitiful worship. You are the Great I AM; and I bow before You this day. May I live for You as well. Amen

December 28, 2011 … The Inheritance of Christ

2011-12-28T05:41:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15b NIV … [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

My Journal for Today: Today’s verse, again from Colossians 1, tells us much about the preeminence of Christ as the God-Man. Paul was writing to the Church about heretics in his day who wanted to deny Christ’s deity, much like the Jehovah-Witness cult would today, using today’s verse as support for their beliefs, saying that the reference to “firstborn” would indicate that Jesus of Nazareth, being a firstborn human, could not therefore be the eternal God.

However, as MacArthur indicates in his Strength for Today entry for this date, such an interpretation and/or translation of Col. 1: 15b, ignores the Greek meaning for the term “firstborn,” which is “prototokos.” This term can, as Jehovah’s Witnesses contend, mean the firstborn in a family, whether human or animal. However, when it refers to royalty or positional authority, in this case referring to Christ’s position in and over creation, it takes on a broader, more encompassing connotation. In the latter case it refers to ranking by inheritance or position; and here Paul is referring to Christ’s ranking as THE ONE with the right of inheritance over all creation.

If any rational person were to study Col. 1: 15 – 17, he/she would see that the context clearly argues against any who would say that Christ couldn’t be God because of His human birth. Rather, we can declare from this text, with Paul, that Christ, though born a human, was, is, and always will be The One from Whom all creation emanates.

You know, … if you’re a golf fan, many times when a prominent golfer tees off in a tournament on TV, you’ll hear somebody yell, “You ‘da man!!” in the background. Well, when it comes to Jesus, we should be shouting out loudly, “YOU are THE Man, dear Jesus!!” And all should hear from our lips and see in our lives the truth of divinity in this man, Jesus, the Son of God, for Whom we should live our lives in worship.

I don’t know about you, but this study in Christology this month, with the help of God’s Spirit and John MacArthur has been most edifying, reminding me of Who Christ is and what He has done for all mankind in His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and intercession. Just a few more days; but stay tuned for a bit more about our Lord; and learning anything more about The Christ is worth the effort.

My Prayer Today: You are THE ONE, Lord! Amen

December 27, 2011 … God Becomes Visible

2011-12-27T06:36:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight passage to the Colossians (and to all believers) from Paul states, “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God.” And Hebrews 1: 3 states, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” And Jesus Himself declared (in John 14: 9), “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” This was true for all those men and women who were blessed to see the live Jesus as He walked the earth. When they saw Jesus, they saw God. And I have a tendency to think that those folks who lived and walked and saw Jesus, had an advantage over those before Him and we who come later. However, as John MacArthur rightfully points out, Christ has been the “image of God” from all eternity, not just from the time of His incarnation, that event of all times which we have just celebrated at Christmas and during the Advent Season.

As the God-Man, however, Jesus presented all mankind with an exact human “eikon” (Greek for “likeness” from which we get our English word “icon”) in the flesh of the invisible God. For a season of time He was the invisible God in visible humanity. And now we know that Christ’s claim that He was/is, in the flesh, the “I AM” of the Old Testament (see John 8: 58) was true. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God in the flesh, which Paul often, and forcefully, proclaimed, as he did in today’s text (see also Col. 2: 9 and Titus 2: 13). And that is the image that we, as Christians should reflect as we aspire/attempt to walk in Christlikeness [see and remember Eph. 4: 1-2 and Phil. 2: 5 cited earlier this month]. When Christ commanded us to shine His light through our good (i.e., Godly) works (as He did in Matt. 5: 16), we need to look no further than to the God-Man model of Jesus Christ to see what kind of light we should be shining into this sin-darkened world so that the lost as well as sinful Christians can see Christ in our lives, glorifying the Father in Heaven.

What about you? Will you join me this day, tomorrow, and into the New Year with the goal of shining the Light of Christ in what we think, say, and do? And to that end, stay tuned as we finish our December study of Christ so that we can be brighter lights in the New Year.

My Prayer Today: O, Lord, shine Your Light through me. Amen

December 26, 2011 … Defending the Faith

2011-12-26T06:40:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 – 19 … 15 He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: Okay, we move from Paul’s strong declaration of Christ’s humanity and deity in Philippians 2 to another passage, this time in Colossians, the first chapter, where the Apostle stood strong for the reality and truth of Jesus Christ being the God-Man.

Today, in our post-modern culture, Christians are often challenged by those who deny Christ’s deity, just as Paul was when Epaphrus, the evangelist/founder of the church at Colosse, apparently wrote to Paul about the same type of ill-informed heresy we see now in our post-modern world. Paul writes, from prison in Rome, to his Christian brothers/sisters in Colosse, his spirited defense of true Christian doctrine to help Epaphrus and other Colossian believers to understand that teachings or beliefs which de-emphasize the preeminence of Christ and emphasize human knowledge/understanding distorting the true gospel are nothing but heresy, concocted by man to elevate himself and to humanize God. As we read in today’s text, Paul stood strong for the truth of Christ’s deity and authority over all things. Actually, today’s passage is a powerful exposition of God’s truth concerning Christology, … i.e., Christ’s deity and preeminent authority as LORD of all.

When we, as assertive believers, witnessing our faith, are confronted by those who choose to ignore the evidence of history and reject the deity of Christ (as I did for many years, calling myself “agnostic”), those who know and believe the truth must stand as was exhorted by Peter in 1st Peter 3: 15 – 16, when he wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have [in Christ]. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” And today in our highlight passage in Colossians 1, we have a role model presentation of such a defense of the faith.

For years I did all I could to discount the witness of Christians who tried to stand for their faith when I challenged them with my doubts and questions. I would not listen to their testimonies of how Christ had brought them to a place of faith in His deity or from their stories of His transforming grace. But finally, in 1983, one such testimony of a young quadriplegic man who found His strength in Christ’s grace brought me to a place where I could reach out and find the truth of Christ’s Lordship. But it took many Christians, standing for their faith over many years to break through my veneer of egoism. So, you may encounter those, as I was, who will discount the truth of Jesus being God in the flesh. But stand in your faith! Stand like Paul did for the Colossians, telling the truth of Christ and how He has shaped and changed your life.

There’s great power in a personal testimony. In fact, one might argue about biblical interpretations, claiming (though falsely) that the Bible is irrelevant. But no one can argue with a strongly stated testimony. My testimony is mine! And no one can tell me that my belief in Christ has not changed my life. At 39, I was a hardened and cynical agnostic [probably more accurately called an “atheist”], deeply entrenched in habitual sin for most of my adult life. My marriage was almost broken; and my career was near the breaking point as well because of my spiritual weakness. And then came Christ; and my surrender to follow Him as my Lord changed everything. And here I am today, writing this as an Ordained Minister of the Gospel and an Elder in my church with a wonderful, renewed marriage and fulfilling life of ministry. Only Christ, and His Lordship in my life, could have shaped the person that is Bill Berry today. As they say down here in the South, “It’s a God thing!”

A mocker or disbeliever can misinterpret Scripture or foolishly deny the deity of Christ to my face; but, no one could tell me that my story isn’t true! And I hope that you will take any opportunity you might have into this upcoming New Year to declare to those who challenge Christ in your life so that you can let your story tell the truth about Christ’s deity and how He is transforming you.

And with that in mind, we will be exploring more of Paul’s exposition of Christ’s Lordship in his letter to the Colossians; so, yes, … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: I will stand for You always, Lord. Amen

December 25, 2011 … The Purpose of Christ’s Exaltation

2011-12-25T06:02:00.002-06:00

Blogger's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!!

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Everything Jesus did, through His incarnation, which we celebrate on this date, and through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, was/is for the glory of God, The Father (see Phil. 2: 11). It is true that God, The Father, declares Himself to be the One and only God (see Exodus 20: 2 – 3 and Isaiah 45: 5a). However, as MacArthur relates in today’s Strength for Today entry, both Matt. 17: 5 and John 5: 23 declare, from the majesty of the Trinity, that all who honor God, The Son, give glory to God, The Father. They are One; and our lives are lived to glorify our TRINITARIAN God.

Therefore, as I meditate here on Christmas morning, I’m drawn, with conviction, to the realization that when I confess Christ as my Lord and I live in obedience to His word, doing all I can to reflect His Light into the world, I give honor and glory to The Father just as did His Son, Jesus (see Matt. 5: 16). And when the fruit of God [see Gal. 5: 22 – 23], the Spirit, are manifest in my life, again God, The Father, is glorified (see John 15: 8).

So, in this time of Advent reflection and celebration of Christ’s birth, we see that Christ’s exaltation by God, The Father, was to affirm that Christ would be glorified by His Church; and in so doing, God, The Father becomes greatly glorified. And likewise, when we worship Christ as our Lord with lives being directed by the Holy Spirit, we become the “living sacrifices” described by Paul in Rom. 12: 1; and in so doing we bring glory to our Father in Heaven. It is perfect circular redundancy; and the more it becomes our life of worship, we live to be God’s glory.

That is what all of this Christology has been about this month. I pray that it has touched you the way it has me; and tomorrow we switch to another passage from Paul in Colossians to round out these last few days in December; so, stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: On this special day to honor my Lord’s birth, may my life be lived to honor You, my Father in Heaven. Amen

December 24, 2011 … A Call to Worship

2011-12-24T06:35:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Yes, … same passage as yesterday; and any time a Bible teacher, like John MacArthur or yours truly, surveys a passage repeatedly, it will be for emphasis; and that is most certainly the case here. Studying Christology this month, MacArthur wants his Strength for Today readers [like me] to see the wondrous future which lies ahead for the unfallen Angels, for all redeemed believers whose spirits await glorified bodies in Heaven, and for all the living, who, like myself, worship Christ as Savior AND LORD.

Think on it, … meditate on it, … and celebrate it in this Advent season! For all rational humans who “confess” (i.e., affirm and/or acknowledge) the exalted Christ as Lord AND Savior will be able to worship our Lord in perfect and glorified closeness for all eternity (see that clearly stated in Romans 10: 9 – 13). However, for all rational beings who do not confess Jesus as Lord, there awaits the horror of bowing to worship The Christ as Lord in the eternal pit of separation, darkness, and the fires of hell.

Yes, ALL rational created beings will bow the knee of worship to the risen and exalted Christ, … the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I pray that whomever reads this has completely surrendered to the Living Lord, declaring in faith that HE is your Savior AND Lord. And I pray, on this Christmas Eve, that your life joins mine in celebrating the Advent birth of our risen Lord with our lives of sacrifice and service, … lives of living worship (see Romans 12: 1-2 which can be our only gift to Him for His gift to us, … the greatest gift of all.

No more words really need be written here about Christ; but there is more … so, yes, … stay tuned; we still have one more week in this current devotional study about Christ – and then a whole lifetime, actually an eternity, to get to know Him more closely!

My Prayer Today: May we all worship Your Holy and exalted Name, dear LORD. Amen

December 23, 2011 … Responding to Christ’s Exaltation

2011-12-23T07:02:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly “bow” in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' “ Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!

The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime [as we’ve been studying here the past few days], their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.

That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life [see Romans 12: 1], and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know - that you know that you know - that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.

Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen

December 22, 2011 … Submitting to Christ As LORD

2011-12-22T05:28:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: I know, if you’ve been following my blogs the last few days, it may seem like I’m being redundant. But trust me, my fellow believer, this repetition is important stuff!

Yesterday, we briefly looked at the untenable position (at least in my estimation) of one who believes that Christ is his Savior but has not truly received Him as Lord. Today, John MacArthur in his devotional entry stresses the inability for one to call himself “Christian” and hold this position. He writes this, “Jesus is Lord; and if you refuse Him as Lord, you cannot call Him Savior.” These are challenging words and perhaps even convicting for some, especially for those who believe they have the “fire insurance” of salvation, knowing that they are sinners and believing Jesus died for them as their Savior.

But when one reads, in today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9, 11), that God, The Father, has established Christ as “LORD;” and then, if you go on to read Romans 10: 9, one must see that to be truly saved one must believe and confess, with a heart-felt commitment, that “Jesus is LORD.” As I wrote yesterday, it’s a “package deal,” and one cannot have all that salvation affords without making Christ his Lord as well as his Savior.

Okay, I’m being repetitive again! But my following friend, this is worthy of repetition! I’m afraid there are many who sit in church pews every Sunday, who would call themselves “Christian” if they were surveyed as to their “beliefs.” And if you ask them, “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life,” they may even answer affirmatively. However, their lives cannot attest to the reality of Christ being their Lord because the fruit of the Spirit is not on their tree of life (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Rather, one finds the fruit of the flesh, growing so evidently (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21) with only token and occasional verbal repentance – but no real life transformation to give witness to the reality of Christ’s Lordship in their life.

These are those who will tragically say at Heaven’s gate, “Lord Jesus, I have always called you, “my Lord,” … to which He would say, “I never really knew you.” And these nominal “christians” thought they had the fire insurance of Heaven and they will spend eternity in hell because they had not received and acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in their lives. So, my friend, is this not SERIOUS business? THEREFORE …

To any who read this: I declare this to be VERY serious business [!]; and though this is the Advent Season, a time of joyful celebration of Christ’s birth, it is a most serious time of year if one has not truly given over his or her life to Christ’s Lordship. I truly pray, as I write this, that anyone reading this and needing to surrender to Christ as Lord as well as Savior will DO IT NOW! Move into the New Year with a newly established commitment and covenant with Jesus as your Savior AND your Lord. Find someone whom you respect as a Christian and confess to them, as well as to God, that you need to be in TOTAL surrender to Christ as Lord AND Savior. Ask that person to help you be accountable to Christ’s Lordship; and develop an action plan (a “battle plan,” if you will) to this new level of covenant surrender. If you do this, I could imagine Christ one day, in Heaven, saying to you, “Well, done, my friend. As your Lord, I have smiled on your service.”

And so, let us move on to grow even closer to our LORD. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: I will say it again. Dear Jesus, You are my LORD! Amen

December 21, 2011 … Jesus Is Savior AND Lord

2011-12-21T06:33:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: What I’m about to write may not sit well with some who call themselves, “Christian.” However, today’s repeated passage again declares – for emphasis – that Jesus Christ is “LORD.” And this has a stark and powerful implication when it comes to salvation. According to John MacArthur in his entry today for Strength for Today, the truth that Jesus is LORD is affirmed over 700 times in the New Testament; and no more clearly than in Acts 2: 36, where Peter in his great evangelical sermon declared, “…let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Christ.“ [All caps to emphasize the conjunction “AND,” which connects Jesus as Christ AND LORD.]

It is an enigma to MacArthur, and to yours truly, that some, who think they are “Christian,” can believe - and even teach - that one can be saved by receiving and believing in Jesus, The Christ, BEFORE they receive Christ as their Lord. And I totally agree with MacArthur in today’s devotional entry when he asserts that such an assumption is “… completely unbiblical, … in effect … saying Christ isn’t Lord until we give Him permission to be so in our lives.” Looking at Acts 2: 21 and 16: 31 clearly shows, as MacArthur proclaims, “… to be saved, you must confess Jesus as LORD.

Salvation is a package deal, … acceptance of Jesus as CHRIST AND LORD. We cannot separate out Christ, the Savior, from Christ, the Lord; because without Christ’s authority as Lord of all, Jesus [whose Name means “God Who saves”] could never be the saving Christ. So, as Christians, we must realize that to be saved – i.e., truly born again as believers – Christ must be our LORD to be our Savior; and as saved Christians, Christ’s authority and Lordship will rule over our lives forever! We can only be “living sacrifices” and live transformed lives, as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, if Christ is truly the LORD of our life.

Therefore, as we move through the Advent season, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I truly repented of my sin condition and confessed Christ as The LORD of my life in believing Him to be my Savior?” If not, NOW is the time do so – and be saved by the authority of Christ, as Lord AND Savior. And making Jesus “the LORD” means total submission to His Lordship with all that such surrender entails. Perhaps this year is the year that you will truly bow before God’s throne of grace and make Christ the LORD of ALL THINGS in your life.

And to that end, we will see more of our LORD this month. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: O, dear Jesus, You are LORD of all!! Amen

December 20, 2011 … The Authority of Christ’s Name

2011-12-20T06:55:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined and my emphasis IN ALL CAPS] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: For emphasis and due importance, John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today entry returns to highlight the phrase “JESUS CHRIST IS LORD,” emphasized in all caps here and above from Phil. 2: 11. Yesterday we explored the renaming process which Jesus [it would be advisable for you to go back and read my entry for 12/19 if you haven’t read it], the re-ascended God-Man, “Jesus,” has assumed from God, the Father, the Name above all names, being re-coronated as “Lord” and sitting at the Right Hand of His Father in Heaven. And from there Christ, as ”LORD” of all, could intercede as High Priest for all whom had come to Him in faith, declaring Him to be Lord and Savior by their repentance and living worship [Rom. 10: 9-13 and Rom. 12: 1].

As we noted yesterday, the reference to the Name for Jesus as “LORD” is the Greek term “KURIOS,” which can be a general term for a supreme ruler with all authority. However, in this context, it would refer to God, The Messiah, Whom Jews had used the Hebrew equivalent of “J@hovah,” the proper Name in Hebrew for the One true God. An Old Testament example would be in Isaiah 45: 21, where we read, “Was it not I, the LORD [Y@hovah]? And there is no God [Elohiym] apart from Me, a righteous God [El] and a Savior [Yasha]; there is none but Me.”

Here you see [in parentheses] various references in the Hebrew language to the supreme God; but when He refers to Himself, by Name, the Name God, the Holy Spirit, uses in Scripture is “J@hovah,” of which the Greek equivalent was/is “Kurios” and the English is “Jehovah.” I use “Y@hovah” because the Jews of that day would not even write or try to pronounce that name because it was considered so unspeakably holy. Their verbal equivalent was “Yahweh,” which we see referenced in Bible translations occasionally. In other words, names were of vast importance to those who read from the Scriptures in the Old Testament of that day.

And so, here we have the God imposed Name above all names given to the exalted One, Jesus, Who is now our “LORD,” the High Priest in Heaven, the Name to which He should be referred and given all reverence due Him. He is the Savior, J@hovah, to Whom all knees will bow and tongues confess as “LORD.” Yes, He is J@hovah, … Kurios; … he is MY LORD!

Really, this matter is emphasized by MacArthur (and by myself here) to allow us all to understand and declare the reverence Christ deserves to command in our thought processes, our prayers, and our witness. But as I’ve indicated in days past, I’m afraid that all too often I hear others, even so-called “Christians,” trying to humanize THE LORD, giving Him name references, like “The Big Guy” or “Papa God.” I know that the latter comes from a Scriptural reference to “Abba Father,” as we read Jesus referring to His Father in Heaven in Mark 14: 36 or Paul’s similar reference in Romans 8: 15. Others may be able to give our God proper reverence by using a term like “Papa God.” However, I - personally - am uncomfortable using such a personalized reference in referring to “MY LORD.” When I hear that kind of name for God, I recoil a bit; … only because I do not desire, as one of God’s children, whom He created for His glory, to try to bring God down to my level. Others may feel right about such a personal name for God, our Lord; but I am not one of those.

God is not to be humanized. He is God; … and we are not! He is “LORD;” … and we are not!! He is our King of kings; and He is our Lord of lords; and we must give Him the Named authority in our lives to which He deserves. He is J@havoah … Kurios … LORD! Only then can we come to His throne of grace with the humility He deserves as we pray before that Throne and our High Priest in Heaven hears our prayers. And I hope you are reading into my words the fear of God and the reverence to which I hold my “Lord” God. May I never try to Name Him in such a way as to trivialize Who He is in MY heart. Others can call our Lord whatever they are at peace to do so; but when I pray, “In the Name of Jesus,” may I always be thinking and feeling in my heart of hearts that He is now – and ever more will be - my “Lord.”

Yes, we’re being redundant here; but our LORD is deserving of this repetition and emphasis; and there will be more; … so, … yes, … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Again, all that needs to be said with regard to Your Name, Lord, is HALLELUJAH! Amen

December 19, 2011 … Christ’s New Name

2011-12-19T07:35:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Names in the 1st century and even earlier in the middle-eastern historical cultures, in what we might refer to as “Old Testament times,” were important designators of character; and changes in name, especially from persons of authority, were almost like titles of promotion or affirmation from the one who renamed a given person.

Think of how God renamed Abram to become “Abraham;” or when The Lord, God, renamed Jacob to be “Israel.” Jesus renamed Simon, the fisherman, to be “Peter” to designate whom Christ knew Peter would become in God’s kingdom. Certainly Simon, the impulsive, foot-in-the-mouth fisherman, who denied Jesus three times, would not be recognized at the time he bolted and ran in the garden to be “Peter,” the rock of faith who would become the steady foundation for those of faith in early Christendom. But Christ knew the character which would be reflected in the name “Peter,” and so our Lord had renamed Simon to be “Peter,” the man who would one day be transformed into one of the foundational pillars of His Church.

If I may personalize this discussion a bit [as humbly as I can], at birth I was named “William” by my parents. I’ve since learned that my given name comes from the Germanic origin of “Wilhelm,” which in two parts means “wil,” referring to will or desire and “helm,” which refers to a helmet or protection. This name, therefore in other cultures, came to refer to “conqueror” or “protector/leader” and was given to such a legendary leader as William, the Conqueror, the first peasant king of England. There was also William Wallace, the legendary Scottish rebel leader, and William Tell, the legendary 14th Century Swiss hero and warrior; and finally there was William of Orange, the famous Dutch hero/leader. Certainly, however, as I was living my early life, deeply into the dualism of hidden sexual sin, one would have never thought my name might reflect the transformed character who would one day lead a ministry like Battle Plan Ministry. Obviously God knew something about how my name would mean something more for His purposes later in my life.

Really, I find it fascinating that God would inspire my parents to dub me “William” at birth and then through a wondrous set of circumstances, I would become one whom God would lead to conquer the will of sin in my life and to ultimately lead a ministry for those who desire to likewise conquer their own self-will and live lives as conquerors in freedom from the will of the flesh. This happened because I, “William,” was willing to surrender my “will” to God’s “protection,” which is the definition of the name I was given at birth. Go figure!

Well, in today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9 – 11), we read that God, The Father, renamed Jesus upon His exaltation, giving Him a Name that was above every other name. John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today devotional, points out that many in reading verse 10 (see above) of today’s passage assume that this special Name given to Christ by God, The Father, was “Jesus.” However, if this were the case, this would not be a change of names. He was already named “Jesus.” No, … a careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus’ exalted new Name upon His re-glorification was “Lord.” Verse 11 clearly exposes that the exalted Christ, once re-glorified and re-coronated, would henceforth be called “Lord” by all in Heaven and should be that to all of us who live on earth. This Name, “Lord,” which is “Kurios” in the Greek, is defined from the Greek as “God, the Messiah.” And that Name, “Lord,” for Jews would be “Y@hovah,” … the supreme God … the great “I Am.” As verse 11 declares above, no other Name can reflect glory upon God, The Father, as does ”Lord;” and it is the Name to which we should give our Savior, reflecting best His character and glory to all who Know Him.

To me this is such exciting stuff, especially contemplated here at Christmas, as we reflect upon our LORD during the Advent season. But stay tuned, there’s even more.

My Prayer Today: As my Savior, You are my LORD forever! Amen

December 18, 2011 … The Privileges of Christ’s Exaltation

2011-12-18T07:12:00.001-06:00

December 17, 2011 … The Meaning of Christ’s Exaltation

2011-12-17T06:57:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Okay, today we’re back again in Phil. 2, with a focus on the one phrase from verse 9a, “… God exalted Him (Christ) to the highest place.” I believe John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, has taken his readers back to the theology of Christ’s exaltation so that we can gain a more complete understanding of what Christ gave up in His incarnation, life, and death on earth and what He attained in living as the God-Man.

MacArthur poses an interesting rhetorical question in his devotional entry for today, writing, “… how could Jesus be exalted since He was (already) fully God?” However, by returning to Christ’s High Priestly prayer, we read Christ (in John 17: 5) asking His Heavenly Father to be restored to His former glory. And ultimately, as we read in today’s verse, when this actually happened, which it did in His ascension and re-coronation (as we’ve seen), Christ reacquired His former status in the union of the God-Head – but with something added!

Now, restored to His glory bound position in the Trinity in the Godhead, and having lived out the reality of sinless humanity, the exalted Christ could – and has – become High Priest, Who can – and does – intercede and be the Advocate for God’s people (i.e., those who’ve received Him as Lord and Savior). And as our re-glorified God-Man Priest, … our Messiah, … my Lord … knows and has felt all that I am; and as my Savior-Priest, He can and does intercede for me before God, the Father, with infinite empathy, shielding my sin nature from the wrath of God and letting me wear His Own Robes of Righteousness to cover my rags of sin. When God, the Father, looks at me (or you, if you’re saved), He doesn’t see my sin. He sees my positional purity, having been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son.

I hope you’re getting the picture of our fully restored Savior in Heaven and what He set aside to become a Man like no other man, becoming a Servant King on my (and your) behalf. But there’s more; so, as I keep saying this month, … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I praise Your Holy and Priestly Name! Amen

December 16, 2011 … Seeing the Majesty of Christ

2011-12-16T07:03:00.004-06:00

Passage of the Day: Hebrews 1: 1 - 14 … [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] 1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and He will be my Son"? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship Him." 7 In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire." 8 But about the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy." 10 He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and your years will never end." 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

My Journal for Today: Today’s devotional by John MacArthur in Strength for Today, taking a departure from the first chapter from our study of Philippians 2, moving to that of Hebrews, Chapter1, which expresses a truth that is all too absent in the world today, and one which is sorely wanting even among Christians; and that is a surrendered awe for the majesty of the exalted Lord, … our Savior, Jesus Christ. Certainly the so-called “secular” world shows no reverence for Christ. Rather, there is a growing disdain for even His Name to appear in our culture as we see a growing movement to have the concepts of “Christ” or “God” stripped from all public venues. And all too often we find Christians trivializing our Lord with public or verbal references such as “The Man upstairs” or “the big guy in Heaven.” I even balk a bit when I hear someone pray to “Papa God,” though I know that there is some Biblical precedence for this reference in the phrase “Abba Father.”

As I read, study, and meditate on today’s text from Hebrews 1 suggested by MacArthur, I’m reminded by God’s word that Christ is the “Heir of all things” and the unique Son of God; and from Revelations 5: 1 – 7 [linked here for your study] we see that He is the “Lion of Judah” and the “Radiance of God’s glory,” … the One and only One, Whose blood was shed as the “Lamb of God” so that you and I, as believers, could become Kingdom Priests to serve God as Heirs to His throne. Now is that not an image that needs to be lifted up and given a lifestyle of worship in our culture?

Why then do men mock Him and crucify Him socially in our culture? Why do we Christians have a tendency to humanize our Lord so much and so often. Of course, we can see how a world devised and led by Satan would be blinded to and or in antipathy of Jesus; but why do we Christians want to bring Our Lord down to human level, trivializing the exalted Name of Christ? As we’ve been studying this month in Phil. 2, God, the Son, was exalted and re-coronated unto His throne in Glory by God, the Father; and He has provided the way, through His Spirit, for our eternal glory as His heirs. The least we can do is to worship Him in the Glory and with the Name He deserves. He is our LORD!

Don’t you agree that we, as Christians, should (no, I say we “must”) elevate Christ’s image in our lives to reflect the truth of the One we serve and worship? Only by doing so with the worship of our lives, our 24/7 witness to His Name, … a worthy walk of faith, … will we reflect His radiant Light into the dark world for all to see Him in us and to be able to glorify our Father in Heaven (see and mediate on a verse that you probably have memorized, Matt. 5: 16).

This morning I’m convicted to the bone; so I look forward to the remainder of our series to elevate the Name of Christ in my heart and mind. That’s why again I say, “Stay tuned.”

My Prayer Today: O Lord, as ever, I stand in awe and bow before Your majesty. Amen

December 15, 2011 … Christ’s Coronation and Intercession

2011-12-15T06:21:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: With the help of John MacArthur, I (we) have seen that Christ’s exaltation involved four elements; and yesterday we looked at two of them: RESURRECTION and ASCENSION. However, it was the latter two, CORONATION and INTERCESSION, which allowed believers to have freedom from the condemnation of our sin condition; and this was due to the establishment of Christ’s Heavenly Priesthood.

Both Mark 16: 19 and Ephesians 1: 20 – 22 document that upon Christ’s ascension into Heaven, He was seated at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on the Throne of Glory with all power, authority, and dominion restored to Him. And besides this re-coronation to His Throne, which He had set aside (i.e., remember our discussion about the kenosis) during His earthly incarnation and ministry, our Lord was given the role of our eternal High Priest to be our advocate, interceding on behalf of saved believers forever. Both Hebrews 4: 15 and 7: 25, as we read two days ago, clearly declare Christ’s Priesthood and intercession in sending His Spirit to minister to the lives of declared Christians; and that process has granted believers like me (and prayerfully, you) faith, repentance, forgiveness, and God’s grace to become completed in Christ from sanctification in our lives on this earth and glorification in the next life in Heaven. I would charge you to do a deep reading through Ephesians, Chapters 4 – 9, to get the full picture of the importance and outcome of Christ’s coronation and intercession. And having just done that, I would also charge my followers here to go back and read Christ’s wondrous prayer for His disciples in John 17: 6 – 26 - to which I’ll link you here - His intercession having begun even before He ascended into Heaven.

And how can a Christian meditate on that John 17 prayer, what is really THE LORD’S PRAYER, and not come away in wonder at the Savior, Who was about to go to the Cross on our behalf, praying this prayer for His Father’s children? In the prayer, in John 17: 5, we read Jesus imploring His Father, “…Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” And that is what our focus on this day has been, … Christ’s re-glorification and re-coronation into His eternal Priesthood.

OH GLORY UPON GLORY, our High Priest lives and ever moves to intercede for His subjects; and I pray that you, as I am, are one of those subjects. And tomorrow we leave Phil. 2 for a day to delve into another wondrous passage about Christ’s glory. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: O Lord, all I can say from my meditation today is HALLELUJAH [!] and Amen !!!

December 14, 2011 … Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension

2011-12-14T06:36:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following this month as I dwell with John MacArthur on the subject of Christology, and even more specifically on Christ’s character of humility, it may seem like MacArthur and I are lingering with redundancy on certain elements of the Apostle Paul’s passage in Phil. 2: 5-11. Well, this may be so; but I can see that MacArthur is doing so because of the importance of the subject matter – and that is CHRIST. If we are to live up to the exhortation [in Phil. 2: 5] to be like Christ, then it’s vastly important that we understand EXACTLY Whom we’re emulating – and that’s our Lord and Savior. Hence MacArthur is dwelling [and I’m joining him] on the important aspects of Christ’s character this month. As I’ve said along the way, ”Stay tuned!”

Here we are again, looking at Christ’s exaltation after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven; and I must admit that if Strength for Today had not lingered on this subject, I would not likely have seen how important and wonderful this matter of Christ being exalted is to our knowing our Lord. Yesterday MacArthur mentioned – in passing – four components of Christ’s exaltation that we need to understand: resurrection, ascension, coronation, and intercession. Today our author/shepherd elaborates on the first two of these; and the first is RESURRECTION.

In Acts 13: 32 – 39 [PLEASE be sure to read this – linked for you here in NASB!], we read Dr. Luke’s account of Paul preaching to the Jews (and some Gentiles present) in a Synagogue in Antioch. There Paul gave the people a history lesson, preaching the good news of Christ being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies [several are referenced in this passage], Christ having been raised from the dead to save God’s people from their sin. In this passage in Acts, Paul’s preaching quoted from Ps. 2: 7, Is. 55: 3, and especially from Ps. 16: 10 where David had prophesied that The Messiah would never decay in the ground [a prophesy of Christ’s resurrection]. And MacArthur emphasizes this wondrous lesson where he writes, “Christ’s death and resurrection provided forgiveness and freedom from sin, the law, and death.” And we Christians, especially in these days of commercialized Christmases, need to take time to dwell on this gift of amazing grace to all mankind. And we need to recognize that without the truth of the resurrection, Christianity falls into nothingness.

Next we read from Acts 1: 9 – 11 and 2: 33 an exposition of the second component of Christ’s exaltation, … His ASCENSION, where our Messiah and Savior was lifted up to sit at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on His Throne of Glory in Heaven. And my beloved, we need to dwell on this! We will be exalted as well; but not until we live out this Spirit-enabled life as Christ’s witnesses (see Act. 1: 8); and we are either resurrected after our death or we are transported to Glory when Christ comes again. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wrap my finite mind around this latter truth … that God would think so much of ME that He would humble Himself as a man, walk on earth displaying His deity, die in humiliation on a cross, be resurrected by God’s Spirit, ascend to Heaven, be re-coronated by God, the Father, into His former Glory, and now to intercede for ME in Heaven. No, I may not completely grasp these truths; but I believe them as THE GOSPEL truth!

And tomorrow we’ll go into more of Christ’s exaltation … so, (yes), stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: And with Your charge, Lord, to witness in Your name, I go forth. Amen

December 13, 2011 … Elements of Christ’s Exaltation

2011-12-13T05:52:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Yesterday we considered and saw the perfect evidence of God’s law of reciprocation, the wondrous balance of God’s justice for God, the Son, Who humbled Himself for mankind that we might be lifted up to Glory with Him. However, this law worked first and foremost – and perfectly - for Jesus; and what a wondrous sequence it is to contemplate the exaltation of Christ, following the kenosis [i.e., emptying] of His glory and majesty in the incarnation, … that He, having died for mankind, would be resurrected by God, the Holy Spirit, ascended to Heaven to the Right Hand of God, The Father (see Acts 2: 32 – 33; Acts 5: 30 – 31) and then to be honored above all by His Coronation so that He might serve eternally in intercession for you and me and His Church as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4: 14 and 7: 25). Contemplate these truths, fellow Christian!

As John MacArthur puts it in his Strength for Today entry today, “He (Jesus) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Then He was seated on the throne of God to intercede as High Priest of His people.” Oh, … I hope you are as much in awe as I am to meditate and contemplate the truth that as believers who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will one day be resurrected (should He not come again during our lifetime), and we will be exalted to sit with Him and to rule in eternity with Him. Is that not mind-blowing in its implications!!

Think about the spirit of this Advent season – our Christmas. Is it not a small, small gift to be able to serve our Lord on this earth for the gift of exaltation He has given us? But that’s all our Lord wants from us – the gift of our surrender and service to Him. And really it’s all I have to offer Him. He has everything! And, as one of our staple exhortations from Christ, Luke 9: 23, documents, what Jesus asks of me (and you) is for me to give up myself and follow Him. It’s really not too much to request for me to contemplate giving my all for Him during this Advent season (and beyond in my life).

What about you who might be reading this? Are you giving our Lord enough of yourself for Christmas [and for life, for that matter]? Well, there will be more time to mediate on this during the rest of December; … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: May I always be diminished, Lord, that You may increase! Amen

December 12, 2011 … Exaltation Follows Humility

2011-12-12T06:10:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: In today’s entry of Strength for Today, John MacArthur helps those who pursue God through his devotional to see from God’s word (in the highlight passages from Phil. 2 above) that Christ’s humiliation in His incarnation, life, and death on the cross, as well as His exaltation (again, see today’s passage) are very powerful and practical examples of God’s economy of justice. It’s really a straightforward formula; but it’s also an infinitely challenging message for all mankind to accept and implement. THE FORUMULA is that when one humbles himself, he will be exalted. Jesus was our earthly model of humility [Phil. 2: 6 – 8]; and in today’s passage [Phil. 2: 9 – 11] we read of Christ becoming our heavenly and perfect example of God’s exaltation out of His earthly and perfect humility.

MacArthur reminds me [us] that the Apostle Peter [in 1st Peter 1: 10 – 12] had pointed to Christ fulfilling the prophesies of the ancient Prophets concerning the Messiah. And the Author of Hebrews wrote of Christ [in Heb. 12: 2], “… Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So, the Apostle Paul’s purpose in our passage from Phil. 2 was to illustrate, not only Christ’s humble emptying of His majesty in His Incarnation; but also to document His re-entry into heavenly glory as a result of His humiliation on the cross. So it’s worthy of repeating, … Christ, therefore, is not only our human example of humility, He is also our heavenly example of God glorifying anyone who is willing to humble himself and receive God’s Son as Lord and Savior.

That economy and balance of justice is also documented in James 4: 10, where we read, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” And as I’ve documented before, that is the message that was also laid out by Solomon in Prov. 3: 34 and repeated by Peter in 1st Peter 5: 6 … that God gives His grace to the humble but resists the proud. So, Jesus was God’s model of His scale of justice; and His word repeats the lesson often. >>> BUT, do we get it?!

Unfortunately, all too often I’ve had to learn the lesson of God’s economy with regard to humility the hard way. I know the lesson in my head; but my deceitful heart [see Jer. 17: 9] brings me often to a place where God has to teach me humility in the face of my pridefulness. I have to be brought low because I’ve chosen to exalt myself rather than choose to humble self and surrender to my Savior [again see the truth of Jesus’ command in Luke 9: 23]. When will I see - from the heart - that it’s so, so, so much better for me to CHOOSE to be humble and let God exalt me for being like Christ?

Just like Christ, one day as a believing Christian, I (and all Christians) will be lifted up to be with my (our) Lord in Heaven, … not because of anything I will do in humility, … but because of what Christ has already done for me (us) in perfect humility. Oh how I (we) need to meditate on this at this time of year, especially letting this message encourage us in our trials. But as we do so in reading this, we can look forward this month to even more about our Lord; so, … yes, … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Blessed am I by Your exaltation, Lord. Amen

December 11, 2011 … God’s Unfathomable Ways

2011-12-11T06:49:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8 [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: John MacArthur begins his Strength for Today devotional on this date by reminding his readers (that’s me!) of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11: 33, writing (from the NASB), “Oh, the depth … of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” And Paul was agreeing with David, the Psalmist (in Ps. 36: 6) who wrote, “Your judgments (are like) the great deep.” We also read God say, through the Prophet in Isaiah 55: 8 – 9 [NIV], “8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

When we consider the passage we’ve been studying this month [i.e., Philippians 2: 5-11], certainly no human would have ever scripted God coming to mankind in the way His Incarnation unfolded from God’s plan. And even Christ’s Disciples had trouble recognizing their Messiah, even though they knew of the Old Testament prophesies and walking with Him as they saw Jesus fulfill so many of those prophesies. And in today’s devotional, John MacArthur even speculates on what Jesus’ thoughts might have been about mankind, when MacArthur wrote, ” Somewhere along the path of Christ’s descent, you’d think He would have said to Himself, These people really aren’t worth redeeming. This is too degrading and humiliating!” But thankfully, MacArthur analyzes that Christ’s humility was such to the Heavenly Father that God, the Son, had no such thoughts. Our Lord was inexorably set on a path to humble Himself as a man to the point of death to become the Lamb of God and save mankind.

Who would have thunk it ?! A babe, born in a manger, not a palace; … a boy raised as a carpenter’s son, rather than as a powerful prince; ... and the King of kings, living out his adult years with a ragtag group of itinerants, rather than leading an army against Rome in deliverance of God’s people. And yet, this was the wild and wondrous plan which God used to redeem mankind, culminating in the horror and humiliation Christ endured to shed His blood in atonement for Man’s sin. But no wonder the Disciples of Christ, even His inner circle had trouble seeing Jesus as THE KING of kings and LORD of lords.

As MacArthur states for this date, “God’s ways ARE unsearchable; His truths profound. And His plan to redeem us was accomplished by Christ’s humiliation.” As the kids would say today, “Go figure!” … However, for the one who does figure it out, or at least seek it out (i.e., reasoning and responding in faith from his/her heart), he/she will plumb God’s incredible plan for eternal life from the depths and treasures of the very mind of God [so beautifully summarized in John 3: 16, which you probably have memorized].

That’s where one finds The Good News of the Gospel and gets a glimpse personally into the most incredible display of humility ever fashioned for us to follow. Yes, God’s heights are so incredibly high; but they must be scaled. They are so vastly deep; but they must be plumbed. That, to me, is the essence of any Advent season; and as we move on into this Christmas Season, there will be more; … so, again, stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Too high and deep are Your ways, Lord; but help me to find them as I seek to know You, my Lord and Savior. Amen

December 10, 2011 … The Humility of Christ

2011-12-10T06:56:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: As Christians, all of us aspire to grow in Christlikeness. In the Phil. 2 passage from which we’ve been studying this month, verse 5 says that our attitudes as Christians should be the same as that of our Lord. So, as individuals, and collectively as the Body of Christ, we should be doing all we can to capture and live with the attitude of Christ. And here in this wondrous passage, the Apostle Paul tells believers that the #1 attitude to which we ought to aspire is that of HUMILITY; and I’m here to tell you that this is one of the toughest lessons I have to learn as a disciple of our Lord.

You may already know that humility, along with meekness, are the only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29); and we learn from passages like 1st Peter 5: 6 and James 4: 6, as well as Prov. 3: 34, that God honors humility by pouring His grace into those who humble themselves in obedience to God or His word. However, when it comes to the Phil. 2: 8 comparison test, all too often I come up short with my ego exhibiting pride, falling way short of the humility modeled so perfectly by my Savior.

And what a model of humility we have in Jesus, especially as He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophesies concerning His passion and death on the cross. He was totally humbled to the will of His Father by dying on “the tree,” the most ignominious and humiliating form of capital punishment ever devised by man, and one which was hated by the Jews (see Deut. 21: 22 - 23). During all of His unjust trials before His crucifixion, He spoke not a word; and we see our Lord totally surrendered to the will of His Heavenly Father … that He be would become the Lamb of God to save ME! Me, of all people; but that was our Lord’s humble mission in life, … to serve me, and you, and all who would receive His humble and graceful act of atonement … that we might have eternal life. Is that not THE model of humility?

And now, in His word, I read from the inspiration of His Spirit, that I am to have His humility (again Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s own words from Luke 9: 23 with regard to discipleship ring in my heart/mind as well … that I am to deny my self … and follow Him. So, the lessons of life in this regard continue; and I will enter my thoughts here today, doing all I can to humble myself to my Lord and to others. It’s a daunting task; but it is one I must learn and live.

So, I (we) move on … and there’s more to come. Yes, you’re getting it by now; … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: It is my humble prayer, Lord. Again I pray, Lord, help me to be humble! Amen

December 9, 2011 … Christ’s Outward Appearance

2011-12-09T05:56:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8a [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: The most important question anyone will ever confront and answer in this life is “Who is this Man, Jesus?” At one point, as documented in Matt. 16: 15-16, Jesus even asked His inner core of disciples this pointed question, "Who do you say I am;” to which Peter got the pop quiz right by intellectually responding, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But Jesus knew that Peter, even though he answered with the true answer, he and the Disciples had not yet internalized that truth; and they would later fall in disbelief several times before Jesus died on the cross.

For years I was a fool and pretended the answer to Jesus’ question was unimportant. But finally I came to recognize the ultimate importance of answering that question correctly; and I was brought to a place by God so that I could see Him for Whom He really was and is … and that is Jesus, The Messiah and the Son of the living God.

Today’s verse in the Phil. 2 passage (i.e., verse 8a), in the context of the verse immediately proceeding, i.e., verse 7, shows the degree to which Christ was willing to experience the humiliation of humanity to reveal His deity in a way that mankind could identify and see Who He really is. But having been one of those blinded to His deity, I now wonder how mankind, including myself, could not see Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, … the Savior of all mankind. The “fools” of Christ’s day, even most of the ones who saw Him physically, even as He performed wondrous miracles, saw only Jesus’ “appearance” as a man. That word “appearance” in today’s verse is the Greek term “schema,” from which we get our word, “scheme.” It means the “outer form” of anything … that which we can see or perceive with our senses.

In other words, as Christ walked the earth, even doing incredible miracles that only God could do, most of those around Him only chose to only see His “schema,” … His humanity; and most could not – or would not – see God in the God-Man. That even included the twelve chosen disciples who were closest to our Lord during His three years of earthly ministry. As I said above, I was that way for 39 years of my life. I would have been like those in John 6: 42 or 8: 48, rejecting Jesus for Whom He really was/is. Our human, selfish logic often only allows us to see the outer “schema” of a person, not being willing or able to see inside to perceive the real person – or in the case of Jesus, being blind to His deity. Though I must admit that it’s tough for me to see how his twelve disciples, who had seen Jesus feed thousands from a few fishes and loaves and who saw Him walk on water, could bolt and run when he was taken by the Romans and Jews to be crucified. But truth be told, had I been one of His inner circle, I probably would have been one of the cowards myself.

Take it from one who knows; … it’s so easy to humanize God or to rationalize the truth concerning Jesus, rather than to deal with Christ or His word personally. Jesus and His truth demands that we accept Him for Whom He is … in faith. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God! And His Gospel is truth, the real message of the Advent Season in which we find ourselves at this time of the year! We must accept it and deal with it … from the inside out – totally – not just the outer skin.

I pray that we’ve all done that … but stay tuned … we will get to know this Jesus even further during the rest of this month. >>>

My Prayer Today: Lord Jesus, You are my King and my Lord! Amen

December 8, 2011 … Christ’s Identification With Sinners

2011-12-08T06:15:00.003-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7c [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Journal for Today: About today’s highlight phrase in Phil. 2: 7c, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date (BTW, my fleshly birthday), John MacArthur quotes from a book entitled Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge, who wrote, “The Scriptures teach that Christ had a … true body and a rational soul … a material body which in everything essential was like the bodies of ordinary men. ... He thought, reasoned and felt [as a man].” MacArthur totally agrees with Hodge, as do I. However, as MacArthur points out, Jesus was more than God in a body. He was The God-Man, born as a babe, Who developed into a man, and was a man Who experienced the effects of man’s fall into sin. No, He didn’t sin; but he experienced, as a human, the temptations and the effects of sin upon mankind. He suffered sorrow, pain, thirst, hunger, and yes, … even death, all of which resulted because of the sin of man in the garden.

And if you read and meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 – 17 (quoted below), you will see why He had to do all of this.

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Hebrews 2: 14 -17 … 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
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No, Jesus, The Christ, didn’t sin; but He experienced, even with more intensity than man, the pain and anguish of temptation of sin out in the wilderness, confronting Satan (see Matt. 4 and/or Luke 4). And He experienced all of humanity as He walked the earth in his ministry years as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane, and, of course, on the cross. And as the passage from Hebrews above (and in Heb. 4: 17), we see that Jesus, the God-Man, becoming fully human allowed for Christ to become MY High-Priest and MY Savior. Yours too, … IF … you have received and declared His saving grace by faith [see Rom. 10: 9 – 13]. Oh, right now, how I pray you have done that!

Without being fully man, but sinless, Christ could not have shed His perfect blood as the Lamb of God, for my (our) sin. So, we must remember and celebrate (at least in our Eucharist worship) Christ’s sacrifice of His spotless body and perfect blood so that He could be our Redeemer and so that we can have everlasting life in our faith in that very human, but God-ordained, sacrifice on my (our) behalf. And now we have a Savior, who has been re-coronated and re-glorified into the Godhead, … One Who intercedes for us as born-again believers … and One Who has sent His Spirit to minister to our every need.

Is that not good stuff! But there’s more! Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: On my birthday [who's counting!], Lord, I declare, “HALLELUJAH!!” Oh, how you know the depths of my being as well as my gratitude for making my re-birthday possible. Amen

December 7, 2011 … Christ As A Servant – As a SLAVE

2011-12-07T07:36:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Philippians 2: 7b [NASB] … 7b …, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

My Journal for Today: John MacArthur ends his Strength For Today devotional on this date, while focusing on today’s verse, but also by quoting the words of Jesus in Matt. 20: 27, where our Lord said, “…whoever wants to be first must be your slave [or ‘bond servant’ in the NASB].” And then MacArthur asks his readers if we, who call ourselves Christians, really pursue that model of Christlikeness by serving others in lowliness – as their SLAVE - as we have also read in Phil. 2: 3 – 4. That’s how Christ came into the world to serve as a slave to the will of His father, humbling Himself, even unto the cross, to serve mankind as was the will of His Heavenly Father. And since Phil. 2: 5 commands us to take the attitude of our Savior, we should see ourselves as a SLAVE to our God, first, and then to others as modeled by Jesus.

Today’s highlighted verse (Phil. 2: 7b), uses the Greek term “morphe” when it refers to Jesus taking the “very nature” (or “form” in the NASB) of a bond servant [or more accurately “SLAVE” according to MacArthur]. That, of course, is the Greek word which is the base from which comes our word “metamorphosis” or the more modern term “morph,” which refers to something changing its essence, from one form to another. And as we’ve been studying thus far this month, Christ did this by His “kenosis,” or by emptying Himself of His claims to Trinitarian majesty as He was incarnated into a babe and lived for 33 years as a man, finally dying as the Lamb of God on a cross for all of us. So, as MacArthur points out, Christ, fully God, “morphed” into a servant or slave to live His life as a man on earth. And again we read Paul’s exhortation in Phil. 2: 5, that our attitude, as Christians, must MORPH from our basic sin nature to become that of Christlikeness as we aspire to live like Him. So, above all, the logic and truth of today’s verse would point us to become bond servants of God as was our Savior; and our servanthood to Christ, in our surrender to His Spirit, is our status as bond-slave to Him as we live our lives for His purposes.

Jesus was the ultimate slave model, totally “bonded” to the will of His Heavenly Father - and also to the needs of all of mankind - as He ultimately served us by dying as the suffering servant that we might have eternal life (see John 3: 16). In fact over 700 years before Christ came among us, Christ, the Messiah, was depicted as the One who would become almost unrecognizable on the cross, serving mankind [see Isaiah 52: 13 – 14]. What we’re reading in Phil. 2, is how Christ’s fulfillment of those prophesies plays out in the lives of those who come after Him … those of us who serve Him as His disciples [really, more accurately, as His “slaves”]; and in doing so, those who serve God’s Kingdom do so by serving others.

Christ’s servanthood is our model as we strive toward Christlikeness; and it again begs the question, “Are we, in fact, living out this mandate for servanthood or slavery to our God?” I, for one, have far to go; but I’m bolstered by God’s promise (in Phil. 1: 6) that He is doing a work in me to shape me into His image – and this most certainly leads me to become more of a slave to His Spirit in this process.

But stay tuned; … there’s even more to come about our Servant and Lord.

My Prayer Today: Transform us, Lord, into Your likeness … as a true slave to the Father as we serve others as You did. Amen

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Blogger’s Note: If you’re a follower of John MacArthur’s teaching, as you certainly can perceive I am, you may want to read Dr. M’s book, Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity In Christ, which goes deep into a study of the term “slave” in the New Testament, which is a term which has become watered down and slighted by many Bible translations. That book really helped me when I was writing the journal entry you read above.

December 6, 2011 … The Emptying of Christ

2011-12-06T07:22:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7a [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 … but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Philippians 2: 7a [NASB] … 7 … but [Christ] emptied Himself, …

Philippians 2: 7a [NKJV & KJV] … 7 … but made Himself of no reputation, …

Philippians 2: 7a [ESV] … 7 … but [Christ] made Himself nothing, …

Philippians 2: 7a [The Message] … 7 When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity …

My Journal for Today: Today I (we) return to the theological doctrine of Christ’s “kenosis,” by focusing on this one short phrase in Phil. 2: 7a; and when looking at a short phrase of Scripture like this, sometimes it helps to use tapestry of the Scripture weaved by looking at several versions of God’s word in the one passage. In this case I’ve provided four reputable/scholarly translations as well as Peterson’s popular paraphrased rendering, The Message.

And as we began discussing this topic yesterday, we see the extent of Christ humility as He set aside – BY CHOICE – His infinitely powerful glory and His oneness in the Trinity to become a man. As we read in The Message version, Peterson says, “… He (Christ) set aside the privileges of deity.” And this is helpful in understanding that Christ did not set aside His deity. No, He voluntarily became human; and in doing so, He had to “empty Himself” of His majesty (that’s the Greek term “kenoo,” we introduced in my journal yesterday, from which we get our theological term for the doctrine of “kenosis.”)

It may be a rather anemic word picture to describe this wondrous process of Christ’s kenosis; but it might be seen in human terms if Bill Gates disguised Himself in some way so as not to be recognized and decided to go in among the worker bees at Microsoft and work as a new programmer, setting aside his privileges as CEO. He would still be the CEO; but as long as he was not recognized as Bill Gates; and set aside the power of his position, to practice the function of an in-the-trenches programmer, he could be identified and function as a Microsoft staff worker. However, at any time he desired he could step back into the role of CEO and become the Top Dog at Microsoft again.

Yes, I know that comparing Bill Gates to Jesus Christ is about as ludicrous as it gets; but I hope you see that Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, intentionally chose to humble Himself, not being recognized as God in the flesh until He decided to begin to reveal the essence of His deity to His disciples and followers in the later years of His earthly ministry. And over time we see Christ, during His ministry walk on this earth, taking on some of the POSITIONhood of God as well as the Godly PERSONhood as He followed the Father, utilizing the power of His Spirit, and performing many miracles, i.e., … doing things that a mere man could never imagine being done. These selective actions and miracle revealed Whom He claimed he really was … the God-man.

Jesus, becoming the Messiah and a man, gave up His independent authority in the Godhead, completely being submitted to the will of the Father – as a human - and becoming a bond servant for mankind (see Phil. 2: 8 above as well as Matt. 26: 39). In this self-chosen position as bond servant to God the Father, Jesus only exercised the power of His Deity when God, the Father, required it or when it was necessary, utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit to highlight Whom He was as the Son of God. We see this in reality (in Matt. 24: 36) when Jesus was not able to say when His second coming would occur, indicating that only God, the Father, knew that.

Not only did Jesus empty Himself of authority in the Godhead; but He also set aside His access to His personal riches (see 2nd Cor. 8: 9), becoming poor as a man so that mankind might become rich with Him forever in glory.

Finally, and this is the most touching of all the losses Christ incurred in His kenosis; He left behind His favored and glorified relationship in the Trinity to become a man who would become hated, spat upon, and crucified. We read of this horrible voluntary loss in Christ’s own words from the cross, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (see Matt. 27: 46) And all of that, He did for me (and for you).

No, I don’t think we will ever truly comprehend Christ’s loss as He emptied Himself; but because of it, we had the God-Man on earth to be written about in God’s word and so that we might be able to see more clearly than ever the character and person of God walking in our midst. And because of that, mankind can come to know Him in faith and to receive His saving grace for eternal life with Him. And to that all this one can say is, … “HALLELUJAH!!!”

But there’s more … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Lord, You emptied Yourself that I might be filled in You. Again I say loudly in my spirit this morning … “HALLELUJAH!!!” … and … Amen

December 5, 2011 … Christ Remained God

2011-12-05T06:35:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 6 - 7 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: In all of this discussion from Phil. 2: 5-11 about Christ becoming a human – a man – it is important for Christians to understand that Christ did not lose any of His deity. Yes, as Jesus, The Christ, did empty Himself of His glorious POSITION in the Godhead for a season of earthly time. However, He lost none of the PERSON of God in the process. And so, rather than losing anything in the emptying process, Christ’s choice of manhood to fulfill the Old Covenant actually added humanity to his Godhood, the second Person of the Trinity.

In His discussion of this emptying by Christ in Strength for Today, John MacArthur, reminds or enlightens his readers that the incarnation of Christ required what is called “kenosis” in theology, which comes from the Greek verb “kenoo,” found in today’s text. When one reads the connecting phrase, “…but made Himself nothing …” in the NIV above, in the NASB it is translated, “…but emptied Himself;” and the term “emptied” is that Greek word, “kenoo,” which literally means “to empty or make void.”

It is difficult – well really, impossible - for my finite mind to fully comprehend the extent of Christ’s sacrifice in this process of voiding His claim to His glory and majesty in His incarnation while He became a human. But it is truth. He lost nothing of His Godhood; and we see that often in the New Testament account of His life and ministry. For example, we read [in Matt. 8, Mark 4, or Luke 8] where He calmed a raging storm with a simple command. How often do we read of Christ speaking or gesturing and bringing complete healing to people who had had lifelong physical or health maladies or even raising the dead to life? So, we know of Jesus’ full deity as was evidenced in Scripture. He was 100% God and 100% Man. However, to become man, Jesus had to lay aside [i.e., empty Himself of] His heaven-bound glorious majesty for that time on earth when he would carry out the will of the Father and fulfill all the prophesies for The Messiah … until the time when He was resurrected and ascended again into Heaven to be re-glorified and re-crowned in majesty by God, The Father, as the King of Kings for eternity.

To me this passage of Scripture (i.e., Phil. 2: 6 – 11) is the best Christmas story of all; and there is even more to it. … So, in this Advent Season, stay tuned for more!

My Prayer Today: How blessed I am that You, Lord, became a man … for me … and all who read here! Amen

December 4, 2011 … Christ’s Equality With God

2011-12-04T06:09:00.001-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 6b [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Today we focus on the second phrase in Phil. 2: 6; and it’s truly a remarkable truth, … one which the religious leaders who opposed Jesus in His day could not understand. Even today, with all the historical information we have, many people refuse to try to understand the truth about Jesus. And here’s where I think I have some empathy for the Pharisees of Christ’s day. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I hope that I wouldn’t have been so prideful in my position that I would be willing to plot the death of this One Who claimed to be The Messiah. But if I had learned about the God of Abraham the way the Pharisees had, with all the religious training and traditions of the day, it probably would have been difficult, if not impossible for me in that day to understand how this Jesus, the son of a simple carpenter in Nazareth, could claim to be One with “Elohim” or “Jehovah,” the God whom the Jews worshipped as the One true God.

And so, how could we expect the people of Christ’s day to understand how He, the God-Man, would be willing to release Himself from the holdings of glory and His favored position as the 2nd Person of the Trinity? And then to carry this through to the conclusion where we see Him completely fulfilling every one of the Messianic prophesies of the Old Testament, … becoming one of us, being rejected by His own, being humiliated and then, being executed so that His shed blood could allow all who believe in Him as Savior/Lord, by His grace, to share in His glory forever. How could the people of Christ’s day accept this because it’s difficult for theologians and religionists of today to get their minds around that truth as well?

Can any who might read this grasp and believe this greatest Christmas story ever told, where God, The Son, willingly decided to release Himself from His glorified place in the God-Head and become a babe in a manger … to grow to manhood … and to march to the cross so that the greatest gift of all time would become our “Christ Mass,” … this wondrous time when we can celebrate the birth of our Savior? I don’t think I will ever truly understand the full implications of what The Son of God did for me; but His humble decision to be incarnated into humanity, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His coronation, and His re-glorification have given me the picture I need to see of the One Whom I believe is Lord and Savior and the One Whom I know has given me eternal life.

It may be too much for my mind to grasp; but not my heart – which is His. I pray that you too have given, and EVERY DAY are giving, your heart to Him, and I pray that you’re celebrating – in this Advent season – the truth of what we’re learning in Philippians 2 … how God Himself was willing to become one OF us so that we could become one WITH Him.

And we’ll see even more of Him tomorrow; so, stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to let go of my personal glory and to become a humble servant like You. Amen

December 3, 2011 … Christ’s Deity Defended

2011-12-03T06:06:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 6a [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Yes, here we are with the same short sub-verse, … Phil. 2: 6a. However, I hope that you’re disciplining yourself to read and meditate on the entire passage of Phil. 2: 5 – 11 each day with me while we’re in this passage of Scripture. Who knows? If we use that passage a lot this month [and we will], we might all get to know Jesus more closely than ever before. Is that not reason enough to be meditating daily on this passage for this month?

So, as we focus on Phil. 2: 6a again, we’re looking into the centerpiece of our beliefs as a Christian in this statement about the deity of Christ. You see, one cannot claim to be a disciple of Christ without holding faithfully to the core belief that Jesus was Whom He claimed to be … the ever existent God Himself. If one also goes to a verse like John 8: 58, we read Jesus clearly referring to Himself as the eternal “I AM,” which was the equivalent of the term God used to name Himself to Moses in Exodus 3: 14. And so, the unbelieving Jews, hearing Jesus proclaiming Himself to be God (again see John 8: 58), should, according to their beliefs and practices, immediately pick up stones to kill Jesus, whom they felt would have been committing unpardonable blasphemy. And they did just that; but as we know [from John 8: 59], Jesus somehow hid himself from them because it wasn’t His time to die.

Actually, everyone is confronted with the ultimate question: “Is Jesus Who He claimed to be?” And if we declare ourselves to be “Christian,” we must believe that Jesus is One Who existed before Abraham existed (again as He claimed John 5: 58 – 59). Historically it’s easy to see that there was an historical Jesus of Nazareth, the adopted son of a carpenter, Who was born in Bethlehem and Who was crucified on that hill called Golgotha. But to be a born-again Christian, we have to buy into His claims of being One with His Father … and that He truly was and is God.

When the Apostle Paul was charging one of his young protégé, Titus (see Titus 1: 9), reviewing the characteristics of Christian leadership, Paul said that a leader in the church (and really he’s speaking to all Christians as well) must hold fast and stand faithful to the teachings we are describing herein – that Jesus Christ was – and is – the ever existent God, … the great “I AM.” We must be willing and able to stand for Christ’s deity, even in the face of the historical fact of this Man died so ignominiously in humiliation on the cross. So, as we read in Col. 1: 15 – 17 of Christ’s deity (also in Hebrews 1: 3), will we be defenders of the truth of Christ’s deity?

Now we have to ask ourselves, “Do we live up to the declaration of Romans 1: 16, which says, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ!’? “ I leave it to you to decide where you stand.

But, stay tuned … there’s more!

My Prayer Today: My dear Jesus, I stand with You as the Lord God! Amen

December 2, 2011 … The Deity of Christ

2011-12-02T07:58:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 6a [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: When our first granddaughter, Sydney, was just under two years of age, she was sitting on my lap as I read her favorite book, which was a children’s Bible where there were illustrated depictions of various Bible stories/characters. Sydney’s mom, our daughter, and her dad had taken her through this book many times; and she could name the names of all the Bible characters in the book. I was so proud of our first, and rather precocious, grandbaby at the time.

Well, on this occasion, Sydney was naming all the characters as we came to each story page; and when we got to the first depiction of Jesus, Syd named Him “God.” Thinking that rather curious, especially after she had named all the other characters by their given names – even “Zacchaeus” – I asked her if the “God” character she had named had another name, … to which she replied matter-of-factly, “Well, PawPaw, it’s Jesus!” And, with my chest pounding with pride, I told her she was exactly right!

I use this story to illustrate that even a two year old can understand what the Apostle Paul was teaching in today’s highlighted text … that Jesus was, by His nature, God (see Phil. 2: 6a above). The NASB renders this phrase, “[Christ Jesus], Who, although He existed in the form of God.” And in today’s Strength for Today entry, John MacArthur explains that an even stricter wording from the Greek might be “Jesus, in His inalterable being, was God.” And that reality was what little Sydney, my two year old granddaughter had grasped, … something I didn’t fully understand until I was 39 years old, when the equality of Christ as God became evident to me.

Some of us are slower than others! ;)

This month, we are going to see more of Christ’s divine nature in my devotional entries which are led by John MacArthur’s study. However, as Christians we must first grasp … and believe, … as did little Sydney, that Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s apprentice, was and is God, fully expressing Himself and living in human form, being the full essence/character of God even as He walked this earth and most certainly as He lives now, having been resurrected to be rejoined with His Heavenly Father. And from that truth, all we see and learn about Jesus is God’s way of showing Himself to us in Christ’s humanity.

Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: May You be praised, Lord, for becoming like me, yet without sin. Amen

December 1, 2011 … The Incarnation of Christ

2011-12-01T06:43:00.003-06:00

Blogger’s Note: New month. Last month of the year 2011; and my devotional emphasis, again with the help of John MacArthur’s devotional book, Strength for Today this month will be “Christology” with an emphasis on the Incarnation since this is the Advent Season of the year. So, perhaps you’ll be led to follow along with me this month as I try to get to know my Savior AND LORD more intimately by studying the how and why behind God’s humble choice to become a man, to die, and to be exalted by God, The Father, in glory. So, let’s dig in an get to know Jesus this Christmas season.

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Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 6 - 8 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: As we come into the Advent season, a time where cultural consumerism and/or political activism often attempt to cancel “CHRIST” from Christmas, Paul’s teaching from today’s passage from Philippians 2 is one of my favorite CHRISTmas scriptural passages. In fact, in the mind of this humble Christian, Phil. 2: 5 – 11 is the most powerful Christmas story told in the Bible, with today’s focus from John MacArthur in Strength for Today being on Phil. 2: 6 – 8.

In the Spirit of this season, we, as Christians, are admonished by Paul in Phil. 2: 5 to be [or maybe better stated “become”] like Christ in attitude; and Jesus’ half-brother James (in James 4: 6, 10) and the Apostle Peter (in 1st Pet. 5: 6) both indicated that our attitudes as Christians would require Christlike humility before God would lift us up as Christ was lifted up by His Father [see Phil. 2: 9 above]. And when it comes to our following behind Christ’s attitude of humility, there is no better place to see our Model of humility than in the overall passage quoted above in Phil. 2: 5 – 11.

May I assume that any reader following along in this devotional entry shares my desire to be uplifted by God in our relationship with Christ? If that is NOT your desire, you need read no further; because I’m writing this with an intense desire to let this study in the month of December enhance my attitude of humility, which, I believe, will help me to have more of God’s grace poured out in abundance into my life. If that is your desire as well, I charge you to read on and to follow these entries on a day-by-day basis in December.

This month John MacArthur, if you’re also using Strength for Today as a devotional book or following along with my journal entries, is going to help me (us) take a closer look at our Savior so that I (we) can see Whom I (we) should model my life [our lives] in His image. And first, we focus on Christ’s incredible humility, personified in His incarnation, where we see Him setting aside His majesty and glory in the God-Head to become a bond servant to His Father’s will, even unto death on a cross as a human.

And so we begin our focus on Jesus this month (a study in “Christology”), continually doing a self inventory, framed in the exhortation of Phil. 2: 5 … questioning our attitudes to see whether our minds run parallel with that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. And right off the top, I come up short; because humility is one area where I already fall far short of THE MARK (Who, of course, is Christ); and we’ll explore that shortcoming more in days to come.

Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Lord, I know this can be a risky prayer as to my life, but I sincerely pray that You would help me to be humble, … like You. Amen

November 30, 2011 … Knowing God’s Will – Now, That’ Wisdom!

2011-11-30T07:08:00.002-06:00

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 5: 17 [highlight verse in bold/underlined] … 15 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

My Journal for Today: Well, here we are on this last day of November, closing out our discussion of the pursuit of Godly wisdom; and for the final time in our series, we return to the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to walk carefully in this evil world (Eph. 5: 15 – 16); and we’ve seen that he made this charge to help believers walk in a way that is worthy of our calling in Christ (see Eph. 4: 1). But today we focus on Paul’s tag line in verse Eph. 5: 17, which he added after verses 15 – 16; and that is the exhortation to avoid foolishness by understanding the will of God for our lives.

That’s actually a pretty heavy challenge. If I’m to be a wise Christian in this evil world, Paul is saying that I have to know and understand God’s will for my life. But, how do I do that? And in this pursuit of God’s will, John MacArthur give us six signpost areas, which are biblically supported to help us know God’s will for our lives.

From God’s word and prompted by John MacArthur's study, which is documented in today's entry from Strength for Today, we know that it is God’s will that any Christian must …

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>>> #1 … Be SAVED (1st Timothy 2: 3 – 4 and 2nd Peter 3: 9)
>>> #2 … Be SPIRIT FILLED (Ephesians 5: 17 – 18 – see above)
>>> #3 … Be SANCTIFIED (1st Thessalonians 4: 3 – 8)
>>> #4 … Be SUBMISSIVE (1st Peter 2: 13 – 15)
>>> #5 … Be SUFFERING FOR CHRIST (1st Peter 3: 17)
>>> #6 … Be SAYING THANKS (1st Thessalonians 5: 18)
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According to MacArthur and God’s truth (I hope you’ve looked up those scriptures), if a Christian is all of these or recognizes his life in the context of these elements of the Christian experience, he is bound to be living a life which is in pursuit of, and quite possibly even fulfills, God’s will. He would also be in complete fulfillment of God’s command, through the Psalmist, to “… delight [ourselves] in the Lord,” (see Psalm 37: 4) which results in God’s wonderful promise to fulfill the heart of such a believer.

This biblical and God-promised formula goes like this … the quest to know God yields >>> the loving desire to be obedient to God’s will, the pursuit of which results in >>> the inner drive to obey and serve God to the utmost, surrendered to God’s Spirit, >>> the fulfillment of which yields the abundant blessing of fruitfulness from God’s grace [i.e., the fruit if the Spirit – see Gal. 5: 22, 23]. If you’ve read my teaching or exhortations enough, you may remember me quoting the chain of Christian discipleship, which goes … to know God is to love Him >>> to love Him is to obey Him >>> to obey Him is to serve Him >>> to serve Him is be blessed by Him. And so, does not this make pursuing the mind of God (i.e., knowing God and His will) the foremost goal for all Christians? I believe it does.

That’s what I’ve gotten from this month’s quest for Godly wisdom … that I am driven, by God’s prevenient and enabling grace, to know my Savior, to dig deeply into the treasure mines of God’s word (see Job 28), to find His will for my life (again primarily from His word), and to live out God’s way (i.e, always following Christ as He commanded in Luke 9: 23) in such a way that I can shine His light into this darkened world, glorifying my Father in Heaven (see Matt. 5: 16, which I would certainly hope you have memorized by now).

Is knowing God and His will for your life your primary goal in life? Is your life directed in such a way as to move in the direction we’ve discussed this month? If not, perhaps it would be productive to ask yourself, “Why not?!” And then maybe you could move to respond to God’s challenge from Paul in Ephesians 3: 13, resulting in a quest to know and understand the mind of God no matter what the challenges of life present. If you do, God’s promise and power awaits you [see Acts 1: 8]; and you will become a more powerful witness for our Lord in this world. That is certainly my desire and plan. I hope you join me.

My Prayer Today: I want to know you more today, Lord … and then even more tomorrow! Amen