Passage of the Day: Daniel 1: 1 – 2 … 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
My Journal for Today: You’ve gotta love the openness and reality of the Bible, more specifically today in the Old Testament book of Daniel. As we read in today’s highlight passage, God never coddles the sinfulness of His people. For many years God’s people, the Jews, had been disobedient and recalcitrant; and so God allows the wicked nation of Babylon to consume His chosen ones in captivity.
John MacArthur in Strength for Today points out that this illustrates that “… judgment [begins] with the family of God (see 1st Peter 4: 17). “ And it also shows that God’s discipline is always levied against His children to produce greater righteousness and Godly integrity (see Hebrew 12: 5 – 11 - linked for your study).
It was this stage of historical captivity, involving the Jews with all of the associated Babylonian cruelty, which produced the remarkable display of faithful spiritual integrity which I’ll be highlighting this month … as Daniel and his young Hebrew friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are tested and found to be pure jewels in God’s crown.
Think of the word picture involving a jeweler desiring to show his best gems, possibly his prime diamonds. To do this, the jeweler always displays these prime jewels or sparkling gems on a blackened backdrop, shining a focused, bright light to reflect off of the facets of the cut gems to entice a buyer who is looking at the gems. And that is what we will see in the book of Daniel as the shining integrity of these four young Hebrews is displayed, shining against the dark backdrop of their Babylonian captors.
And right now in history, knowing what God has communicated to His people (including His remnant in this country) … a stark warning that He can, at any time, as He did with the Jews in today’s passage, turn a nation over to its own selfish ways and let Satan deal with His people for a season. Reading the passage in Romans 1: 18-32 (please read it as it’s linked here) gives me pause, and makes me wonder if God hasn’t already begun to leave this country to our own fleshly captivity. Certainly something to ponder; and about which we should pray.
My Prayer Today: Shine through me, Lord! Have mercy on Your people, Lord! Amen
Showing posts with label "God's wrath". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "God's wrath". Show all posts
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
February 23, 2011 … God’s Wrath
Passage of the Day: Romans 1: 18 … The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, …
My Journal for Today: These words of truth are strong concerning God’s wrath; and I agree with John MacArthur, who in Strength for Today on this date, posits that Evangelical Christians tend to think of God in terms of love/grace, rather than about God’s wrath. Often it is thought that God’s wrath is Old Covenant theology and God’s grace is New Covenant doctrine. It’s understandable that we humans would want to sweep the truth about God’s wrath under the carpet and ignore it; but … it’s wrong to do so because God’s wrath is just as much a part of the character of God in the New Testament as is His love for His children under the Old Covenant.
God hasn’t changed (see Hebrews 13: 8)! And today’s New Testament verse focuses on the same quality of God that was seen evident at the time of the great flood (Genesis, Chapters 6 and 7) as well as when God brought His wrath down upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis, Chapters 17 and 18).
Make no mistake. Jesus spoke clearly of God’s wrath in the context of salvation in the same Bible passage where we read the description of the extent of His love (i.e., John 3: 16). Check out John 3: 36 …
SCRIPTURE: John 3: 36 … [Jesus] … “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
Therefore, we New Covenant [i.e., New Testament] believers must remember that God’s wrath, which, in the Greek of today’s verse, is “orge,” … is theologically defined as “the settled, determined indignation and hatred which God has for sin” … Old or New Testament. And without the balanced qualities of mercy/grace, which I’ve been reviewing the past few days in my devotional journal entries, we would be doomed by God’s wrath. However, being able to receive God’s saving grace from the covering of blood provided by the Lamb of God, i.e., Christ on the cross, any believer can and will escape the horrible wrath that God holds for anyone who is unholy. And I reflect with horror on all those years in which I mocked and “spit-in-the-face” of the grace-filled God Whom I now worship and serve. To think that I ignored God’s wrath for sin for all those younger adult years of my life is scary, especially now knowing about and recognizing just how much God’s wrath hates any kind of sin, … especially the chronic intentional and habitual sin to which I was bound for all those years of pleasure seeking. >>> How grateful can a sinner-turned-saint be? Well, look no further than yours truly to find one.
My fellow believer, KNOW that Jesus is going to return to deal out His wrath upon unrepentant sinners who reject Him (see 2nd Thes. 1: 8 or 2nd Pet. 2: 4 -10 - both linked). But the other side of this balanced theological coin is the truth that God’s love/mercy/grace is offered to any or all who believe and receive salvation in the Person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ (see Romans 10: 9 – 13). And for any or all who read here who’ve “sealed the deal” and have received God’s free grace of salvation through your faith, we will share heaven together [!] because of God’s love.
Can I hear a resounding ” HALLELUJAH!!; or at least, a sincere … “PRAISE THE LORD?”
My Prayer Today: Lord, Your wrath is very real; but Your love and mercy are mine in Christ. Amen
My Journal for Today: These words of truth are strong concerning God’s wrath; and I agree with John MacArthur, who in Strength for Today on this date, posits that Evangelical Christians tend to think of God in terms of love/grace, rather than about God’s wrath. Often it is thought that God’s wrath is Old Covenant theology and God’s grace is New Covenant doctrine. It’s understandable that we humans would want to sweep the truth about God’s wrath under the carpet and ignore it; but … it’s wrong to do so because God’s wrath is just as much a part of the character of God in the New Testament as is His love for His children under the Old Covenant.
God hasn’t changed (see Hebrews 13: 8)! And today’s New Testament verse focuses on the same quality of God that was seen evident at the time of the great flood (Genesis, Chapters 6 and 7) as well as when God brought His wrath down upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis, Chapters 17 and 18).
Make no mistake. Jesus spoke clearly of God’s wrath in the context of salvation in the same Bible passage where we read the description of the extent of His love (i.e., John 3: 16). Check out John 3: 36 …
SCRIPTURE: John 3: 36 … [Jesus] … “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
Therefore, we New Covenant [i.e., New Testament] believers must remember that God’s wrath, which, in the Greek of today’s verse, is “orge,” … is theologically defined as “the settled, determined indignation and hatred which God has for sin” … Old or New Testament. And without the balanced qualities of mercy/grace, which I’ve been reviewing the past few days in my devotional journal entries, we would be doomed by God’s wrath. However, being able to receive God’s saving grace from the covering of blood provided by the Lamb of God, i.e., Christ on the cross, any believer can and will escape the horrible wrath that God holds for anyone who is unholy. And I reflect with horror on all those years in which I mocked and “spit-in-the-face” of the grace-filled God Whom I now worship and serve. To think that I ignored God’s wrath for sin for all those younger adult years of my life is scary, especially now knowing about and recognizing just how much God’s wrath hates any kind of sin, … especially the chronic intentional and habitual sin to which I was bound for all those years of pleasure seeking. >>> How grateful can a sinner-turned-saint be? Well, look no further than yours truly to find one.
My fellow believer, KNOW that Jesus is going to return to deal out His wrath upon unrepentant sinners who reject Him (see 2nd Thes. 1: 8 or 2nd Pet. 2: 4 -10 - both linked). But the other side of this balanced theological coin is the truth that God’s love/mercy/grace is offered to any or all who believe and receive salvation in the Person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ (see Romans 10: 9 – 13). And for any or all who read here who’ve “sealed the deal” and have received God’s free grace of salvation through your faith, we will share heaven together [!] because of God’s love.
Can I hear a resounding ” HALLELUJAH!!; or at least, a sincere … “PRAISE THE LORD?”
My Prayer Today: Lord, Your wrath is very real; but Your love and mercy are mine in Christ. Amen
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2010 – Mar. 17 – Just a Single Generation
Study from God’s Word… Judges 2: 7 [Josh 24: 31]; Judges 2: 10 – 23; Judges 3: 1 – 31 … Passage for Reflection: Judges 2: 10 … NIV 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.
My Journal for Today: I’ve now been transported in my journey and journaling through the Bible this year to the time of the Judges, when the Israelites would pay the piper for not having eradicated the pagan peoples and practices from their midst as they conquered and moved into the Promised Land. And having read through the Book of Judges in the past, and these passages which I read today, I know that over a period of some 335 years, there would be succeeding generations of disbelief, disobedience, and destruction experienced by God’s people, the Hebrews. But God would, in each of these generations, raise up Judges to help lead the people out from their collective, national disobedience into patterns of repentance and renewal. But in each era there would be another human cycle of disobedience which would overtake God’s people, sending them back into their own repetitive tarpits of sinfulness. And in each era it only takes one generation of people to miss out on living up to their covenant with God.
Dr. Smith today uses a word picture I think we can understand. Imagine someone trying to tell us an important message via cell phone; and the message would be garbled in the transmission. Imagine also that we were responsible to pass that message on to others because of its importance. Isn’t it likely that the message would get distorted in the transfer? And that is what happened with God’s people after Moses and Joshua were off the scene. The message of God’s covenant, His law, and His commands to God’s people became distorted by the pagan cultural values which had crept into the lives of God’s people, these cultures not having been eradicated completely in the occupation of the Promised Land. And we see the degradation of choices and actions which took place, leading to destruction of the Godly, covenant honoring life which God’s people had promised they would hold onto in their relationship with God.
With our word picture of a messed up phone conversation and the passing on of “the message,” we get a very small picture of what is happening in our times today. As Smith teaches today in his devotional, ”Cultural values are transmitted through customs, traditions, and rituals. When a civilization (or church or family) quits telling its story to the next generation, it isn’t long before cultural screeching begins. And decry as we might the evils of the younger generation, the story of cultural and moral values is theres to HEAR, not to TELL. … Whether it be a whole society, the church, or an individual family, there is ALWAYS only one generation difference between faith and disbelief.”
And is that not what we’re seeing in today’s generation? And Smith pointedly asks his readers (and that’s me – and now you), ”Do my children know about the three little pigs, but precious little about the three persons of the Godhead?” … Maybe that’s not the case with your kids or grandkids. Maybe your kids, like ours, are raising up the next generation as believers; but they are being engulfed in a morass of disbelief and disobedience to God’s ways as well as a generation of cultural disbelief in His word. And I fear that this will be the case for my grandchildren, knowing that “the rain will fall on the saved as well as the unsaved.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I have faith that You will protect your remnant of believers, which is my only hope for the generation of our grandchildren. Amen
My Journal for Today: I’ve now been transported in my journey and journaling through the Bible this year to the time of the Judges, when the Israelites would pay the piper for not having eradicated the pagan peoples and practices from their midst as they conquered and moved into the Promised Land. And having read through the Book of Judges in the past, and these passages which I read today, I know that over a period of some 335 years, there would be succeeding generations of disbelief, disobedience, and destruction experienced by God’s people, the Hebrews. But God would, in each of these generations, raise up Judges to help lead the people out from their collective, national disobedience into patterns of repentance and renewal. But in each era there would be another human cycle of disobedience which would overtake God’s people, sending them back into their own repetitive tarpits of sinfulness. And in each era it only takes one generation of people to miss out on living up to their covenant with God.
Dr. Smith today uses a word picture I think we can understand. Imagine someone trying to tell us an important message via cell phone; and the message would be garbled in the transmission. Imagine also that we were responsible to pass that message on to others because of its importance. Isn’t it likely that the message would get distorted in the transfer? And that is what happened with God’s people after Moses and Joshua were off the scene. The message of God’s covenant, His law, and His commands to God’s people became distorted by the pagan cultural values which had crept into the lives of God’s people, these cultures not having been eradicated completely in the occupation of the Promised Land. And we see the degradation of choices and actions which took place, leading to destruction of the Godly, covenant honoring life which God’s people had promised they would hold onto in their relationship with God.
With our word picture of a messed up phone conversation and the passing on of “the message,” we get a very small picture of what is happening in our times today. As Smith teaches today in his devotional, ”Cultural values are transmitted through customs, traditions, and rituals. When a civilization (or church or family) quits telling its story to the next generation, it isn’t long before cultural screeching begins. And decry as we might the evils of the younger generation, the story of cultural and moral values is theres to HEAR, not to TELL. … Whether it be a whole society, the church, or an individual family, there is ALWAYS only one generation difference between faith and disbelief.”
And is that not what we’re seeing in today’s generation? And Smith pointedly asks his readers (and that’s me – and now you), ”Do my children know about the three little pigs, but precious little about the three persons of the Godhead?” … Maybe that’s not the case with your kids or grandkids. Maybe your kids, like ours, are raising up the next generation as believers; but they are being engulfed in a morass of disbelief and disobedience to God’s ways as well as a generation of cultural disbelief in His word. And I fear that this will be the case for my grandchildren, knowing that “the rain will fall on the saved as well as the unsaved.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I have faith that You will protect your remnant of believers, which is my only hope for the generation of our grandchildren. Amen
Friday, March 20, 2009
2009 – Day 78.Mar. 20 – Historical Obedience
2009 – Day 78.Mar. 20 – Historical Obedience
Passage of the Day: Exodus 12: 1 - 28 … Link to passage for study …
My Journal for Today: In today’s passage we read about the establishment of Passover. God instituted, through Moses, a feast of remembrance which was given to God’s people to highlight their need to be obedient – or die! And the people heard Moses, and as we read in verse 28 of Exodus 12, they obeyed. Pharaoh didn’t; and we know what happened. God’s people made history by escaping slavery; and Pharaoh became history with the demise of his mighty nation.
The lesson is clear. When you know God’s will, (again the Nike slogan), “Just do it!” But do we? No, in many ways we’re like Pharaoh and Egypt; or we’re like God’s people, who went on to become wanderers in the desert of disobedience. Here today, we Christians have the great advantage of having God’s compendium of truth in the Bible, which lays out for us – quite clearly as Moses did for God’s people – the truth and the way. And we even have the words and life of THE WAY and THE TRUTH in the person and recorded life of Jesus, THE CHRIST. However, we often either deny it or simple disobey it. And is it any wonder that we encounter our God rather than live a life encompassed by His blessing?
In this one instance of HISTORICAL OBEDIENCE [i.e., today’s passage], the Hebrews heard the word of God, and they obeyed. And we see that they were blessed by deliverance from their slavery. But we also know – also from history – that these same people, over and over again, had to be subjected to God’s hatred of disobedience and ungodliness; and they paid the price for disobedience over and over and over again. All one has to do is read the Book of Judges and you’ll see how repetitive disobedience incurs God’s wrath of separation, whereas man’s obedience of God’s will results in God’s blessing of His presence and His providence.
I think about this truth and I read Romans 1: 18 – 32 [link provided]; and it’s a bit scary. It’s like I’m reading a picture of the disobedience of God’s truth which we see in this world today; and I’m greatly concerned for the lives of our grand children, who may, along with the disobedient ones in today’s culture experience the wrath of God Who lifts His protective blessing over this nation (and others), allowing the horror of Satan to be visited upon the world. May God have mercy upon us?!
But I have hope in Christ; and I know that God will never forsake HIS CHILDREN. It is true that the rain falls on the obedient as well as the disobedient. But the rain of eternal death, which will befall the wicked, will never fall on the obedient and faithful in Christ. So, my mission in life is the same as that as my Lord’s, which was prophesied in Isaiah 61: 1-2 as well as voiced by our Savior in Luke 4: 18-19; and that is to do all I can to impart God’s truth to my family and this world, allowing any or all who believe and receive the truth to escape the prison of sin and to live eternally with our God.
My Prayer for Today: Help me, Lord, to know Your truth, to live by it, and to share it with all I can in my life. Amen
Passage of the Day: Exodus 12: 1 - 28 … Link to passage for study …
My Journal for Today: In today’s passage we read about the establishment of Passover. God instituted, through Moses, a feast of remembrance which was given to God’s people to highlight their need to be obedient – or die! And the people heard Moses, and as we read in verse 28 of Exodus 12, they obeyed. Pharaoh didn’t; and we know what happened. God’s people made history by escaping slavery; and Pharaoh became history with the demise of his mighty nation.
The lesson is clear. When you know God’s will, (again the Nike slogan), “Just do it!” But do we? No, in many ways we’re like Pharaoh and Egypt; or we’re like God’s people, who went on to become wanderers in the desert of disobedience. Here today, we Christians have the great advantage of having God’s compendium of truth in the Bible, which lays out for us – quite clearly as Moses did for God’s people – the truth and the way. And we even have the words and life of THE WAY and THE TRUTH in the person and recorded life of Jesus, THE CHRIST. However, we often either deny it or simple disobey it. And is it any wonder that we encounter our God rather than live a life encompassed by His blessing?
In this one instance of HISTORICAL OBEDIENCE [i.e., today’s passage], the Hebrews heard the word of God, and they obeyed. And we see that they were blessed by deliverance from their slavery. But we also know – also from history – that these same people, over and over again, had to be subjected to God’s hatred of disobedience and ungodliness; and they paid the price for disobedience over and over and over again. All one has to do is read the Book of Judges and you’ll see how repetitive disobedience incurs God’s wrath of separation, whereas man’s obedience of God’s will results in God’s blessing of His presence and His providence.
I think about this truth and I read Romans 1: 18 – 32 [link provided]; and it’s a bit scary. It’s like I’m reading a picture of the disobedience of God’s truth which we see in this world today; and I’m greatly concerned for the lives of our grand children, who may, along with the disobedient ones in today’s culture experience the wrath of God Who lifts His protective blessing over this nation (and others), allowing the horror of Satan to be visited upon the world. May God have mercy upon us?!
But I have hope in Christ; and I know that God will never forsake HIS CHILDREN. It is true that the rain falls on the obedient as well as the disobedient. But the rain of eternal death, which will befall the wicked, will never fall on the obedient and faithful in Christ. So, my mission in life is the same as that as my Lord’s, which was prophesied in Isaiah 61: 1-2 as well as voiced by our Savior in Luke 4: 18-19; and that is to do all I can to impart God’s truth to my family and this world, allowing any or all who believe and receive the truth to escape the prison of sin and to live eternally with our God.
My Prayer for Today: Help me, Lord, to know Your truth, to live by it, and to share it with all I can in my life. Amen
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