Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 39-40 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Exodus 39: 32; 42-43 … : … [Doing God’s Kingdom Work] … 32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. >>>
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
========
EXODUS 40: 1-2; 16-17; … : … [God Says It! – Moses Does it!] … 1 Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. >>>
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. 17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
My Journal for Today: I just read through Chapters 39-40 of Exodus; and one thing, documented by the few verses above which I’ve copied/pasted into this journal entry for your study, just jumped out at me; and that point is reflected by the title above: God’s Into The Details!
If you’re reading along with me, let me quote another verse – this one from the NT – which reflects my title point today and this inexorable biblical truth. Jesus said it; and we need to internalize it (from Matt. 10: 29-30): … Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Yes, the God Who saved me is into the details of my life.
He cared enough for His wandering children, the Israelites, that He gave – through Moses – extremely detailed and elaborate instructions on exactly how to build a Tabernacle for Him where He could be with His children, … protect them, guide them, and love on them. And at least here – in this place and in this time – God’s chosen people listened to their God – through their Pastor, Moses - and they did things exactly as God instructed them to do.
Okay, I think this point need not be drawn out and exacted with any more of my wordiness. God shows us the way; and, of course, we do it?
Got it? … GOT IT? … GOT IT?!!
No, … I’m afraid I don’t got it!! … Yes, I do try; but so, so often … I know God’s way and His will; … even having His Word to shine a light on my path; and what do I do? I go off and do it my way rather than following His instructions to the “Nth” detail. I’m just going to leave it here for today; because if I were a betting man, I would wager that any of you readers following along with me have some “fessin-up” to do with regard to being totally and utterly obedient to God’s will for your life – maybe even something you need to own up to right here and now.
But let’s take heart from the truth of 1st John 1: 9, which I hope you have memorized. If not, please go look it up, … be encouraged, and do your “fess-up” to the Lord … right here and now.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, again I pray as I do so often – shine Your light on my path - way brightly - so that I can’ t help but see Your way through the wilderness of life. Amen
Showing posts with label omniscience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label omniscience. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
January 9, 2012 … Frustrated … But Faithful
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
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
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011 … The Comfort of God’s Omniscience
Passage of the Day: John 21: 17 … The third time He [Jesus] said to him [Peter], "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love Me?" He said, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you."
My Journal for Today: Like the impetuous Apostle, Peter, in my past I’ve been a stumbler … yes, even in denial of Christ. I’ve done things that exhibit my mockery of God. But today’s verse shows that Peter was restored of confidence in His Savior and Lord … in God’s omniscience. And we all can share in that confidence that God knows everything about each and every one of us.
It may seem at times that we are lost in insignificance, especially when we are isolating ourselves in sin or disobedience from God or unGodly habits. But as God declared through Malachi to His people, God knows His children AND He will save them … see Malachi 3: 17 …
SCRIPTURE: Malachi 3: 17 … "They will be Mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.”
David wrote of his remorse over his sin, desiring that God spare him [see Psalm 56:8] …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 56: 8 … Record my lament; list my tears on Your scroll — are they not in Your record?
But Jesus declares (in John 6: 37) that He will never let any in His flock be lost …
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 37 … “All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.”
So, as a formerly lost and now found child of God, my Good Shepherd, even knowing my deceitful heart (see Jer. 17: 9) will never cast me out of His flock; and He will never leave me, nor forsake me [see Heb. 13: 5]. And it is greatly comforting knowing, in my heart of hearts, that my God is all knowing and that there is nothing about be of which He does not know … and yet, He still loves me!
Therefore, just like Peter [in today’s verse], I can declare with assurance, “Lord, You know all things; and so, You know I love You.”
My Prayer Today: I love You, Lord! Amen
My Journal for Today: Like the impetuous Apostle, Peter, in my past I’ve been a stumbler … yes, even in denial of Christ. I’ve done things that exhibit my mockery of God. But today’s verse shows that Peter was restored of confidence in His Savior and Lord … in God’s omniscience. And we all can share in that confidence that God knows everything about each and every one of us.
It may seem at times that we are lost in insignificance, especially when we are isolating ourselves in sin or disobedience from God or unGodly habits. But as God declared through Malachi to His people, God knows His children AND He will save them … see Malachi 3: 17 …
SCRIPTURE: Malachi 3: 17 … "They will be Mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.”
David wrote of his remorse over his sin, desiring that God spare him [see Psalm 56:8] …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 56: 8 … Record my lament; list my tears on Your scroll — are they not in Your record?
But Jesus declares (in John 6: 37) that He will never let any in His flock be lost …
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 37 … “All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.”
So, as a formerly lost and now found child of God, my Good Shepherd, even knowing my deceitful heart (see Jer. 17: 9) will never cast me out of His flock; and He will never leave me, nor forsake me [see Heb. 13: 5]. And it is greatly comforting knowing, in my heart of hearts, that my God is all knowing and that there is nothing about be of which He does not know … and yet, He still loves me!
Therefore, just like Peter [in today’s verse], I can declare with assurance, “Lord, You know all things; and so, You know I love You.”
My Prayer Today: I love You, Lord! Amen
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
February 15, 2011 … God Knows Everything
Passage of the Day: Psalm 147: 5 … Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.
My Journal for Today: Today, again with the help of John MacArthur’s Strength for Today, we focus on God’s omniscience; and in today’s verse, the Psalmist declares that God’s “… understanding has no limit (i.e., is infinite).” Translation for personal application: GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! And we either believe, as did Isaiah, that no one knows more than God (see Is. 40: 13 – 14], or we don’t. In that passage, Isaiah asks … Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?
And the answer to Isaiah’s inquiry, of course, is NO ONE!
This, of course means [to me] that God knows my every thought (see Is. 66: 18a); and nothing is darkness to my God (see Ps. 139: 12). It means that there is no place for me to hide from God’s omniscience (see Ps. 139: 7). Hopefully, - and prayerfully – this truth can and will be a deterrent to sin in my life. And, in fact, the more I come to know my Lord, mostly through His word, I am more and more aware that, even though Christ paid the penalty for my sin, God still judges sin (see below Eccl. 12: 14), and because of His love for me, He will convict or discipline me for any sin I commit (see below Heb. 12: 5 – 11).
SCRIPTURE: Eccl. 12: 14 … God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
SCRIPTURE: Heb. 12: 5-11 … And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." [ quote taken from Prov.3:11-12] 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, I would hope that anyone who reads my journal today, as I express this from my heart, … we all can agree that our hope lies in the power of God (see John 6: 40 below), Who’s all-knowing Spirit will raise me (us) one day just as God, the Father, did for His Son, our Savior, to eternal life and our position as co-heir to His throne.
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 40 Jesus Speaking “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Again, I declare with the younger generation of believers … “Is this not just too cool!!!”
My Prayer Today: Lord, You know my every sin. Help me to know clearly when I do it … so that I won’t repeat it! Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, again with the help of John MacArthur’s Strength for Today, we focus on God’s omniscience; and in today’s verse, the Psalmist declares that God’s “… understanding has no limit (i.e., is infinite).” Translation for personal application: GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! And we either believe, as did Isaiah, that no one knows more than God (see Is. 40: 13 – 14], or we don’t. In that passage, Isaiah asks … Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?
And the answer to Isaiah’s inquiry, of course, is NO ONE!
This, of course means [to me] that God knows my every thought (see Is. 66: 18a); and nothing is darkness to my God (see Ps. 139: 12). It means that there is no place for me to hide from God’s omniscience (see Ps. 139: 7). Hopefully, - and prayerfully – this truth can and will be a deterrent to sin in my life. And, in fact, the more I come to know my Lord, mostly through His word, I am more and more aware that, even though Christ paid the penalty for my sin, God still judges sin (see below Eccl. 12: 14), and because of His love for me, He will convict or discipline me for any sin I commit (see below Heb. 12: 5 – 11).
SCRIPTURE: Eccl. 12: 14 … God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
SCRIPTURE: Heb. 12: 5-11 … And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." [ quote taken from Prov.3:11-12] 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, I would hope that anyone who reads my journal today, as I express this from my heart, … we all can agree that our hope lies in the power of God (see John 6: 40 below), Who’s all-knowing Spirit will raise me (us) one day just as God, the Father, did for His Son, our Savior, to eternal life and our position as co-heir to His throne.
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 40 Jesus Speaking “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Again, I declare with the younger generation of believers … “Is this not just too cool!!!”
My Prayer Today: Lord, You know my every sin. Help me to know clearly when I do it … so that I won’t repeat it! Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
