Reflecting on God's Greatness

"Who is it that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?...

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were the bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?'

Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?...

Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightenings, that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'?

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?" (Job 32:1-37)

Oh that I might stand in awe of the sheer power and greatness of God and worship Him for who He is in Himself.

This Uncaused One (God) has caused me to be born again into a living hope. Into a sure hope and one day I will see Him, the one who made all things and sustains all things by His Word, for His own glory and in that seeing there will be joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Oh God deliver me from feeble faith and flabby worship.

Boast in this: That You Understand and Know God

God, through the prophet Jeremiah, says,

Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

What does it mean to understand and know the Lord?

Well the idea is a progress that begins with salvation and continues through eternity.

Yes, in one since salvation is immediate "for everyone who calls on the will be saved" (Romans 10:13). And John tells us, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life" (1John 5:13).

But there is a sense in which salvation is a progression. Paul writes in to the Corinthian believers, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are BEING saved it is the power of God" (1Corinthians 1:18). And Paul prays for the Ephesian believers saying, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might" (Ephesians 1:17-19).

So there is a progression in salvation, a growing that takes place. Therefore, when God says in Jeremiah that our boast is in knowing and understanding God, not to be only a saving knowledge of Him, but an ever deepening understanding of Him.

The more deeply we know God the more rightly we see our selves and the more we know ourselves rightly the more we understand our absolute need for God and the more we see our need for God the more glorious He becomes to us. This is what Paul is praying for in the hearts and minds of the Ephesians--and for us.

So this journey of knowing and understanding God is humbling because we will realize our own depravity, that there is nothing in us that would cause God to save us.

Our emotions will run wild as we see the depths of our own sin and the even deeper truth of God's grace, that God has called His people by their name--individually and personally "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15).

Think about this the knowledge of God. His knowledge is perfect. He knows you completely. There is nothing hidden from God. There is no secret sin that He does not know about you. There is no accusation given against you that He does not already know. He knew you fully and completely before He created you. And He knew you fully and completely when He chose to save you before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). And still He has called you--individually and personally--unto Himself, bearing your sin on the cross.

Knowing and understanding God is a personal journey and it is an emotional journey. But it is also a very practical journey because growing in a knowledge of God produces obedience to Christ and obedience produces a deeper knowledge of God. You cannot grow in a true knowledge of God and not be continually transformed by His grace.

God invites us to know Him. He has given us His Word, so that we can understand Him. Let's embark on this thrilling journey of knowing God.

Oh Father, grant us eyes to see the wonderful things in Your law and in seeing them may we behold the beauty of who You so that our souls will be satisfied in Christ. Amen!

Kidism of the day

What is a "Kidism"? Well, clearly that is not a word--I don't think, but it does describe, in a word, the funny things my kids say.

So what is the kidism today?

Silas (my 2 year old) asked for some "flup-flup's" (translation: Fruit-Loops)

Do You Hate God?

Many people, I would assume, would say that "no, I do not hate God." Others would say that they simply do not believe in God, or at least the same God that I believe in. But for those of us who claim to know Christ and for those of you who say that you are a Christian, do you hate God?

I know that might seem like an odd question to ask, but think about what God says in the Ten Commandments.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

(Exodus 20:4-6, NASU)

In these verses God equates hatred towards Him as loving anything or anyone more than Him.

An idol is anything or anyone "in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth" that you value more than Christ. An idol is not simply a image carved out of stone or wood. An idol is far more reaching than that. Consider the following verses:

"For rebellion is as the sin of divination,

And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,

He has also rejected you from being king."

(1 Samuel 15:23, NASU)

"Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play. Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did. "

(1 Corinthians 10:6-8, NASU)

"Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

(Colossians 3:5, NASU)

A rejection of the Word of God is insubordination and idolatry. Craving evil things, things that are not according to godliness, is idolatry. Immorality, impurity, passion (not directed toward God), evil desire, and greed are all forms of idolatry. These are not images carved out of stone or wood, these are images carved out in our hearts.

A.W. Tozar said, "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him."

God commands us not to long for and go after those things that we think will make us happy, but we must find our happiness in Him.

"In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

(Psalm 16:11, NASU)

So according to Exodus and the testimony of Scripture, to love anything or anyone more than to love Christ is idolatry which is hatred toward God. Even indifference towards Him and His Word is a form of hatred towards Him because we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). Therefore, someone that has been transformed by His grace and indwelt by His Spirit cannot remain indifferent towards God. To be indifferent towards God is to love something or someone more than Him and to do that is hatred toward God.

Are you loving God or are you hating God? One way you know what you love is by what you say. Your words, your conversations give evidence as to what is in your heart.

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."

(Luke 6:45, NASU)

Father, we are a people who are easily entangled by the desires of our own sinful nature and we are in constant need of Your forgiveness. Strengthen us so that we might stand firm in Your might against all forms of idolatry. Grant us faith to see Christ as more valuable than the thousands of daily pleasures. Give to us the desire to obey your Word, that it might be to us more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey. Stir in us affections for You, that we might love you above everything else and that our worship will be the overflow of our enjoyment in Christ. Awaken us from our stupor to see Your greatness and goodness that we might enjoy Your grace and extend Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

Re-Start

Well it has been more than a year since I last wrote on this thing. I think it is time to start again. So this is my official notice of a Re-Start.

A Wedding Poem

Adam gave his rib, so that Eve would have life.
God then gave Eve to Adam to be his wife.
Joining them together, let no man separate
The sign of their covenant is when they consummate

Marriage is more than vows and rings
It is more than promises and ceremonies
It is the mysterious blending of two separate lives,
The creation of God, in joining a man to his wife.

Now there will be days of uncertainty,

disagreements and even strife
But remember that what God brings together,

it is meant for the whole of life.
There are not many things that I can promise you,

but this is one
Make Jesus the treasure of your heart

and you will have a happy home

So tonight we have gather together to celebrate and sing
Not just the marriage of Cacey and Megan,

but to our risen King
Who loved us and died for us,

so that we might see,
That through faith in Jesus

we are made alive, in Him, eternally.

Now let me end by pronouncing this blessing upon you
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, And the love of God the Father,
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.”[1]

“May the Lord bless you, and keep you;
And make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
And lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace”[2]

[1] 2 Corinthians 13:14
[2] Numbers 6:24-26

Discerning and Dealing with Sin

Psalm 19 is a wonderful psalm--Decalring the glory of God revealed in creation (vs. 1-6) and displaying the worth of God's Word as more desirable than much fine gold and sweeter than honey from the honeycomb (vs. 7-11), ending with David's instructions on discerning and dealing with the sins that still linger with in our hearts (vs 12-14).

It is in verses 12-14 that we discover how to deal with sin in our life. David categorizes sin into two broad groupings in these verses. The first is perplexing sin and the second is persumptuous sins.

The perplexing sins are those sins that are mysterious to us and often hidden from our eyes. David said in verse 12, "who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults." Perplexing sins are those sins that seem to sneak up on us. We say, think, feel, or do things and dont understand why these things just happened. You say something that you didnt mean to say or maybe you feel some feeling you dont mean to feel. Perplexing sins seem to come out of nowhere. "Who can discern his errors?" Who can get to the bottom of his own sinning? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" This type of sinning that we must fight against leaves us feeling much like Paul at the end of Romans 7--perplexed!

The persumptuous sins are those sins that we do with forethought and defiance and arrogance. It is those sins that we do from a rebellious heart. David said in verse 13, "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins." These are those sins that we commit becasue we presume to know better than God--that our sins are no big deal. It is those sins done with an attitude that disregards what God has said to be wrong and harmful and declares "I am going to do it anyways!"

Every born again Lover of God still has lingering sin that we must fight against on a daily basis. They are either perplexing sins or presumptuous sins, but these feelings, and attitudes, and actions, and words are sin regardless and must be dealt with.
So how do we who love God deal with theses lingering sins?

David provides us the answer in these verses. First, concerning the perplexing sins he says "Acquit me of hidden faults." In other words, prayer for God's mercy and forgiveness as soon as the thought, attitude, word, or action is made known to you to be sin. Second, concerning the presumptuous sins David prays "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins." We must pray for power to overcome. We must plead God to make our heart love Christ more than all other things, that His word will be to us more desirable than much fine gold and sweeter to us than honey from the honeycomb.

Oh that we might fight against these sins by praying for God to forgive us for both preplexing and presumptuous sins and that He might empower us to overcome them both.

There is one last thought. David spent four verses on the value of God's word (vs. 7-11). This is not accidental, but by design. The way we fight sin is with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). So we must take the Sword by the power of the Holy Spirit with prayer and strike down our enemies--put to death our remaining sin with in our hearts.

Grace be with you as you fight