The Upward Call of God---Day 280 Through the Bible

                               God wants to share eternal life with us and offers us the "cup of salvation".

Today we begin the book of Jeremiah, continue in Philippians, look at a passage in Psalms, and read from Proverbs.  When this is done, what will we come away with?  Will our minds be renewed and our lives transformed by the words of Almighty God?  By now we should be getting a strong sense of the underlying theme of the entire Bible---God's unfailing love for us and our need for Him. Our daily Bible study should serve to set us on a higher plane and open our eyes to God's perspective of circumstances. Take for instance, our birth.  From a human perspective, we are carried in our mother's womb for nine months and then come into the world. God's perspective is vastly different as we see in Jeremiah 1:5, where God is bringing Jeremiah up to speed on his beginnings.  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

This passage reminds me of the first four words of the Bible---"In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1).  The world, our lives, and all that is happening is so much more than what we see in the present. As we have seen throughout the Bible---God is working. "God has a plan for our lives. We are not accidents, nor do we exist by chance. Before we take our first breath, God knows how long we'll live (see Psalm 139:16). Long before we're born, He even knows our name (see Isaiah 44:28)" (Dr. Charles Stanley).

God uses us according to His plan regardless of our age, our speaking skills, our economic status, or our religious affiliation. We have read about instances where God used people who did not even acknowledge Him in order to carry out His purpose. Jeremiah told God he could not speak because he was too young (v. 6). God informed him that he would go where God sent him and would speak the words God gave him. He then encouraged the young Jeremiah with these words that encourage us today: "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you" (v. 8).  God touched Jeremiah's mouth (probably for Jeremiah's benefit) and told him He had put His words in his mouth and that very day had set him "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant" (v.9-10). What a plan!

When we live with only a human perspective we may not see past the present and we tend to focus on self and on fulfilling our own desires.  From God's perspective we become intensely aware of consequences related to our actions.  We read God's words in Jeremiah 2:19, "Your own wickedness will correct you . . . know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you".  Dr. Stanley adds this, "In most cases, the consequences for choosing sin are bound up in the sin itself".  God may forgive us, however, the consequences may remain for our entire lives.  God plants us "a noble vine, a seed of highest quality" (v. 21).  He asks, "How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?"

God is gracious, merciful and "deals bountifully" with us.  He delivers us from death, from tears, and keeps our feet from falling. (Psalm 116:5-8).  The Psalmist poses a question that is also for us: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?  I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (v. 12-13).

Our lesson from Proverbs: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1).  Considering this verse in its fulness in the morning should motivate us to begin our day with prayer, reminding us we do not know what we may face before the day is done.

Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Paul urges us to "rejoice in the Lord" (Philippians 3:1). His assessment of all things that are held dear from a human perspective?  Paul says, "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him" (v. 8 & 9).  It's not hard to trade "up".  It's not hard to leave behind rubbish for things of excellence. Paul's perspective was changed from earthly to heavenly and he saw the reality of the riches of Christ. He wrote in verse 10, " . .that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (v. 10-11).  Paul experienced the resurrected Christ in his conversion, leading him to set his affection on things above. His zeal for God is obvious in his words: "Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (v. 13-14).

Oh, to view our lives from God's perspective! How wonderful when we finally acknowledge His gracious mercy toward us and His deliverance, and take the cup of salvation in response to His goodness, praying daily for His guidance and putting our lives in His hands, ever reaching forward and pressing toward that upward call of God in Christ Jesus!

The "Right" Path That Leads to The Way of Death--Day 140 Through the Bible

 In today's study, Proverbs 16:25, can be applied to Amnon's situation in our reading in 2 Samuel. It also offers us insight about ourselves. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  Amnon could not see clearly due to his obsession and lust for his sister Tamar.  As soon as he fulfilled his desire toward Tamar Amnon's emotions changed and he hated her with a hatred that was greater than the "love" with which he had loved her. Amnon's actions literally led to his eventual death. (God's Word was true even before it was put into writing!) We are emotional beings and we act on emotions that can change quickly. What we see as love or a real need--God may clearly see as lust and a path to destruction.

Having the mind of God can spare us from experiencing the fruits of vacillating emotions. Although David was a man after God's own heart, we see his family plagued with sorrow and grief.  Our pastor gave an excellent sermon this past Sunday which is available on audio on this blog.  In it, he covered Psalm 1 and the contrast between a godly person and an ungodly person.  He brought out the difference in being "happy" and being "blessed".  Although David was without doubt unhappy and grieved during periods in his life, the Psalms he wrote reveals that he was blessed in his dependence on, and his trust in God.

Although the writer of Psalm 66 is not identified, most Bible scholars attribute it to David as it is written in his usual style.  It was written to be read as a poem or to be put to music, thus, "To the Chief Musician, A Song, A Psalm", in its heading.  The subject is praise.  The key words of this Psalm include expressions used in worship: joyful, glorious, awesome, honor, praise.  The words accentuate God's greatness and power.  When we dwell on God's power and wisdom, it leads us to view situations from His perspective, rather than our limited viewpoint that is too often obscured by our changing emotions.  Having access to God's comprehensive point of view through the Holy Spirit and His Word is indeed a blessing and the path to wisdom.

In the book of John, we read that "Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 8:66).  Their relationship with Him was evidently not as strong as other factors.  Verse 60 says that many of His disciples (probably some of the same ones we see leaving Him in verse 66) had said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  As Christians, is our goal to have perfect knowledge?  Is it to have a clear path laid out before us?  Is it to gain happiness?  Is Jesus going to disappoint us?  What if the Christian walk doesn't meet all our expectations?  Our connection, our expectations must focus on Jesus.  A relationship with Jesus must be what we want to gain as a Christian.  Jesus once told a would-be follower, the foxes have dens, the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58).  It's not about materialism, comfort and happiness in this life, it's about our relationship with the Christ, the Son of the Living God (John 6:69)! 

Once we begin getting to know Him, we won't want to walk away, but we will see that trusting Him is the path to dwelling in the house of the Lord forever--regardless of what looks difficult or seems to go beyond our ability to understand. When we stand before God, we are not going to be quizzed on what we know.  It will all hinge on whether or not Jesus knows us and whether our sins have been covered with His sacrifice!  I have no doubt that God knows David and that his sins are forgiven.  I also have no doubt about where I stand with God--I will stand forgiven because of His love, His mercy, and His grace!  "Come and see (experience) the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men" (Psalm 66:5)!