Category: God’s faithfulness

A World(-Class) Leader

Saturday, March 19, 2016

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:” (Isaiah 11:1 KJV).

Behold, a righteous King from Jesse’s stem will spring!

As you know, it is Election Year here in the United States. Citizens are “angry” at the current state of affairs. They want change. Every country has “furious” people who, because of the damage inflicted by “politicians,” want drastic reformations in their governments. Consequently, the word has very negative connotations. People think of “waste, fraud, and abuse”—individuals who say just what citizens want to hear so they can be elected into office, but who then collect paychecks for doing nothing for the constituents they claim to be represent and serve.

Our English word “politician” is related to the Greek politikos “civic,” equivalent to polit (es) “citizen.” A politician should seek the best interests of citizens rather than himself. Unfortunately, this is not always true. Despite all the disappointments associated with politicians, the Bible says that there is one Leader who will, in due time, make the office of “politician” a title of wisdom, righteousness, respect, and honor. Never once will He disappoint!

Isaiah chapter 11 prophesies Jesus Christ’s glorious reign on Earth: “[1] And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: [2] And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; [3] And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: [4] But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. [5] And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”

What a day it will be, for all the world to see—the first ever, righteous Politician! 🙂

Lamentations and Adulations #2

Saturday, February 27, 2016

“But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us” (Lamentations 5:22 KJV).

What a befitting end to the book of Lamentations!

Lamentations is actually the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah expressing His grief concerning the destruction His people brought upon themselves. But, it is also Jeremiah the Prophet voicing his praise of JEHOVAH God. The God of Israel is a good God, most forgiving and most gracious (Lamentations 3:22-25).

As He told Moses many centuries before Jeremiah, Exodus 34:5-7: “[5] And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. [6] And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, [7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

No matter what horrible situation Israel placed herself into, there was (and always would be) assurance that JEHOVAH God would never give up on her. He would never leave her completely. Israel, as all of sinful mankind, turned out to be such a rotten nation. God had every right to utterly reject them and be very wroth with them. They had turned Jerusalem, the city where He desired to live with them, into a pagan shrine where they had literally set up idols to worship and serve! My, how He judged Jerusalem—yea, all of Israel. But, He will never break His Word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As Paul the Apostle commented, although Israel is set aside today in our Dispensation of Grace: “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:28,29). God will make Israel His kingdom of priests in His own time. “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21—the verse before today’s Scripture). Israel’s best years are still future—due to God’s faithfulness, not hers! 🙂

Lamentations and Adulations #1

Friday, February 26, 2016

“But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us” (Lamentations 5:22 KJV).

What a befitting end to the book of Lamentations!

Lamentations was written by Jeremiah the Prophet to mourn (“lament”) the city of Jerusalem that now lay in ruins. Once a magnificent city, now a shame. Jerusalem, once world-renown for its military conquests and splendorous Temple, now un-walled and defenseless. Heathen neighbors laughed. Her inhabitants dragged off to Babylon—only a few poor people remain. Her kings slaughtered or imprisoned—the Davidic monarchy destroyed. Solomon’s magnificent Temple—now charred wood and scattered stones. JEHOVAH’S presence—long departed from Jerusalem. No economy, no Jewish government, almost no population, no religious system, no walls or military, no more Promised Land. All gone. Taken away. Indeed, Jeremiah aptly summarized it: “But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us!”

How God’s wrath fell upon His beloved city! We cannot imagine the violent fury that obliterated Jerusalem during Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s third invasion! (If God did that to His own nation, what is He going to all the Gentile nations one day?!) He was so very angry, so enraged, that He “utterly rejected” Israel! Once He came, there was nothing left! For five long chapters, Jeremiah poured out his heart, literally weeping throughout Lamentations. JEHOVAH God was just. Jerusalem, warned for centuries, completely refused to listen to prophets JEHOVAH had sent to warn her. Having reached the point of “no-return,” no repentance or conversion, judgment came! Jeremiah looked at Jerusalem in ruins, and he closed Lamentations with a very heavy heart: “But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us!”

A very depressing predicament—such extensive destruction makes Jerusalem appear perpetually ruined. But, small rays of hope appear in Lamentations 3:22-25: “[22] It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. [24] The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. [25] The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” Jerusalem was destroyed, but not 100 percent annihilated. Her people were unfaithful to Him by worshipping and serving idols, but He would be faithful anyway!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who was Melchizedek?”

Appreciative, Not Angry

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Be appreciative to Father God that He gave you the privilege of avoiding spiritual error!

Some time ago, a woman was explaining how her local church had experienced a very difficult split. The pastor had become a dictator and much of the assembly had broken off to form a new group where sound doctrine would be upheld. (My family, having been through four church splits, knows all about the tremendous spiritual and emotional damage that results.) The dear lady explained that one member of the church refused to return to either assembly. He was “mad at God.” What a sad predicament that describes so many countless souls all around the world!

Could I say some words to you, friend? If you have ever been “burned” by a local church breaking up, please do not treat God like He had anything to do with it. Why punish the Person who loves you unconditionally forever? Why mistreat the Person who sent His Son to die for your sins so you would not have to spend eternity in the lake of fire? What did God ever do to you to make you angry? (Did He not give the “church-splitter” the same free will He gave you?) If people do not have sound Bible doctrine operating in them, what do we expect but problems?

It is important not to hold a grudge. Forgive that “church splitter” as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you, lest Satan use that bitterness to get the advantage over you and other believers (2 Corinthians 2:10,11). Leave the apostate church and praise God that He gave you enough doctrinal discernment to do so! (What God could have done is never given you a Bible, and let you be completely clueless as to what His local church looks like and what His local church teaches!)

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #15

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Yes indeed, we can understand and enjoy the Holy Bible!

In his final epistle to the Church the Body of Christ, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). Years earlier, he wrote: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

The Holy Spirit Himself believes you will have “understanding in all things” if you “consider” what Paul wrote in his books, Romans through Philemon. He also believes that, once you understand His Word, then you will believe His Word, and finally you will enjoy His Word. Too many today do not understand the Bible, ever so discouraged by Satan’s schemes. Religious tradition has hidden dispensational Bible study from them. We MUST “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)—separate “that which was kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25) from “that which was spoken since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Mystery MUST be separated from prophecy, Paul MUST be separated from Peter, the Body of Christ MUST be separated from the nation Israel, the Grace of God MUST be separated from the Law of Moses, et cetera.

Friends and brethren, now we know how to understand and enjoy the Bible; may we be faithful in telling others. Second Timothy 2:24-26: “[24] And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, [25] In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; [26] And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

-FINIS!-

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #14

Monday, January 18, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

May we hearken to these truths, lest we misunderstand and dislike the Holy Bible!

The God of Scripture is “longsuffering.” He is not currently pouring out His wrath on Christ-rejecting mankind. Had Israel’s prophetic program operated unbroken, that judgment would have surely come just after Calvary (Psalm 2:1-5; Acts 2:34-36; Acts 7:55,56; et cetera). However, God interrupted prophecy, delayed that judgment, and revealed the mystery program to and through the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus). An unprophesied (secret) period of “grace and peace” extended to all mankind (Gentiles), as illustrated by the salvation of wicked Saul in Acts chapter 9 (1 Timothy 1:12-16). The heart of that mystery program is “the Dispensation of Grace,” doctrines and other truths currently applicable, only until “the fulness of the Gentiles” comes in (Romans 11:25).

Peter had preached salvation and blessing to Gentiles through Israel and her kingdom (Acts 3:19-26; cf. Isaiah 60:1-3; Genesis 12:1-3). Through Paul’s ministry and Gospel, “the Gospel of the Grace of God,” Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, salvation and blessing is currently going to Gentiles without Israel and her kingdom (Romans 11:11-13; Ephesians 3:1-11).

God has offered grace to all; He has been longsuffering, tolerating man’s sins for 20 centuries! Why? “The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” That more lost sinners (like Saul) be saved into the Body of Christ by simple faith in Christ alone, thus spared God’s wrath when prophecy resumes! Once our Dispensation of Grace closes, then and only then, God’s wrath and war will replace His grace and peace (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, 2:1-13). When the scoffers Peter referenced asked about Jesus’ coming in vengeance, they were pitifully ignorant! The message of grace that Paul preached was the very reason why that wrath had not yet come!

Let us conclude this devotionals arc.

Special-edition Bible Q&A #225: “What about the ‘Jewish Roots’ Movement?”
(This 22-page article systematically discusses the dangers of mixing Law and Grace concerning Christian living.)

God’s Perfect Timing

Thursday, December 17, 2015

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4,5 KJV).

As today’s Scripture indicates, the birth of Jesus Christ was no accident—God planned its exact moment from eternity past.

When God placed the first man, Adam, on earth, He purposed that man would “subdue [control] it,” to “have dominion” over it and everything on it (Genesis 1:28). Nevertheless, Adam sinned by joining Satan in his rebellion against God. Because of sin, man was now unable to accomplish on earth what God originally created him to do. God left the human race a promise, however, that there would come a Man, who would do what Adam failed to do. Instead of cooperating with God’s adversary like Adam had, this “seed of the woman” would “bruise [Satan’s] head” (Genesis 3:15).

Traveling up through the Scriptures, we see how God lays the groundwork for that seedline. In Genesis 12:1-3, or 2,000 years after Adam’s sin, we read God’s covenant with Abraham, that through Abraham a nation, Israel, will be born, and salvation and blessing will flow to the Gentiles through Israel. The seed of the woman becomes the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, and 1,000 years after Abraham, we read of God’s covenant with King David, that “his seed” will inherit his throne and reign forever. The seed of the woman and of Abraham becomes the seed of David.

About 1,000 years after David, Matthew 1:1 speaks of Christ’s birth, and declares, “…Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” This is exactly what God had promised for thousands of years!

Jesus Christ’s birth was not some haphazard event of nature. God the Father had preplanned the exact moment of the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Over a period of some 4,000 years, the three members of the Godhead worked to bring about the birth of man’s Redeemer, a plan they had even before man was created! Amazing!

Joy to the World! #2

Saturday, December 12, 2015

“Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Psalm 98:5-9 KJV).

The second verse of the classic Christmas carol highlights today’s Scripture.

“Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.”

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world, and death by sin (Romans 5:12), plunging creation into suffering. What God had intended to last forever was now languishing away and dying off! “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit…” (Romans 8:22,23).

We humans, pinnacles of God’s creatures, are so ungrateful to our Creator. Even in such a fallen state, our universe is amazingly complex and it is a miracle it even functions at all with its abounding impediments! Rather than praising our Creator for giving us life, we complain about our “problems” and then write books, display billboards, and give lectures about His “non-existence.” We mock His name, laugh at His Bible, stick out our tongues at Him, and wag our fingers in His face. Newsflash—God will not tolerate that forever!

In His own time, Almighty God will make all things right. That means getting rid of that which (and who) is wrong/evil. As 1 Timothy 6:14,15 say: “…the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;” No matter what mankind does—cooperate with Him by faith, or protest by throwing a tantrum in unbelief—God has already determined what He is going to do. Jesus Christ, whether people like it or not, will be King over all creation!

Hope, Joy, and Peace

Thursday, November 12, 2015

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13 KJV).

Life in this world of sin is always unpredictable; Jesus Christ’s faithfulness is always certain!

Dad woke up very early yesterday morning, about 3 a.m., complaining of intense abdominal pain. I drove him and Mom to the hospital emergency room. We discovered his gallbladder was severely inflamed and infected and had to be removed as soon as possible. The laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed yesterday afternoon, and he is now resting comfortably at the hospital. He has a reputation for being very tenacious, so this should not keep him confined to a sickbed for long. 🙂

Mom and I were concerned throughout those dozen-plus hours waiting at the hospital, but we were not worried about the spiritual aspect. Dad has a testimony of having trusted Jesus Christ alone as his personal Saviour. Father God decided to keep him on Earth for a longer time. Whenever this earthly sojourn concludes, he, like all who have believed and trusted the Gospel of the Grace of God, has the assurance of going to heaven upon physical death. Eternity is already settled for we who have trusted in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins. “To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). If eternity is already settled, taken care of, we need not be worried about the “light afflictions” of this temporary world.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “[16] For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. [17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; [18] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

If God can (and did) take care of our biggest problem (eternal damnation in hell), surely, everything else is infinitesimally smaller, and not impossible for Him (or us through Him) to handle! 🙂

Israel’s Return to the LORD Her God

Monday, November 9, 2015

“O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity” (Hosea 14:1 KJV).

Herein is history and prophecy.

Decades before the Assyrian armies invaded and deported the idolatrous northern kingdom (Israel’s 10 northern tribes), JEHOVAH God sent the Prophet Hosea to preach to Israel. While the southern kingdom (Judah) was not as wicked (yet), similar punishment would eventually come upon it (except, in that case, by Babylonian soldiers). Hosea’s ministry had a two-fold message—judgment followed by restoration. That alternation occurs throughout his 14-chapter book. Today’s Scripture begins the final prophecy—Israel’s restoration.

Today’s Scripture says judgment has already fallen on Israel as a whole (both kingdoms). They have forsaken the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They have worshipped and served idols and the one true God has had enough. He will have no more mercy on them, they are not His people, and He will not be their God (Hosea 1:6-9). Having lost their Jewish monarchy and their Promised Land, they are now captive in foreign countries under Gentile control. Today’s Scripture is Hosea encouraging His nation to return to JEHOVAH. Succeeding verses explain.

“[2] Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. [3] Asshur [Assyria] shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.”

In Matthew chapter 3, during John the Baptist’s ministry, Israel, still under that fifth course of judgment (dispersion), had a believing remnant that confessed their sins and were water baptized. They were ready to be God’s people. But, that program was delayed. Yet future, after our dispensation, Israel’s believing remnant—currently blinded in our dispensation—will return to JEHOVAH God, preparing for Jesus Christ’s Second Coming and subsequent earthly kingdom. The so-called “Lord’s Prayer,” Matthew 6:9-13, is their confession. When believing Israel cries out to God, He hears and answers. Read Hosea 14:4-9 and Hosea 1:10,11. Literally, by God’s grace, Israel will be received, redeemed, and restored (Romans 11:25-29)!