Glorious Victory

As we are reading through Deuteronomy, we find that it is not easy for the Israelites to enter into their Promised Land. Though it was promised to them, God never said it would be a “walk in the park” for them to inherit their land. However, He did promise that He would go before them, and He promised that His presence would be with them. The Promised Land was inhabited by pagans and heathens who worshiped other gods. The Jews needed to go to war and capture the territory that already belonged to them. Victory was promised to them, but they still had to fight. This is what the Lord said concerning Israel’s battle against the enemy: “Hear O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut. 20:3-4)

The Apostle Paul must have remembered these words of the Lord as He marched into enemy territory in Jerusalem. He was warned not to go to Jerusalem because of the impending danger that awaited him. But Paul’s response was, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart: I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts. 21:13) He knew there would be a battle to fight, but He knew the Lord would be with him and would fight for him. Paul was well-acquainted with warfare. He was tortured, and put in prison numerous times for proclaiming his faith. Because of this, he has written some of the most eloquent discourses concerning warfare that we will find in Scripture. Concerning Spiritual warfare he wrote these words: “be aFinally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be to stand your ground…” (Eph. 6:13)

Paul understood that as Christians, we do not wage war as the world does. He explained in 2 Cor. 10 that the weapons of our warfare are not weapons of the world. We must fight with the very words of God—our sword of the Spirit. With that sword, we are able to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Just as victory was promised to the Jews as they entered the Promised Land, victory is promised to us as well. Paul assures us in 2 Corinthians 2:14 that God will lead us into victory with the help of Christ. We must do our part to stand firm in our faith and victory will be ours. In Romans 15, Paul reminds us that everything in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4) I believe he had Deuteronomy 20:3-4 in mind when he wrote the passage in Romans 15. We have hope in our glorious victory because God has already promised it to us, just as he promised victory to the ancient Jews. We have His presence, His protection and His mighty power to fight the battles for us. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:37) “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him!” (2 Cor. 2:14)

An Open Door

There have been so many decisions in my life that I have made even when I wasn’t quite sure which direction to go. Each one of us encounters crossroads where we must choose one way or the other. Sometimes, the answer is not always clear, but we go with what we know at the time. We trust, pray and hope that the Lord will guide us to the next step. In Acts 16, Paul received a direct word from God concerning his next decision. Acts 16:6-10 says, “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
This passage of Scripture taught me a few things about God’s guidance and direction. First of all, Paul and his companions were yielded to the Spirit of God. The Spirit “kept” them from preaching the Word of God in the province of Asia even though they may have not had all of the answers as to why they were not permitted to do so. Secondly, they kept moving. There was a closed door in the province of Asia, so they moved on to the border of Mysia. They tried to enter Bithynia, but again the Spirit of God would not allow them to. They kept moving and proceeded to enter Troas. Once Paul made it into Troas, the Spirit of God sent a vision to Paul concerning Macedonia. The other principle I learned from this passage is that once Paul received the vision from God, He concluded that God called them to preach the Gospel in Macedonia and they left immediately the next day. When making a decision, we need to stay yielded and willing to do whatever it is that God asks of us. We need to keep moving until we find an open door, and when God makes something perfectly clear, follow through immediately.

The book of Proverbs contains some very helpful passages about decision making. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” In this passage is an instruction as well as a promise. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.” And Proverbs 19:21 tell us, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Obviously, the Lord desires to be a huge factor in our decision making. He is the only One who can direct us effectively and we know that He will always direct us into the right way—the Jesus Way. As we continue to walk the Jesus Way, let us consider the example of Paul and heed the ancient Proverbs before we take our next steps. Sometimes the way is dark and uncertain, but Jesus is the Light and in Him is no darkness as we read in 1 John. Psalm 119:105 reminds us that God’s Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. God, we thank You; for You did not leave us alone to find our way in this vast creation. You promise to never leave us nor forsake us. You promise to guide us as we seek You; and You promise that our plans will succeed as we commit them to You. We know that You will provide the open doors for us and we can walk in peace and safety with You by our side.

Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go.

A Strong Tower

A Strong Tower

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe.”

God is passionate about revealing Himself to us. We have seen in our Old Testament readings in Genesis, Leviticus and Numbers, that God has revealed Himself as jealous, holy, forgiving, wrathful, loving and merciful. In the ancient Hebrew culture, the name given to someone described that particular person. Every name given to God in the Bible describes an attribute of His character.

In the Old Testament, we find many names of God that are mentioned for the first time. In Genesis 1, God is referred to as Elohim, or Creator. After Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, the Lord made a decree to keep His people from disease if they obeyed His commandments. He referred to Himself as Jehovah Rapha—the God who heals. In Genesis 16, Hagar became pregnant with Abram’s child and Sarai, Abram’s wife, mistreated her out of her own bitterness. Hagar fled to the desert to get away from Sarai’s mistreatment but an angel of the Lord came to her while she was in the desert and told her to name her son Ishmael; for the Lord had heard of her misery. After this had happened, Hagar said, “You are the God who sees me. I give you the name, El Roi, the God who sees.” In Genesis 17:1, the Lord referred to Himself as God Almighty—El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One. In Genesis 22, when Abraham marched up Mount Moriah to offer his son, Isaac as a sacrifice, he told Isaac that the Lord would provide the burnt offering. At that moment, he identified God as Jehovah Jireh—the Lord will Provide. In Exodus 3, God established His ultimate identity to Moses as Jehovah—the self-existent One, the Beginning and the End. God uttered His holy name from a voice in a burning bush as he spoke to Moses. In Exodus 15, after Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, the Lord made a decree to keep His people from disease if they obeyed His commandments. He referred to Himself as Jehovah Rapha—the Lord who heals. After the Israelites defeated the Amalekites at Rephidim, Moses built an altar of victory and named the Lord, Jehovah Nissi—the Lord is my Banner of victory. In Exodus 31, God instructed His people to observe the Sabbath day and declared Himself to be Jehovah Mekoddishkem—the Lord who Sanctifies or makes holy. In Psalm 23, we read that the Lord is our Shepherd—Jehovah Raah.

These are just a few of the names given to God in Scripture, but we can see the unfolding of His unfailing character throughout the generations of the Patriarchs. The Lord loves to hear His name uttered. To call the Lord by His specific names increases our faith and turns the ear of God toward us. We can praise Him according to His names and we can cry out to Him in times of distress according to His names, because His names represent who He is. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into and are safe! Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God! Blessed be the name of the Lord!

The God Who Keeps

The word “keep” has great significance in Scripture. It denotes continual action as well as responsibility for us and for God. Our responsibility is to keep God’s commandments, to observe, obey and hold fast to His promises. God promises to keep watch over us, keep us from harm, and to keep us in perfect peace as we trust in Him.

A couple of weeks ago, the pre-K choirs came and sang for us during the evening meal. They sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” They sang some new and interesting verses such as “He’s got the dirt and the worms in His hands.” When I was growing up, we used to sing, “He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands”, or “He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands.” This simple, yet profound song reminds us that our God keeps all things in His hands with His sovereign might and power. One of the definitions of the word “keep” in Vine’s Expository Dictionary is “God’s sustaining power over His people.”

God’s sustaining power is demonstrated to us with great gentleness, however. That sustaining power guards us, protects us and watches over us, much like a shepherd does for his sheep. Many times our Gentle Shepherd must restrain us or constrain us to keep us from hurting ourselves. He also promises to keep our souls at rest, but only as we maintain our responsibility to trust in Him and keep his commandments.

Here are some verses that give us a picture of what God does for us on a continual basis: Psalm 121:4-8 “Indeed, He who watches over (or keeps) Israel (or you) slumbers not nor sleeps. The Lord watches over (or keeps) you –the Lord is your shade at your right hand…the Lord will keep you from all harm; He will watch over (or keep) your life; the Lord will watch over (keep) your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep those in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because He trusts in You.”

Psalm 19:13 “Keep (restrain) your servant from willful sins so that do not rule over me.”

Let us not forget God’s ability to keep us; to save us, protect us, watch over us and restrain us. He never slumbers nor sleeps so that His continual sustaining power will keep all things together in this vast universe. Let us remember that He keeps us in perfect peace as we trust in Him and His sustaining power.

Frances Havergal, the writer of the hymn “Like a River Glorious” understood God as her keeper. The year of her death, she wrote these beautiful words:

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace
Over all victorious in its bright increase

Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way

Stayed upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed
Finding as He promised perfect peace and rest.

A New and Living Way

In our daily readings, we have traveled through the book of Leviticus, and it was overwhelming at times to read about the unbelievable detail regarding temple sacrifice. It is obvious that God’s way of atonement was through the shedding of blood. I am thankful that we do not have to go through the ritual of finding a blemish-free ram or goat to slaughter for a burnt offering.

It was interesting to go back and read Hebrews 8, 9, 10, and 11 after reading Leviticus. Hebrews was one of the first books we read in the Word of God for the People of God daily Bible readings. As I read the commands of the Lord for the temple sacrifices, I kept wondering why God would go to such great lengths to indicate each detail regarding the temple, the sacrifices, the priestly garments, etc. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago in an article entitled “Master Designer.” In Hebrews 8, we find the answer to why God was so particular about the design and functions of the Tabernacle that He described in Leviticus. Hebrews 8:5 says: “They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in Heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the Tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The explanation continues in Hebrews 9: When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made…He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once and for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered Heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter Heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not His own. But now He has appeared once and for all to take away the since of many people. (v. 11.12, 24)

This priest offered for all time one sacrifice for sins and then sat down at the right hand of God. Therefore, according to Hebrews 10, we have a new and living way opened for us through the curtain (the body of Jesus) who is also our high priest. Our invitation is to “draw near” to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, since our hearts have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. (Heb. 10:20-21) Thank you Lord for Your sacrifice once and for all. We praise You for Your incredible provision! We remember Your broken body and shed blood for us and we rejoice that we can draw near to You with full assurance of faith!

Let us draw near to the throne, let us draw near
The Father welcomes His own, let us draw near
Our hearts are sprinkled with blood
Cleansing is here,
Let us draw near to the throne, let us draw near!

I Will Rise

Luke 24:1-5

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they had entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!"

This is a wonderful prelude for us to reflect upon before Easter Sunday morning. Victory happened once and for all when Jesus declared “It is finished” while breathing His last breath. Jesus’ ultimate triumph over the clutches of death occurred when He rose from the grave. He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Every knee will bow to the name of Jesus. Because of Jesus, we can look forward to no more pain and no more sorrow, where all will be illumined by the glory of God, and our faith will become sight.

As we live out our daily lives here on earth, we can still acknowledge the victory that we have in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We can live with the hope that God is at work even now to create new life within us. This hope develops internal peace, which is the anchor for our souls. Though we know in our hearts that victory is ours in Christ Jesus, it is sometimes hard for us to hold on to this belief when times are difficult. Jesus never promised that our lives would be without heartache and sorrow, but He did promise that He would be with us during the hard times, and He also promised us His comfort and peace through the Holy Spirit. Even during the face of trials, we can know that Christ is working to bring life to us when we feel as though we are “dying” inside.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 encourages us not to lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, we are being renewed inwardly each day. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” No matter how broken we may become, Christ will continue to prove His resurrection power in our lives as we surrender to Him. As we bow before Him in humility and reverence, and as we wait on Him, even in the midst of pain and suffering, He will lift us up and we will rise on wings like eagles, we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint. (Isa. 40:31) This is true faith put into action. This is the faith that will carry us to the end of our days on earth. This is the faith which allows us to say “It is well” as we live victoriously in Christ.

I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles’ wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise, I will rise

Grafted In

Reading through Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, we see several themes developing. One theme is God’s desire for obedience among His people. God was so careful to present specific guidelines for His people to follow, and those guidelines were to protect and preserve the holiness of the Israelites in their devotion toward God. He certainly did not want to share their devotion with any other god. Over and over again, God warned the Israelites not to worship pagan idols or make sacrifices to them. If they worshipped other gods, they were put to death! God is a jealous God and will not share His glory with another!

Unfortunately, the appeal of idol worship lured the Israelites away from God’s commands. They grieved the heart of God and He burned with anger toward them. If I were God, I would be thinking, “How could you do this to me, after all I have done for you?” In Romans 10, Paul quotes Isaiah who reveals the grieved heart of God: “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” Because of this, God gave them a “spirit of stupor” and blinded their eyes. (Romans 11:8) Not only had the Jews worshipped other gods, but they also manipulated the laws of God and created them to be “stumbling blocks” to the truth of the coming Messiah. Their eyes were indeed blinded! Later on, God would show mercy upon His people, but in the meantime, something wonderful happened for those of us who were not Jews. We were “grafted in” to the Living Vine!

In Romans 11, Paul used powerful imagery to demonstrate God’s love and mercy toward the Gentiles—those outside of Abraham’s Covenant to the Jewish nation. In verse 17 Paul wrote, “You, though a wild olive shoot have been grafted in among the others and now share the nourishing sap from the olive root.” Richard Foster, in his book Learning from Jesus describes the grafting process: “The graft shoots its little roots and fibers down into the stem and the stem grows up into the graft, and what has been called structural union is effected.” A graft is intentionally placed by the vinedresser into the vine. Once the graft has been placed into the vine, it then begins to draw nourishment from the vine and then becomes part of the vine.”

Because of the Jews’ disobedience and unbelief, they were branches who were “cut off”, which consequently made room for those of us who are Gentiles. Our provision to be grafted into the Vine is through our faith in Christ. All of this was part of God’s plan! He used the disobedience of the Jews to make a way for the Gentiles (you and me!) to become a part of God’s eternal kingdom. I am so thankful that God showed His mercy upon us and adopted us as His children—the “little olive shoots” that can draw nourishment from the Living Vine. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) This is a profound mystery that only comes from the heart of One who is much greater than we are. It is only appropriate that Paul would close is discourse on the “grafting in” process in Romans 11 with this glorious doxology: “Oh the depth and the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay Him? For from Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”