Author Archives: elizabeth

Are you joyful?

nuggets of wisdom No Comments

 
 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. -Isaiah 12:3

 

Having just written about false teachers, as I pondered what to write next, I decided to write one of the fall outs of embracing false teaching. Lack of joy in the Lord.  Christian joy is based on the fact that we have had our sins forgiven and heaven bound. Based on that, we should really be the most joyful people on earth. But this is not so. Why is this?

When I say we should be always be joyful, I don’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that Christians ought to be happy all the time and never know any sadness. That would be unscriptural as Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to  mourn and a time to weep. Ecclesiastes 3:4 – a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

I am also not talking about happiness which is based on happen stance (circumstances), for our circumstances change all the time.  I am however, talking about the kind of joy that the apostle Paul had even when he was in prison – a joy that comes from the depths of our hearts when we know for sure that our sins are forgiven and we are heaven bound. A joy that is as a result of knowing that we are no longer under the wrath of God. The kind of joy that enabled Jesus to face the cross, knowing He was doing the Father’s will. Hebrews 12:2 – looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

The Christian’s joy is directly connected to her embrace of the sovereignty of God. Our joy in the Lord rests on our knowledge of the fact that He has everything under control – He is the sovereign Lord of the universe and our lives. We trust Him and rest in Him in any situation knowing that His way is best and that nothing takes Him by surprised.

 

 

While there are many reasons for the lack of joy among Christians, one of the main ones I would say is the embrace of false teaching. Most people who embrace false teaching do not always know they have embraced a lie. However, as they try to live out this false Christian way, what they find is that this false way robs them of their Christian joy. I know this by experience. I used to believe in the “prosperity gospel”.

False teaching usually sounds good and is initially embraced with joy. Take the false teaching that says God always wants His children to happy, wealthy and wise. That you can get anything from God, all you have to do is just “name it and claim it” and it will be yours. Who wouldn’t want all their desires met?  As time goes on however, the believer who has embraced this begins to find out things are not really happening as they desire. After trying all the ways they have been taught to get their way to no avail, they will begin to see themselves as maybe second class Christians with little or no faith at all. Over time, the weight of a lot of unanswered prayers begin to weight them down. The result is a sadness and lack of joy.

The” name it and claim it” gospel is a false teaching that denies the sovereignty of God. The Christian’s joy is directly connected to her embrace of the sovereignty of God. Our joy in the Lord rests on our knowledge of the fact that He has everything under control – He is the sovereign Lord of the universe and our lives. We trust Him and rest in Him in any situation knowing that His way is best and that nothing takes Him by surprise.

When believers walk in the joy of the Lord, we are witness to a lost and dying world that true peace and joy can only be found in having our sins forgiven. While God can and does bless some of children with material blessings, that however, is not the purpose of our salvation. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians tells us that we are saved for holiness and righteousness.  Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

 True Christian joy comes from knowing that we belong to the Father and that nothing can ever pluck us out of His hands. Our joy is directly related to the assurance we have of knowing that someday, we will be with Him forever in a place where there will be no more sorrow or pain , where we will enjoy true lasting joy forever and ever!

 
 
Soli Deo Gloria!

False Teachers – Pt.2

nuggets of wisdom No Comments

 

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. – Jude 1:4

 

From Jesus to the apostles, Peter, Paul, Jude and a host of Old Testament prophets, the Bible is filled with warnings to the people of God about false prophets. Some may ask, why would the Lord warn us against false teachers when the true believer is eternally secure in Christ?  False teaching cannot destroy the Church of Jesus Christ, since Jesus Himself has promised that He will build His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18), false teaching can however, hurt the body of Christ, cause Christ’s name to be blasphemed and cause Christianity to be maligned and evil spoken of.

So how do we recognize false teachers? The Bible shows us how. Here are some (some words in the verses have been emphasized):

 2 Peter 2:1-3, 14, 18-19

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;
For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

Jude 1:4, 8, 12, 16

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.
These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;
These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

I will point out a few characteristics of false teachers from these two passages. This is not by any means an exhaustive list. 

 

that we may avoid being led away, we must seek to grow in all grace, in faith, and virtue, and knowledge. Labor to know Christ more clearly, and more fully; to know him so as to be more like him, and to love him better. – Matthew Henry

 
 
From both of these passages and many others in scripture, we learn that false teachers:

Work within the church. They are usually among believers. They came in “secretly” that means they pretended to be the true but are not.

 “Secretly” introduce a false teaching. This means they take a truth of scripture and twist it to suit their purposes. For example, no verse in the Bible has been more abused than the Matthew 7:1 where Jesus says “Judge not that you be not judged”. Both false teachers and their adherents have abused and twisted this verse to the extent of saying it means one can never address the sin of others within the church.

False teachers always encourage sexual sins and immorality. Peter says many will follow their sensuality. Jude says they turn the grace of God into licentiousness. As the NLT puts it false teachers have “wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.” Nothing can be further from the truth.

Are Greedy. – They are covetous, materialistic and money minded.

Deny the Lordship of Christ. – This means they preach “easy believism”. The preaching that you can “accept Christ” and still live anyway you want. Claiming that as long as you have prayed a prayer or walked an aisle you are saved, even if nothing changes in your life. They also deny the deity of Christ and in some cases deny the virgin birth out right.

Are Arrogant. It should not surprise us that false teachers are arrogant since pride is the root of all sins. Jude compares false teachers to the fallen angels who followed after lucifer in his rebellion against God out of pride and that like fallen angels, God as reserved for false preachers, an eternal damnation.

Like I said, this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics of false teachers, but we get the idea.   The question then is, how can a believer guard against false teaching? Simple, get to know Christ through His word. We are to grow and increase in our knowledge of God through His word.

Peter tells in 2 Peter 3:18 that we “must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

False teachers can be likened to counterfeiters who make counterfeit money. The best guard against being deceived into taking counterfeit money is to spend time getting to know the real thing so you are able to spot a counterfeit a mile away. This is essentially what Peter is saying in the verse above. We must grow in the grace & knowledge of Christ.

Matthew Henry summarized it as follows:

Those who are led away by error, fall from their own steadfastness. And that we may avoid being led away, we must seek to grow in all grace, in faith, and virtue, and knowledge. Labor to know Christ more clearly, and more fully; to know him so as to be more like him, and to love him better. This is the knowledge of Christ, which the apostle Paul reached after, and desired to attain; and those who taste this effect of the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, will, upon receiving such grace from him, give thanks and praise him, and join in ascribing glory to him now, in the full assurance of doing the same hereafter, forever. him, and join in ascribing glory to him now, in the full assurance of doing the same hereafter, forever.

 
 
Soli Deo Gloria!

The Gospel Way

nuggets of wisdom Puritan Prayers Voices of Wisdom No Comments

 

Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy;
Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness
by my own doings.

 

Like all believers, I am eternally thankful to God for my salvation. That a Holy, righteous and separate God would choose to stoop down to not only save a wretch like me, but also adopt into His family and make me a joint heir with Christ is something i cannot comprehend, but of which I will forever be grateful for.

“The Gospel Way” is a prayer of thanksgiving for salvation. It can be found on pages 62-63 in “The Valley of Vision”.

 

BLESSED LORD JESUS,

No human mind could conceive or invent
the gospel.
Acting in eternal grace, thou art both
its messenger and its message,
lived out on earth through infinite compassion,
applying thy life to insult, injury, death,
that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed.

Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Lamb of God,
for opening this way,
Praise everlasting to thee, O Holy Spirit,
for applying this way to my heart.

Glorious Trinity, impress the gospel on my soul,
until its virtue diffuses every faculty;
Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt.

Teach me to secure this mighty blessing;
Help me to give up every darling lust,
to submit heart and life to its command,
to have it in my will,
controlling my affections,
moulding my understanding;
to adhere strictly to the rules of true religion,
not departing from them in any instance,
nor for any advantage in order to escape evil,
inconvenience or danger.

Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy;
Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness
by my own doings.
O gracious Redeemer,
I have neglected thee too long,
often crucified thee,
crucified thee afresh by my impenitence,
put thee to open shame.

I thank thee for the patience that has borne with me
so long,
and for the grace that now makes me willing to be
thine.
O unite me to thyself with inseparable bonds,
that nothing may ever draw me back from thee,
my Lord, my Saviour.

 

Amen!

False Teachers – Pt.1

nuggets of wisdom 1 Comment

  

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;   – Acts 20:29

  

Jesus warned us that in the last days false prophets will arise and deceive many. Matthew 24:11 – And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. Ever since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, we have been living in the last days and false teachers abound.

How do we identify a false teacher? Afterall, false teachers don’t go around calling themselves false teachers. Since they are usually leaders within the Church, how can they be identified? What makes one a false teacher?

  

Another word for false teacher or false prophet in the New Testament is anti-Christ. The word anti-Christ means contrary to Christ. Who do we know Christ to be?  He tells us in John 14:6 that He is the way the Truth and the life. Jesus Christ is the Truth. His teachers and preachers are teachers of the Truth. Anyone who is against Christ is not for the Truth, they are liars and the follow their father, the devil who is the father of lies. (John 8:44).

  

The Bible is clear on how to identify a false teacher and we will go through some of the scriptures but let me say right from the start that not everyone who says or preaches a wrong doctrine is a false teacher. What do I mean by that? I mean that there are some occasions where faithful and Biblical sound teachers can be wrong in their understanding of a doctrine – they are mistaken about a doctrine or action. Being wrong or mistaken in that sense does not make them false teachers.

In Galatians 2:11-14, we have an example of a Biblical sound teacher not only holding a wrong view of what it means to be part of the body of Christ, but also encouraging others to hold the same wrong view too. Not only was he mistaken in his understanding, but he was also leading others into the same error. In these verses, Peter, due to fear of man, not only shuns and refuses to have fellowship with the gentile believers, but it also seemed he encourage other believers to do the same. He was confronted and corrected by the apostle Paul. Peter’s action would have caused a great division within the body of Christ, had Paul not confronted and corrected him on the issue. Peter was mistaken in his understanding; he was not a false teacher.

What makes one a false teacher? Another word for false teacher or false prophet in the New Testament is anti-Christ. The word anti-Christ means contrary to Christ. Who do we know Christ to be?  He tells us in John 14:6 that He is the way the Truth and the life. Jesus Christ is the Truth. His teachers and preachers are teachers of the Truth. Anyone who is against Christ is not for the Truth, they are liars and the follow their father, the devil who is the father of lies. (John 8:44).

This means that a false teacher is a pretender, a liar, a fake. They claim to belong to Christ and to love Christ and His word, but everything they do says otherwise. They claim to belong to Christ, but they are not. They claim to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but they are preaching a false and different gospel. Some false teachers maybe very sincere in their beliefs., while others are more sinister. Either way, both groups have been deceived by Satan. Instead of teaching / preaching the Truth, they are preaching and teaching falsehood. They are false teachers.

There are certain characteristics that mark false teachers, characteristics that we will do well to pay attention to. I will explain them in another post.

  

Soli Deo Glorai!

Gospel without Words

nuggets of wisdom No Comments

 

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?- Romans 10:14

 

“Preach the gospel, if necessary, use words”. Some of us might be familiar with this quote. I have seen it in several different places. The quote is attributed to Augustine of Hippo. I don’t know how much that is true, but every time I have seen the wrote, it has been attributed to Augustine.

The message that the author of the quote is trying to convey is that as believers, our life gives testimony to the gospel, so we should live in such a way that people come to Christ. On the surface, every sounds ok, but when we look at closely, we find that the quote is really unbiblical.  How so?

For someone to claim to be a Christian, they have to believe certain Truths about the Word of God and about Jesus Christ. No one becomes saved without an understand of these facts. What facts about the gospel? They have to believe they are sinners in need of a Savior. They also have to believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father, they have to believe that without Christ, one is lost for all eternity. No one comes to this knowledge just by watching the life of another.

Every time the gospel is proclaimed in the Bible, it is communicated with words. Here are some scriptures that emphasize the point:

I Corinthians 15:3-4  – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
1 Corinthians 1:21 – For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
Acts 17:2-3 – And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ
Romans 10:14 – How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?


To believe that a person can be saved from their sins without hearing the gospel is to have a low view of the scriptures. To believe this is to deny the sufficiency and power of the scriptures. It is to attribute the salvation of souls to human effort instead of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

 

You might be saying, I understand we have to share the gospel, but does that mean our lifestyle don’t play a role?  Of course it does! Our lifestyle gives evidence that we are in Christ. It tells the unbelieving world that we are separate from the World and live to glorify God. Giving testimony is not the same as coming to saving faith. Salvation is of the Lord; Psalms 3:8 – Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah.  He is the one that opens blind eyes and converts sinners, and He does it through the preaching of the word.

After Paul’s conversion, no one lived a godlier life than he did. If lifestyle is what saves people, then everyone who ever came across the apostle would have become saved immediately. I am not implying that we don’t live right – all true believers desire to obey God and His word, so enabled by the Holy Spirit, will live God pleasing lives that will be a witness to the world.

To believe that a person can be saved from their sins without hearing the gospel is to have a low view of the scriptures. To believe this is to deny the sufficiency and power of the scriptures. It is to attribute the salvation of souls to human effort instead of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

We must never downplay nor sidestep the Word of God in salvation.  It is the Spirit of God, working through the Word of God that is the means by which the sinner comes to salvation.

Soli Seo Gloria!

Bible Reading Plans for the New Year

nuggets of wisdom No Comments

 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16

 
Here we are at the end of another year and at the cusp of a new one. This is the time people make “New Year Resolutions”. I stopped making those a long time ago. One goal that never changes for me is the desire to study my Bible more. This means having a plan to read through the Bible in the year.

The past year, 2022, I used the M’Cheyne study plan to read through the Bible in one year. I had tried to use this study plan in the past and for some reason, was unable to get through it. It was really cumbersome to carry the plan with me and track my daily reading. I am not sure why, but it just was. I used other plans to get through by study, but I always wanted to use the M’Cheyene plan because in the course of one year, it will take you through the Old Testament once, the Psalms and the New Testament twice!

Sometime in 2021, I discovered the podcast version of the plan and it completely changed my daily study. Not only could I listen, I could also read along while listening if I wanted to.  A few weeks after that, I found out that Crossway publishers does indeed have a study Bible based on the M’Cheyne reading plan! Oh Joy! The rest as they say is history. I have really loved reading through the Bible using the M’Cheyene plan and I highly recommend it.

However, you don’t have use the M’Cheyene study plan, there are other plans out there.  The MacArthur daily Bible is designed to take you through the Bible in one year. You can get it here MacArthur daily Bible   Here are other reading plans courtesy of Ligonier Ministries.

52 Week Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in a year with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan

Read through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday. Weekends are set aside for reflection and other reading. Especially beneficial if you’re new to a daily discipline of Bible reading.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

A Bible Reading Chart

Read through the Bible at your own pace. Use this minimalistic yet beautifully designed chart to track your reading throughout the year.

Duration: Flexible | Download: PDF

Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in the order the events occurred chronologically.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings beginning in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

The Discipleship Journal Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan

Two daily readings, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Complete an entire book in each testament before moving on.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

ESV Daily Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings taken from four lists: Psalms and wisdom literature, Pentateuch and history of Israel, Chronicles and prophets, and Gospels and epistles.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Every Word in the Bible

Read through the Bible one chapter at a time. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments.

Duration: Three years | Download: PDF

Historical Bible Reading Plan

The Old Testament readings are similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament readings are an attempt to follow the order in which the books were authored.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

An In Depth Study of Matthew

A year-long study in the Gospel of Matthew from Tabletalk magazine and R.C. Sproul.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

Bible In A Year

This plan takes you through the entire Bible with two readings each day: one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System

Reading ten chapters a day, in the course of a year you’ll read the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters four to five times, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the Old Testament history and prophetic books about one and a half times.

Duration: Ongoing | Download: PDF

Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once.

Duration: One or two years | Download: Website

Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan

Read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Tabletalk Bible Reading Plan

Two readings each day, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. You can also follow the Tabletalk reading plan through the Ligonier app.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

The Legacy Reading Plan

This plan does not have set readings for each day. Instead, it has set books for each month and a set number of Proverbs and Psalms for each week. It aims to give you more flexibility while grounding you in specific books of the Bible.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

Read the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs four times.

Duration: Two years | Download: PDF

Bible Reading Plan Generator

Still can’t find a plan that works for you? Generate your own.

Duration: You decide | Online: Bible Reading Plan Generator

Have a blesses 2023!

Soli Deo Gloria!

“You will be like God”

nuggets of wisdom Uncategorized No Comments

 

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. – Genesis 3:4-5

 

Ever since the garden of Eden, man has always been enticed with the idea of becoming like God. That desire always seems to surface whenever man seeks to violate one or more of God’s commandments.

We recall that in the garden right after the creation of man, (Genesis 2-3) God gave the command that they were to eat of every tree in the garden except one –  the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also gave them the consequence of breaking the command, on the day they eat of it, they will die. It wasn’t long after that man broke this command of God. The devil tempted Adam and Even to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil assuring them that not only will they no die as God had told them, but they themselves will become like God. Well, the devil lied, after they ate from the tree, not only did not become like God, they also died. First, spiritually and then physically. their disobedience ushered in both spiritual and physical death.

 

The temptation to be able to determine for themselves what was good and what was evil just like God, was evidently stronger than their desire to obey. That suppression of God’s Truth and the embrace of the lie of the devil brought Adam and Eve and all humanity under the wrath of God.

 

How was the devil able to succeed in getting Adam and Eve – the first couple to ever walk and talk with God physically, face to face and audibly to disobey God?  He succeeded by getting Adam and Eve to suppress God’s Truth and to embrace a lie.  He promised them they would be like God, knowing good and evil ( which really means they will be able to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil). The temptation to be able to determine for themselves what was good and what was evil just like  God, was evidently stronger than their desire to obey.  That suppression of God’s Truth and the embrace of the lie of the devil brought Adam and Eve and all humanity under the wrath of God.

That desire is prevelant in our culture today. People are coming out with all manner of ways to suppress the Truth of God and embrace the lie of the devil in their desire to redefine and change the definitions of institutions and areas of life that belong only to God. Seeking to change the definitions of Institutions such as marriage and areas of life such as gender.

 

Society is being enticed by the devil with the same idea he first dangled in front of Adam and Eve – the desire to be god-like and to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.

 

The idea that there are only two genders is not a man-made construct but came from the God the Father Himself and God the Son (Jesus) affirming it.

Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man.” 
Matthew 19:4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,”

 Marriage was instituted by God Himself in the garden as the union between a man and woman.
Genesis 2:22-24 “Then the LORD God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
Matthew 19: 5 “ and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

In trying to redefine these areas of life, man is seeking to act in the place of God.  Society is being enticed by the devil with the same idea he first dangled in front of Adam and Eve – the desire to be god-like and to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.  Just like it didn’t end well in the garden, it will not also end well with society. The Bible spells out the consequences of those who try to usurp the authority of God – incurring of the wrath of God and the development of a depraved mind. The development of a depraved mind is God’s judgement on those who are under His wrath. This is definitely obvious around us.

Romans 1:18-22 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,”

 In His goodness and mercy, the Lord made a way in the garden for all who have broken His command and as such are separated from Him to be reconciled back to Him – that way is true the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the man Christ Jesus. Jesus is the only one who is able to deliver us from the wrath of God and bring us back into sweet communion and fellowship with the Father.  John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Giving Thanks in & for Everything

nuggets of wisdom Voices of Wisdom No Comments

 

If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. We shall see cause to give thanks for sparing and preventing, for common and uncommon, past and present, temporal and spiritual mercies. Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it. – Matthew Henry

 

Thankfulness, gratitude, and contentment all go hand in hand, and they ought to be the mark of every true believer in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, thanklessness, ingratitude, and discontent also go hand in hand they mark the unbeliever.

Thanksgiving Day is upon us, a day specifically set aside to give thanks to God. As Christians, we who are recipients of the grace and mercy of God, our lives ought to be characterized by thankfulness, gratitude and contentment.

While this is not always the case, our thanksgiving to God should be “wrapped up” in contentment. I believe this is what Paul is addressing here in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

To give thanks “in all circumstances” is in essence to be thankful and content in the sovereignty of God in whatever situation we find ourselves. This means giving thanks while resting in His goodness in all situations, knowing that while we may not understand it all, every situation we find ourselves in is for His glory and for our good. As Matthew Henry puts it:

“……Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it.”

Since the sovereign God designs all things for our good, not only are to be called to give thanks “in everything”, we are also called to give thanks “for everything”. This may come as a shock to some people as I have heard more than one sermon in my lifetime telling us the Bible tells us to give thanks “in everything”, but not “for everything”.

Well, the Bible does tell us to give thanks “for everything”.  Ephesians 5:20 –

“giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. I never understood this scripture as a young believer, but over time, I have come to understand that this command to give thanks “for everything” is not based on my feelings about the situation or circumstances, but on the goodness and sovereignty of God.

This is not a command to feel thankful for the terrible things that happen to us, this is a command to give thanks with the Father and the son as the object of our thanksgiving. I love how Joni Eareckson Tada puts it  here “……We may not feel thankful for the terrible things that happen to us (and God is not asking us to feel thankful); but we are commanded to give thanks, always with the Father and the Son as our focus, always seeking His point of view, always looking at things from His heavenly perspective. For when we give thanks for everything in the name of Jesus, it really is asking us to look at the awful stuff from Jesus’ vantage point. And we can do that because EVERYTHING friend, EVERYTHING falls within the overarching decrees of God’s sovereignty.”

She goes on to say, “Ephesians 5:20, giving thanks for everything in the name of Jesus, well; it’s one of those “deep calls to deep” commands. In closing, I do thank God for my paralysis. I couldn’t have done that years ago.”

I think one of the reasons people struggle with Ephesians 5:20 is because we tend to equate giving of thanks to exuberant singing and jubilation. While this can sometimes be the case when we give thanks, a life of thanksgiving and gratitude is not always characterized by exuberant singing and jubilation. In such a case, giving thanks becomes a lifestyle, an attitude of mind. Here is part of Matthew Henry’s commentary on Ephesians 5:20:

“Though we are not always singing, we should be always giving thanks; we should never want disposition for this duty, as we never want matter for it, through the whole course of our lives. Always, even in trials and afflictions, and for all things; being satisfied of their loving intent, and good tendency.”

 

I say Amen to that! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Seeking God

nuggets of wisdom No Comments

no one understands;
no one seeks for God. – Romans 3:11

We often hear people, believers and unbelievers alike talk about seeking God, especially in times of trouble. We have also heard of phrases like “seeker sensitive churches”. These are churches that plan their services to cater to reach those who they believe are not yet Christians but are seeking God.

But what does it mean to seek God?  We sometimes also see people who are in distress who begin to pray, go to church, and carry out activities that causes us to describe them as seeking God. But are they really seeking God?

In everyday conversations, when we talk about seeking a person or thing, we usually mean we are looking for that person or thing. They could be lost or just out of sight or place temporarily and we are trying to find them, so we say we are seeking them.

To seek God is to have a desire and a longing to know God, serve Him and obey Him.

Since God cannot be lost or temporarily unavailable, biblically speaking, we cannot on our own, initiate a search for Him. Seeking God is not going through some religious motions. To seek God is to have a desire and a longing to know God, serve Him and obey Him. That is how the Bible defines what it means to seek God

Psalm 42:1-2 makes that very clear “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

 According to the Bible, because of the fall, man in his natural state, is incapable of seeking God. 1 Corinthians 2:14 – The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Biblically speaking, the only time it crosses our minds to seek God is when God first seeks us, finds us and brings us to Himself. No one can even love God unless God showers His love on them first. 1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us.    This means that no unsaved person is seeking, nor can seek God. This is the reason Jesus Christ came, to seek and save those who are lost. Luke 19:10 – For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

You might be tempted to ask, what about the person who through a series of events in their lives decided to change their ways and begin to attend church, pray and attend Bible study in an attempt to draw close to God. Are they not seeking God?  Not unless the Holy Spirit has done a work in their heart, they are not seeking God. What they are seeking are the things they know only God can give, such as peace of mind, physical healing or a number of things, but they are not seeking God, because according to the Bible, as unbelievers, they are incapable of seeking God.

Like I said earlier, when we examine most of the scripture that speak about seeking God we learn that to seek God is to desire and long for God in order to know, serve and obey Him. Only the true believer, one who has been awakened by the Holy Spirit in the inner man has a desire to know, serve and obey God. We only begin to seek God, after He has first sought and brought us to Himself.

Soli Deo Gloria!

My Place in God’s Story-2

God's Story nuggets of wisdom No Comments

 

For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. -Ephesians 1:4 

 

My Identity.

In my last post I began the quest on finding my place in God’s story by asking the question “Who Am 1?”.  This quest is not just for me, but for everyone especially those who have come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.  The answer to the question had to begin from the very beginning, with my and your first parents Adam and Eve. In that post, I said that when God made me, (and everyone else), He assigned me my:

Identity (made in God’s image)
Gender – Female (The Bible always equates gender with biological sex.)
Role (worshipper of God and help meet to the man).

The second part of understanding my place in God’s story is to explore my Identity.  What it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.

Being made in the image of God or possession the imago Dei is what separates humans from animals. None of the animals were made in the image and likeness of God, only humans. To be in the image and likeness of God is to have some of the likeness of God in us.  It does not mean we are gods, neither does it mean we possess the attributes of God. What it does mean is that in some ways, we have some resemblance to God.  We resemble God in that we are:

Rational beings – we can reason and make decisions
Given dominion – ruling the creation
Moral beings – able to discern right from wrong
Relational

Being made in the image and likeness of God is what confers dignity on a person. Our life is valuable because of being made God’s image and likeness. This is where my identity can be found.  I look like my Father. Just like my Father, I can think, I can rule/steward the creation under His authority, I am able to discern right from wrong and I was made for relationship, just like the God-Head. This is who I am. This is my identity.

 

God gave His hope and promise of a savior in Genesis 3:15 because the fall did not take Him by surprise. Nothing takes God by surprise…..God had already chosen out for Himself a people from the descendants of Adam and Eve before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4

 

While I do resemble my Father, I am not entirely like my Father. I am not as holy as He is, I am not omnipresent like Him, I am not omniscient like Him, in fact I am not able on my own to walk into His presence or attempt to have a relationship with Him on my own. Why? Because of sin. We all know the story. Adam and Eve were not able to keep the first commandment ever recorded with consequences. They fell for the lies of the evil one. The devil deceived them into believing that if they ate the fruit from the tree, they will become like God, knowing good and evil.  The irony was, they were already like God. They fell for the lies and deception of the enemy. What a great fall it was! That fall brough sin into the world. Since then, everyone of their descendants, everyone of us have been conceived and born into sin.

Their disobedience brought sin into the world. As God promised in the command, they died. They died spiritually that day and eventually died physically. Since then, death, disease, sickness and every bad thing came into the world and passed onto everyone one of their descendants.

Since Adam and Eve disobeyed and fell, did that change my identity?  No, the fall did not change my identity, It marred it.  Even in my fallen, sinful state, I am still an image bearer. God in His goodness and mercy did not change that. Praise His name!

After the fall, the Lord did not just leave Adam and Eve alone. He sought them out, pronounced their punishment on eat of them, but also gave them a hope and a promise to restore them back into the right relationship with Him. Genesis 3:15.

 Why would God do this? Why did He not just kill Adam and Eve and start all over again? God gave His hope and promise of a savior in Genesis 3:15 because the fall did not take Him by surprise. Nothing takes God by surprise.

God had already chosen out for Himself a people from the descendants of Adam and Eve before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4 – For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.  Not only that, the names of the people of God had been written in the book of life of the Lamb had been slain before the foundation of the world for the people of God. (Rev.13:8) Hallelujah!!!

That Lamb was slain, so that the people of God, those who acknowledge their sin, repent and turn to the Lord will not perish, they will no longer be under the curse, but they will have eternal life with the Lamb of God, who is Christ our Lord.

The reason the Lamb was slain was because He took our place, we should have died. God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that His righteousness can be imputed to us. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.  My identity that was marred by sin, has been restored in Christ. So what does this mean?  It means that I am no longer my own, I can no longer live as I want, my life does not belong to me anymore to use as I please. If I am not my own, then whose am 1?  I will explore that in the next post.

 

Soli Deo Gloria!