Category Archives: nuggets of wisdom

Is Salvation Enough?

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God never meant for every pain, sickness or wrong done to us, to be righted on this side of eternity.

 

Knowing your salvation is secure,  you are saved, filled with God’s Holy Spirit, member of the kingdom of God and heaven bound, if God never does anything else for you for as long as you live, will salvation alone be enough?

I do not ask this questions lightly.  This is hard question to ponder and an even harder one to answer. I pondered this question during a season in my life and I still ponder it from time to time. As believers, we know that God’s presence is all we need in any situation we find ourselves, especially in difficult situations.

As Moses was interceding for the people with the Lord after the golden calf episode in the wilderness, Moses asked the Lord to show him His way and to show him who will go with on this journey, the Lord responded that HIs presence with go with Moses, to which Moses responded that if God’s presence didn’t go with them, he did not want to go anywhere. Moses understood, that God’s presence was all he needed. Exodus 33:14-15 – And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”

In a world filled with pain and suffering, our natural reaction is to do anything we can to take the pain and suffering away. Wether it is the pain we are experiencing ourselves or the pain of friends and loved ones, we just want it gone. We were not made to live in pain and sorrow, it was sin that brought pain and sorrow into the world and into our lives, so wherever or whenever we are in pain or see/know anyone in pain, our natural reaction is to do anything we can to make the pain go away. That is why we pray, reach out, counsel, visit and do all we can to help those experiencing some kind of pain, sickness and/or loss. 

There is nothing wrong in trying as much as we can to help alleviate our pain as well as the pain and suffering of those around us, but we must never forget that God never meant for every pain, sickness or wrong done to us, to be righted on this side of eternity. In His infinite wisdom, God uses every situation: the good, the bad and the ugly to achieve His purposes, which is to bring glory to His name, to sanctify His people and to set our affections on things above instead of things in this world. We have His presence.

 

The whole purpose of our redemption is not to make this world a better place for us to live, but to give us a hope of heaven

 

Not only does God use our pain to sanctify us and set our affections on things above, He also uses it to teach us to be dependent on Him. He will sometimes allow everything to collapse around us so that we learn to trust in Him and not ourselves. This was what the apostle Paul and his companions experienced in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 : “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead”. God is glorified when we place all our trust and confidence in Him instead of ourselves. His presence is enough.

There is also the case of Job (The book of Job), where the Lord allowed Job to go through severe trials to prove to us who will eventually read the account that He allows His children to be tried severely for the glory of His name and to wean us away from the things of the world.  While Job was called a righteous man by God, we learn through his suffering how we are to live for the gory of God and with eternity in mind. While he was bound by physical sickness and emotional pain due to all the loss he suffered, Job never lost sight of eternity, he saw his salvation as enough. 

He displayed this when he said in Job 19:25-27: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!  In the midst of the most severe and painful trial in his life, Job was longing not just that his problems will be taken away, but for God Himself, he set his face towards eternity. He saw God’s presence as enough.

Knowing God and making Him known is the reason He left us on earth after He saved us, we ought to see every situation as both an opportunity to make Him known and to grow in our knowledge of Him. We must seek the Glory of God, by looking at the pain in light of eternity.  Being content with the fact that the pain might never go away on this of eternity.  We should learn to be content with His presence in our lives.

The whole purpose of our redemption is not to make this world a better place for us, but to give us a hope of heaven. This is the hope we are to bring into every situation and to share with everyone we come in contact with. In dealing with our pain and in helping others deal with their pain, the gospel of Christ must be at the fore front. Our goal must always be to bring glory to God in the situation and not to please ourselves. 

So I ask the question again: Knowing your salvation is secure,  you are saved, filled with God’s Holy Spirit, member of the kingdom of God and heaven bound, if God never does anything else for you for as long as you live, will salvation alone be enough?

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Digging for Treasure

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yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:3-5

The book of Proverbs is called the book of Wisdom and rightly so. It is filled with practical wisdom for life.  Pastor John MacArthur in his introduction to Proverbs said this:

Proverbs is Wisdom literature, by nature it is sometimes difficult to understand (1:6). Wisdom literature is part of the whole of OT truth; the Priest gave the Law, the Prophet gave a Word from the Lord, and the Sage (or wise man) gave his wise Counsel (Jer. 18:18; Ezek. 7:26).

In Proverbs, Solomon the Sage gives insight into the “knotty” issues of life (Prov. 1:6) that are not directly addressed in the Law or the Prophets. Though it is practical, Proverbs is not superficial or external because it contains moral and ethical elements stressing upright living that flow out of a right relationship with God.

For many years now, I have read a chapter of Proverbs a day, what I call the “Proverbs for the day”. That is, on the first day of the month, I read Proverbs chapter 1, on the second day, chapter 2, you get the idea.  Today, I would like to share some of my thoughts on the topic of Wisdom, thoughts I gleaned from Proverbs chapter 2.  I will explore the following very briefly: what Wisdom is, how to get it, why we need it and the ultimate purpose of wisdom.  

What is Wisdom?

While we get the general sense of what constitutes wisdom in Proverbs chapter 2, the chapter itself does not contain a definition, the writer assumes his readers already know what it is.  However, as we read the Bible, we find that there are two definitions of wisdom. I will give the first definite here, the second will appear at the end of this write up.  In both definitions, we will find that wisdom is not a matter of intellect, but a matter of the heart. Here is the first definition in a nutshell; wisdom is the ability to take the knowledge of God’s word and put it into everyday living.  The ability to rightly apply God’s word to every circumstance and situation in life is wisdom.

How Do We Get Wisdom?

I identified three ways in Proverbs 2: 1-6 how one can get wisdom. They are:

  1. From receiving and treasuring God’s Words
  2. By earnestly calling out for it 
  3. By revelation from God

Proverbs 2:1-2 says My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding.

The first way to receive Wisdom here is from God’s Words. It is not enough to listen to the Word, or read the Word or be taught the Word, we must receive it, this means we must take possession of it and obey it.  One takes possession of God’s Word by faith with a desire to obey. Once we take possession of it, we must treasure it, that means placing a high value on it. Whatever we treasure, we guard, defend, and live for. 

To live wisely is to live with the ability to separate the good from the bad as well as the good from the almost good.

The second way we get wisdom is by earnestly calling out for it. Proverbs 2:3-4 – yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

The picture that came to mind when I read the text of verse 3 was one of a search party. When search parties go out looking for a missing person, they usually call out the name of the missing person as they are search. This is not a casual playful call, but a serious and earnest call, a call they hope will result in finding the missing person. In the same way, in seeking wisdom, we are to earnestly call out to God in prayer. 

Not only do we pray earnestly for it, but verse also 4 tells us to search for it like silver and hidden treasures, this means we have to expend some effort into the search.  No one gets silver by picking it up from the beach. Silver is mined and like all precious stones, requires hard work. This is not a one-day search, with wisdom, it is a search for a lifetime. A lifetime of digging deep by praying, studying, sitting under godly teaching and spending time in the company of those who are spiritually wise.  Just like searching for treasure, persistence and patience will be our key to success.  We get wisdom by earnest prayer and effort (persistence).

Lastly, wisdom comes only by revelation of God. When we receive and treasure God’s word in our hearts, earnestly calling out to God in prayer and making every effort to dig deep through His word in search of wisdom, then and only then will we begin to understand what it means to fear (reverence) God, for it is in the fear of God that we find wisdom. according to Proverbs 2:5-6, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  We also find this in Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Why Do We Need Wisdom?

Verses 7-19 of Proverbs chapter 2 lays out two man reasons why we need wisdom. They are:

  1. To Know How to Live
  2. For our protection

Earlier on, I defined Wisdom as the ability to take the knowledge of God’s word and use it in everyday practical living, another name for that ability is discernment.  Along with wisdom comes discernment. You cannot have one without the other. To live wisely is to live with the ability to separate the good from the bad as well as the good from the almost good. We need discernment to live out the Christian life.

Verses 9-10 tells us that wisdom brings along with it an understanding of righteousness, justice, equity and every good work. Righteousness is to be in right standing before God. It synonymous with justification. Justice is rendering to everyone their proper due. Equity means impartiality.  We can only properly determine what is righteous, just and equitable when we come into a full knowledge of the Word of God.

The result of all of this will be discernment which is translated as discretion in the ESV calls it. Verse 11 says discretion will watch over you and understanding will guard you. Discernment is a sign of spiritual maturity. Godly wisdom gives us the spiritual maturity needed  to discern what is needful and what is not. It guards us again error.   Ephesians 4:13-14 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

 We need discretion or discernment to be able to live a life that pleases God and to be protected (guarded) from error. The ability to discern not only shows maturity, but also keeps us away from evil and ungodly people. These are the ungodly who forsake the paths of uprightness, walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil, delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. Included in the ungodly that wisdom protects us from is the sexually immoral and adulteress.

The Purpose of Wisdom

Knowing what wisdom is, why we need and how we get it leads us to its purpose. What is the purpose of wisdom in a believer’s life?  We only need wisdom to live here on earth, we won’t need it in heaven. Verses 19-21 shows that the purpose of wisdom is to set us up on the path to eternity. To help prepare us for heaven. Matthew Henry sums it up beautifully when he said:

The righteous must leave the earth as well as the wicked; but the earth is a very different thing to them. To the wicked it is all the heaven they ever shall have; to the righteous it is the place of preparation for heaven.

Second Definition of Wisdom

None of the above will be possible without a relationship with Jesus Christ. Which leads us to the second definition of wisdom – Wisdom is a person; His name is Jesus. 

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion……..The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. – Proverbs 8:12, 22-23

but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. –1 Corinthians 1:24

…to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2b-3

When we connect both definitions of wisdom together, we come to understand that wisdom is eternal and can only come from God and that the heart is the seat of wisdom.

Wisdom is calling out to us today, what will your response be? – My son, give me your heart,and let your eyes observe my ways.- Proverbs 23:26

Soli Deo Gloria!

Regeneration

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Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.

 

I haven’t shared a puritan prayer here in a while, so I thought I’d share this.  This prayer is titled “Regeneration” and can be found on page 84 in the book “The Valley of Vision”.

This is prayer of praise to the Lord for the salvation of our souls as well as a prayer to walk worthy of God’s calling on our lives

O GOD OF THE HIGHEST HEAVEN,

Occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,
adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a
new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,
solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;
Protect me that no evil befall me;
Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;
Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,
hold converse with thee,
That henceforth I may be salt of the earth
and a blessing to all.

Amen

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Divided Hearts; Defeated Lives.

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So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31

 

When the Lord saved us, He rescued us out of the domain of Satan and brought us into His holy kingdom.  We are no longer slaves of Satan, he is no longer our master, we now have a new master, Jesus.  However, just because we are no longer in the world where Satan rules,  doesn’t mean he is still not at work around us.  He tries to lure us back through temptations and deceptions. When he is unable to lure into sin through temptations, he seeks to deceive us into living defeated, powerless, lukewarm Christian lives.  We have been saved and set free, we want to  live for the Lord and have victory over the Satan.  So we ask the question, how can a Christian get victory over Satan and live a life that is pleasing to God? 

While sanctification is a life-long process, it however, begins with a desire to be wholly devoted to God and shun the world.  Before we were saved, we were God’s enemies (Rom 5), now that we are saved, we have been adopted into His family.  The Holy Spirit has poured God’s love into our heart, we now desire to love Him with everything we have. Enabled by the Holy Spirit, we can love as the Bible calls us to in Deuteronomy 6:5 – You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  This means loving God with everything we have.  What we love in this way, we are devoted to and what we are devoted to, we worship.

 At the same time we are being commanded to love God devotedly, we are also commanded not to love the world. The world is the corrupt value system of all societies, which is characterized by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life, everything the Lord hates. 1 John 2:15-16 – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

One of the reasons I believe some Christians fall into the trap of the devil and never seem to be able live the victorious Christian life is because they somehow believe they can be devoted to the worldly system and to God at the same time, they are trying to straddle the fence between two kingdoms. This is impossible. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve two masters. Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.  

Complete devotion to God is the key to a victorious Christian life.  Complete devotion means every area of life must be brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Everything we do, is done to His glory and as service to a Holy God. Colossians 3:23 – Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.The book of wisdom commands us to acknowledge Him in everything. –  Proverbs 3:6a – In all your ways acknowledge him. The scripture text at the top of the page from 1Corinthians 10:31 tells to do everything, even the mundane things like eating and drinking to the glory of God.

Being wholly devoted to God, acknowledging Him in everything, doing everything, even mundane things like eating and drinking to His glory is what it means to pursue holiness, it is what we are saved to do, it is how we are certain to live victorious in Christ. The pursuit of holiness by seeking to bring every area of our lives under the Lordship of Jesus is the essence of the Christian life.  When we develop the habit of lifting everything we do as worship to a holy God, we say we are living Coram Deo. 

 

To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.  To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze. – R.C. Sproul

 

To live Coram Deo, is to live in the awareness that everything we do or say is done right in the presence of God always. The late theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul explains it this way: “This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.  To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.”

 The secret to a victorious Christian life is living Coram Deo. This means that the life of a believer knows nothing of a sacred / secular divide.  Everything in every area of the Christian’s life is sacred.  Every area is lived before the face of God. There is no secular / sacred vocation in the life of a believer, every job/vocation is for the glorify of God.  I know most people try to separate vocations into those who primarily work in Christian ministry verses everyone else, but the Bible speaks of no such thing.  While the qualifications for Church leadership is different from that of a lawyer or plumber or homemaker, the believer answers to God in every thing. Every area of life, be it marriage, raising kids, career, and even the education of our kids must all be lived and brought under the lordship of Christ. There is no divide, even the simplest everyday acts are done as service to God. 

Any attempt to divide our lives into compartments of sacred / secular is will lead to a defeated, confused, chaotic and contradictory life.  We will never be able to live a life pleasing to God.  Your “church life” cannot be different form your “work life” or your”play life” in terms of how you behave, talk and act.  For us to live victorious Christian lives, we must be single-minded in serving the Lord.  This means living Coram Deo – before the face of God, always in everything. The late bishop of Liverpool J.C Ryle said it best:  “Singleness of purpose is one great secret of spiritual prosperity.”

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Defensive Christianity

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The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself. – Charles Spurgeon

 

You are probably wondering what I mean by defensive Christianity.  Thanks for asking. Defensive Christianity is when Christians in their attempt to defend Christianity and the Bible from ridicule and rejection by the culture, shift their focus away from the command of Jesus to go make disciples, instead focus on redeeming the culture.  Leading them to move away from personal evangelism which involves taking the gospel to the individual sinner, showing them their need of a savior, and calling them to repentance.  Instead of focusing on making disciples, they focus on defending Christianity against what is seen as the wrong perception of Christianity in the broader culture.

The best way they believe we can adequately correct this wrong perception of Christianity in the culture is by redeeming the culture. While defensive Christians do not deny the need for personal evangelism, they however hold on to the notion that the most effective way to bring Biblical tenets to bear in society is by redeeming the culture.  In other words, personal evangelism alone is not enough to bring about Biblical change in society at large.

 

Defensive Christianity is when Christians in their attempt to defend Christianity and the Bible from ridicule and rejection by the culture, shift their focus away from the command of Jesus to go make disciples, instead focus on redeeming the culture. 

 

The idea to redeem culture is based on the notion that if only the culture can be made to  understand that true believers are really not the bad, condemning, narrow minded, bigoted people they are believed to be and that Christianity really has great benefits for society at large, then the culture will stop rejecting the gospel. In other words, defensive Christians believes that the reason the culture rejects the gospel, is not primarily because of the sins of the people, but because they don’t really understand Christianity or have been given a wrong perception of Christianity by some professing Christians and that once the culture comes to a true understanding of the benefits of Christianity, it would embrace it wholly. 

While it all sounds very nice, the problem with defensive Christianity is that nowhere are we commanded to go redeem the culture. Nowhere does the Bible teach that the reason people or cultures are hostile to the gospel is because they don’t understand Christianity. The Bible teaches just the opposite. It tells us that the reason the culture hates and rejects the gospel is because the people of that culture love their sin.  John 3:19 – And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil

By focusing on the redemption of the culture instead of the repentance of individual, defensive Christians without meaning to, downplay the role and sufficiency of the word of God in saving people.  God in His infinite wisdom has designed that men’s eyes will be open to the Truth and come to the light of Christ through the preaching of the word. 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. The power to save is in the Word of God, not in our persuasive words or actions. No one can come to saving faith in Christ unless the Lord draws them to Himself. And He does this through the preaching of the word. John 6:44 –  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Focusing on the redemption of the culture instead of the repentance of individual sinners shows a lack of understanding of man’s fallen nature and the effects of sin in our lives.  As the Bishop of Liverpool in the 19th Century, J.C Ryle states in his book “Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots” – ‘The plain truth is that a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are “words and names” which convey no meaning to the mind. The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ, is to send light into his heart, and show him that he is a guilty sinner.’

Jesus Christ came to save sinners, not culture. Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Why would any Christian embrace this error in thinking that redeeming the culture is the way to bring people into the kingdom?  JC Ryle gives an adequate answer in the same book. He says “Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies, and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the Church in the nineteenth century has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin.”

 

Focusing on the redemption of the culture instead of the individual sinner shows a lack of understanding of man’s fallen nature and the effects of sin in our lives.

 

The problem some Christians had in the 19th century; some still have in the 21st century, they lack a clear understanding of sin. We need a clearer, fuller teaching about sin.  A wrong knowledge of sin will ultimately result in the denial of the Sufficiency of Scripture to save and redeem sinners.  Those who seek to redeem the culture do not believe that the preaching of the gospel to individual sinners is enough. They will not deny it, but they believe it is not adequate, we have to help it along by trying to convince the culture through our actions, that Christianity is “cool”.  This is the reason so many professing Christians found it easy to embrace CRT. They were focused on redeeming the culture, instead of making disciples.

A culture that acknowledges the God of the Bible will only be possible if a majority of the people in that culture repent of their sins and turn to Christ.  This can only be accomplished by the preaching of the word and the conviction of sin in the heart of individuals. It is through the preaching of the word that we come to have a clear understanding of sin, the offer of salvation and our need of a savior. God is the one who saves His people, all we are tasked to do is go and tell and make diciples. Let the word of God loose and let it do its work of bringing the lost sheep home. If God sees fit to save a whole nation one by one, thereby redeeming the culture, that is His prerogative, not ours.

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Fear Not

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Fear not, for I am with you.

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. –Isaiah 41:10

 

Fear is a very powerful emotion. Fear itself is not a bad or wrong, it was given to us by God to warn us of danger and to cause us to be more careful.  This is healthy fear.  A few years ago, our family took a trip to Colorado and decided to take the tourist train up to Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is 14,000 feet above sea level – talk above high places!  Once you get to the top, a little further past the tourist welcome center, you can see the edge of the cliff.  We called it the “drop off” (after ‘Finding Nemo’).  Mere looking at it gave me fear chills and rightly so.  God has given us the emotion of fear to warn and keep us away from danger. As soon as we got back into the visitor center, my fear of the “drop off” was gone, as it should be.

 

A friend on twitter posted a quote by Ralph Waldo Emmerson on fear which reads “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” 

 

Fear is the most exploited emotion.  It can be exploited by anyone who seeks to have control over the life of another person.  The devil can do nothing to us without first exploiting our fears. Abusers and dictators also use the weapon of fear to perpetuate their abuse on those around them. Since we live in a fallen world and bad things will happen, the tendency for us to be afraid or anxious about the unknown is to be expected among sinful humans like us. However, the Lord does not want it to be so with us. He does not want us to be held captive by fear.  That is why the Bible is filled with plenty of verses telling us not to be afraid or anxious.

 

Being a Christian does not exempt one from becoming afraid or anxious about certain situations or circumstances.  Since we live in a fallen world, believers will run into and situations that will cause fear/anxiety. We are not to give in. We are to make use of the weapons given to us by God to fight fear and anxiety. Weapons such as reading the Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with other believers.

 

A friend on twitter posted a quote by Ralph Waldo Emmerson on fear which reads “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” This is so true. So many lives have been lost and so many relationships destroyed by fear.  Someone said there are 365 “Fear Not” in the Bible, one for each day of the year. Fear is such a powerful emotion that it causes people to do things we never imagined we would ever do.

Fear also paralyzes us – renders unable to do those things we previously know how to do. Fearful people do irrational and sometimes ungodly things. Fear never comes alone; it comes with its twin – anxiety.  Fear and anxiety go hand in hand. Where there is fear, there is anxiety & where there is anxiety, there is fear.

Fear and anxiety causes Christian to forget the promises of God as well as the means of grace given by the Holy Spirit to help in trouble. Means like Bible study, prayer and fellowship with the saints.  The Lord continues to encourage and command us not to be afraid or anxious. Being a Christian does not exempt one from becoming afraid or anxious about certain situations or circumstances. 

Since we live in a fallen world, believers will run into and situations that will cause fear/anxiety. We are not to give in. We are to make use of the weapons given to us by God to fight fear and anxiety. Weapons such as reading the Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with other believers. These weapons will help to keep us strong, and unafraid. Our enemy and oppressor can only  succeed in keeping us afraid and anxious by trying to hinder us from getting into the word, praying, and by separating us from fellowship with the saints. Don’t let him.

What is the opposite of fear and anxiety? I believe it is hope.  Hopelessness fuels fear and anxiety.  Fearful and anxious people feel hopeless and helpless in their situation.  To counter fear and anxiety, we have to turn to where hope can be found – God’s word, prayer and fellowship with the saints.  When we don’t heed God’s commands, we sin.  Nothings says we don’t trust God like living in fear and anxiety.  Here is a small sample of scripture to encourage us not to be afraid. There is more, but I leave you to do your own search in the Bible.  

 

Isaiah 35:4

Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Isaiah 43:1

Israel’s Only Savior

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

Hebrews 10:25
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Philippians 4:6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:27
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

 

If you are currently living in fear of some circumstance in your life or maybe about the COVID situation or any other situation, let me encourage you to get into your Bible. Study your Bible constantly, pray constantly. Any time the thought of fear or panic or anxiety about the situation comes to mind, pause and and say a short prayer, giving the situation to the Lord.  You have to do this several times in an hour, that is ok.  

Never forsake to gather together with other believers. We find encouragement when we fellowship together. If for some reason you are not able to physically gather, find a healthy Bible-believing online small group Bible study to be a part of.  Lastly, feed your soul with godly teaching from Biblically sound preachers. You can get a lot of Biblically sound teaching from Ligonier.org, gty.or or truthforlife.org.  You can also subscribe to Biblically sound podcast such as: ’The just thinking’ podcast. I highly recommend their podcast on fear. It is titled “Why are you Afraid”?.  You can listen to it here:

EP # 113 | Why Are You Afraid?

Just Thinking Podcast

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-thinking-podcast/id1328733796?i=1000532342759

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Bible Reading Plans

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Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day. – Psalms 119:97

 

Happy New Year!!  Well, here we are, 2022 is around the corner! Can you believe it?  I am so thankful to God for bringing us all through 2021 up until now.  He is so good and gracious.

With a new year comes new year resolutions. I for one have stopped making resolutions, I now make just tackle things as they come. I have goals that never change ; to study my Bible more and pray more.  The rest I will tackle as they come.

Talking about reading my Bible more, it is sad to note that most Christians would say that God is the most important person in their lives and believe with all their hearts that the Bible is God’s word to man, yet they have never taken the time to read through the whole Bible. Life is busy and will always be busy till we die, we should approach Bible study the same way we approach other things that are important in our lives – make time for it.

if you have never read through the whole Bible and would like to  or perhaps through just the New Testament and you’re wondering how to do so, I plan to share a list of Bible reading plans with you courtesy of Ligonier Ministries.   Here they are:

 

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
















Soli Deo Gloria!

							
 
		
		

											
 
	
 
									
	

				

							

					Wise men still seek Him
				

						
  
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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  – Matthew 2:1-2




The Christmas story will not be complete without mentioning the wise men who came from East, seeking the new born King.  One of biggest myths in the Christmas story is that they were three in number.  We even have a Christmas carol that begins with the words “we three kings of orient..”.  However, the Bible never tells us how many they were. They did give three gifts – gold, frankincense & myrrh, but we don’t know if they were three or more men in the group.


Another  myth we often read or see in Christmas cards / paintings is that they went to see Jesus in the stable.  The Bible never says that either.  Matthew 2:10-11 tells us that after they left Herod, they saw the star again which led to the “house” where the child was. Matthew 2:11 – “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (emphasis mine). Jesus was already at home when the wise men found Him.  He also was not a baby anymore, He was a “child”, not a babe. Some scholars say Jesus might have been around 2yrs old here.


The most interesting thing about the wise men is that they were not Jews.  They did not live in Jerusalem, they were not Scribes or Pharisees. Some have said they were probably astrologers, maybe so. Whoever or what ever they were, they knew something about a coming Messiah and when they got the sign that He was here, they went in search of Him.  They did not go searching to see what He might look like, they did not go to request healing for themselves or their loved ones,  they did not go to get something out of Him, but they went in search of Him to give Him gifts and to worship Him.  When they saw the child Christ, they fell down and worshiped Him.  Amazing!


One would have thought that if anyone would be eager to find the Messiah to worship Him, it would have been those Scribes and Pharisees who were so conversant with the scriptures, but not so.  Even after the wise men told them that they had seen the star of the Messiah, the Scribes and Pharisees were not in anyway curious to go find out if it was true. They did not rush to Bethlehem to go find out about this king.  How sad.  While they knew all the scriptures about the coming Christ intellectually in their heads, their hearts were far from Him.  While it is good and commendable even by scripture to study and come to the knowledge of the Truth, that knowledge should lead to a transformed heart. 


 




 They did not go searching to see what He might look like, they did not go to request healing for themselves or their loved ones,  they did not go to get something out of Him, but they went in search of Him to give Him gifts and to worship Him.  When they saw the child Christ, they fell down and worshiped Him.  Amazing!




 


From a human standpoint, the Scribes and Pharisees would seem to be the wise ones since they knew most, if not all the scriptures about Christ in their head. However, they were the foolish ones, for while they knew about Messiah intellectually, they had no relationship with Him. They did not desire to see Him, nor worship Him.  They are like the idolators in Romans 1:22 – Claiming to be wise, they became fools,


In today’s world, most have heard about Jesus and know something about Him intellectually, but most do not really know Him intimately from their heart.  It does not have to be that way.  If you don’t know Christ as your personal savior and Lord, you can today.


The reason He was born was to glorify the Father by saving His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 – She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”.   Humble yourself today like the wise men from the East, reject your foolish ways and be wise.  Repent of your sins, ask Him to forgive you and receive you to Himself.  He has promised that He will receive you. John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God


 


Merry Christmas Everyone!!


 















							
 
		
		

											
 
	
 
									
	

				

							

					December Advent Devotional
				

						
  
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Isaiah 2: 2-5


It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,


 


and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


 


He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.


 


O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the LORD.




December Advent is 25 day devotional in December designed to focus our heart and mind on the true meaning of Christmas.


This Advent bible reading plan kicks off on December 1 and takes you through to Christmas Eve on December 24. It also includes readings for the four Sundays of Advent. Save this picture to your phone or print it out to use as a resource throughout Advent.


Drawing from both Old and New Testaments, these readings are aimed to help us remember the promises God has made to come to his people and establish his kingdom:


    

  • Week 1: Isaiah’s prophecies
    • 

  • Week 2: The Epistles on God’s Kingdom and the return of Christ
    • 

  • Week 3: Some other Old Testament prophecies
    • 

  • Week 4: God’s kingdom about to arrive…!
    • 



May we cling fast to these promises this Advent!


advent-bible-reading-plan


 






























							
 
		
		

											
 
	
 
									
	

				

							

					Give Thanks!
				

						
  
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We are commanded to give thanks:


IN everything  : 1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  as well as  FOR everything :  Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ




 


Thanksgiving flows from a grateful and humble heart.  As we join others in setting out aside a day to give thanks, I would like to share with some quotes on thanksgiving from two of my favorite teachers of old – Thomas Watson and JC Ryle.


 




Thanksgiving is a more noble part of God’s worship. Our needs may send us to prayer, but it takes a truly honest heart to praise God.


 


In petition we act like men; in thanksgiving we act like angels.


 


Thanksgiving is a God-exalting work “Whoever offers praise glorifies me” (Psalm 50:23). Though nothing can add the least mite to God’s essential glory—yet praise exalts him in the eyes of others.


 


Praise is a setting forth of God’s honor, a lifting up of his name, a displaying of the trophy of his goodness, a proclaiming of his excellence, a spreading of his renown, a breaking open of the box of ointment, whereby the sweet fragrance of God’s name is sent abroad into the world.  


– Thomas Watson




 




The wide-spread thanklessness of Christians is the disgrace of our day.  It is a plain proof of our little humility. Let us pray for a daily thankful spirit. It is the spirit which God loves and delights to honor. David and Paul were eminently thankful men.


 


It is the spirit which has marked all the brightest saints in every age of the church. McCheyne, and Bickersteth, and Haldane Stewart, were always full of praise.  It is the spirit which is the very atmosphere of heaven. Angels and “just men made perfect” are always blessing God. It is the spirit which is the source of happiness on earth.


 


If we would be anxious for nothing, we must make our requests known to God not only with prayer and supplication, but with thanksgiving. (Phil. 4:6.)  Above all, let us pray for a deeper sense of our own sinfulness, guilt, and undeserving. This, after all, is the true secret of a thankful spirit.  It is the man who daily feels his debt to grace, and daily remembers that in reality he deserves nothing but hell — this is the man who will be daily blessing and praising God.


 


Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility! 


– JC Ryle




 


Psalms 107:1
 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!



















Happy Thanksgiving to you all