Moments With God

Psalm 147

The great God of the universe cares for us! He even delights in us, His children! Isn’t that an awesome thought? Praise the Lord for His greatness, sovereignty, and power! Praise the Lord’s name for His control and protection in His people’s lives. Praise the Lord for His mercy and blessings to us! How wonderful, pleasant, fitting, and good it is to sing praises to the Lord God.

Psalm 147:2-3 tells us that the Lord builds up and heals His people. He builds us up when we are feeling down or when we are going through trials and difficulties. The Lord heals us when we are brokenhearted and do not know which way to turn. The Lord Himself binds up our wounds!

The Lord God of the universe "determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Psalm 147:4) Think about that fact! He knows the number of stars and knows them each by name! The Lord is infinitely great and almighty in His power. His understanding and wisdom is limitless. Yet in spite of His greatness Psalm 147:6a tells us that "The Lord sustains the humble." In spite of the Lord’s majesty and greatness which we see in His awesome creation, He stoops to care for you and me! The great and awesome God of the universe stoops to love and sustain His children! He does this for us when we are humble and are totally dependent on Him. The Lord does this when we realize we have no resources in ourselves. We are nothing; and yet He chooses to love, protect, sustain, and show mercy to us! We can place all our needs in the Lord’s all-wise care and keeping. What a great God we have! May we always "sing to the Lord with thanksgiving" for His great blessings to us! (Psalm 147:7a) The Lord provides for all the creatures on His earth whether they are great or small. He alone provides for your and my needs also.

The Lord does not delight in those who put their hope in their own devices or in the technologies of this world. "The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." (Psalm 147:11) He delights in those who stand in awe of Him and trust Him. The Lord doesn’t just tolerate us or have a mild affection for us. The Lord actually delights in us, if we put our entire trust in Him!

The Lord of all creation secures our defense and protection, if we trust in Him. He also secures our sense of well-being and peace. He is abundant in His provision and blessings to us! The Lord shows His power through snow, frost, hail, and all the other displays of power and glory in His creation. Yet this great and awesome God is in control of our lives also. He stoops to love and protect us in His mercy. Praise His name! What is even more awesome, however, is that He chooses us as His people. He chooses to forgive our sins through Jesus. He also chooses to reveal His precious salvation to us through His Holy Word. The great God of the Universe reveals His holy will to us, and chooses us as His children! Praise His name!

Luke 24:36-53

It was late in the day that first glorious Easter day. The eleven disciples and others were gathered together discussing the events of that first Easter day. Suddenly the Lord Jesus Himself appeared among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." (Luke 24:36b) Seeing the disciples' frightened and startled reactions to His sudden appearance among them Jesus said to His disciples, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in you minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I Myself!" (Luke 24:38a)

Jesus is our source of peace. Jesus Christ was the answer to the disciples' fears and panic that first Easter. He is able to turn our panic into peace today also. He is our Savior who died for our sins, and He is our resurrected Lord. Therefore we have eternal hope and peace in Him! We can face whatever trials life brings us, because Christ Jesus is our peace. We can experience His total peace, because He has "set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come." (II Corinthians 1:22)

In our Scripture passage Jesus then went on to explain to the disciples that He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy about the promised Savior. The Lord Jesus reminded the disciples that it had been necessary for Him to suffer and be crucified for their sins and then to rise again on the third day. Jesus "opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:45) The Lord Jesus turned their confusion that day into clarity. When we become confused in the midst of life's difficulties; we too must go to God's Holy Word for comfort, clarity, and direction.

Jesus then told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses in the world. They were to go and tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. They were to tell others about forgiveness through the blood of the Lord Jesus. The disciples' lives of pointlessness had been turned into lives of purpose. Only if we are living for the Lord and for His glory does life have meaning and purpose. The disciples of old were instructed to wait to be "clothed with power from on high" before they began their ministry. (Luke 24:49b) So we too are able to live purposeful and God honoring lives for the Lord only through the Holy Spirit's power and through Christ's resurrection power in us.

The Lord Jesus turns our panic into peace, our confusion into clarity, and our pointless lives into lives of purpose. He also turns our worry into worship, joy, and praise. Just before Jesus went back to Heaven He blessed His disciples. After Jesus went back to Heaven the disciples "worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." (Luke 24:52-53) May we too not concentrate on our worries and life's trials. Let us instead joyfully "fix our eyes on Jesus" in worship and praise! (Hebrews 12:2a)

Luke 24:13-35

Jesus Christ is risen! Our precious Lord paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. After three days, however, our Lord arose from the grave to prove that He had won a victory over sin, Satan, and death. Do we live our lives in the joy and victory of that glorious first Easter?

In our Scripture passage two disciples who were walking on the road to the village of Emmaus were missing out on the joy of Christ’s resurrection because of their ignorance and spiritual blindness. The village of Emmaus was a village about 7 miles from Jerusalem. Perhaps these disciples had left Jerusalem because of their sadness over the events of Jesus' crucifixion and death during the last few days. Perhaps they were hoping to escape their sadness and problems by leaving Jerusalem. It never helps to run away from our problems in life, however. We instead need to run to the Lord God, and seek His strength in the midst of life’s problems. As these men were walking along and discussing the events of the last days, "Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him." (Luke 24:15b-16) Our Lord Jesus always walks with us also along life’s road. In fact, the psalmist says to God in Psalm 139:5, "You hem me in-behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me." The Psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 139:7, "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?" Even though the Lord walks right beside us and hems us in with His protection, presence, and love we too are often blind to His presence. We often are so wrapped up in our activities or difficulties and trials that we fail to see the Lord walking right along beside us. Our Lord promises us, however, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b) The closer we draw to Him and the more we immerse ourselves in His promises in His Holy Word the more we will sense the Lord's presence right beside us.

In spite of these two disciples not recognizing Jesus they sensed something different about this "stranger" who was walking with them along the Road to Emmaus. Hence, when they reached the village of Emmaus they pleaded with Jesus saying to Him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." (Luke 24:29b) We too need the Lord's staying presence in our lives especially in time of trials and troubles.

Then something exciting happened in the lives of these two disciples. When Jesus "was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight." (Luke 24:30-31) Their spiritual eyes were opened! An encounter with the risen Savior brings true spiritual understanding of the Lord Jesus and of the promises of His Holy Word! May our eyes also be opened to the glories and wonders of our risen Lord and Savior! May we have our spiritual eyes opened to the wonders of His glorious promises in His Holy Word. As these disciples of old may we also experience "hearts burning within us" when we read God's Holy Word and experience Him talking to us through the Scripture.

An encounter with the risen Savior also brings about a life of true commitment on the part of His followers. As soon as the two disciples who had been traveling on the Road to Emmaus recognized Jesus, "they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem." (Luke 24:33a) Even though it probably was evening and maybe dark outside, they experienced a passionate need to share their exciting news with the eleven disciples who were gathered in Jerusalem. The two disciples' lives were changed forever that day. May our lives also be changed by our relationship with our risen Savior. May our relationship and encounter with our Risen Lord also bring about true commitment and a passion for the Lord and His will!

James 1-5

"Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith." (Galatians 3:11) No one is declared righteous before God by his or her own works, because we all live sinful lives. It is only because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and lived a perfectly sinless life for us that we are declared righteous in God's sight. Our righteous standing before God is all of grace and faith alone.

The doctrine of justification by grace and faith alone should not cause us to become complacent about seeking to live godly and fruit-bearing lives, however. One of the key verses of the book of James is "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26) Professed faith that is not accompanied by any change in one's life is not genuine faith.

James used the example of the life of Abraham to illustrate his point that genuine faith must reveal itself in our lives. Abraham was declared righteous by faith and grace alone. Abraham was sinful just like every other human being, and he was dependent on the blood and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation. Abraham's salvation and justification before God did not rest on any merit or work on his part. Abraham's faith, however, "was made complete by what he did." (James 2:22b) Abraham's already existing faith by grace alone was proven to be valid by his actions. Abraham proved the genuineness of his faith and love for the Lord by being willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. Abraham proved by his actions the genuineness of his faith by being willing to put God first in his life and by being willing to obey God in all things.

So we too must show evidence of genuine faith in our lives. We start our Christian lives as spiritually immature "baby" Christians, but the character of Christ must become increasingly evident in our lives also. We show evidence of genuine faith by our perseverance in our faith and by our trust in the Lord even in times of trial and testing in our lives. (James 1 and 5). We show genuineness of faith by not being "dragged away and enticed" by sin's temptations and by resisting sin's temptations in our lives. (James 1:14) As true believers we still sin, but we seek to fight and struggle against sin. It is our desire to please the Lord in all things.

We further show the genuineness of our faith by being "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. (James 1:19b) We show the genuineness of our faith by keeping "a tight rein" on our tongues. (James 1:26) We can do much damage to the cause of Christ and to the spirit of another human being by our tongues. "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." (James 3:10)

We also show we have genuine faith by our humble deeds and our godly wisdom. We show the genuineness of our faith by our lack of envy and selfishness and by our consideration, mercy, and peace-loving attitudes. (James 3:13-18)

Finally, we show the genuineness of our faith by the power and prominent place of prayer in our lives. (James 5:13-18) Prayer is the lifeline of every true believer. A child of God prays for the spiritual and the physical needs of others and for themselves.

In summary, we show the genuineness of our faith by not only reading and listening to God's Word, but by applying God’s Word to our lives. "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22) A faith that shows no evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and shows no evidence of godliness is not genuine faith. It is merely the pretense of faith. It is dead faith. May our faith prove genuine and vibrant by our godly living!

James 1:1-12

"I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:11

While on earth Jesus often told stories about every day life situations to teach Godly truths. These stories that Jesus told are called parables and are recorded in the Bible. There are many things that happen to us in our lives today also that can be a kind of reminder or parable of truths taught us in the Bible. As I have been recently contemplating my journey through my cancer treatments these past many months, I have also seen many parables or pictures of Biblical truths.

My first line of treatment for my cancer was chemotherapy. The chemotherapy medicine flowed intravenously through my veins to all the parts of my body. This was in an attempt to rid my entire body of any possible cancer cells. So we also need to infuse our spiritual veins with God’s Word. If we allow the truths of God’s Word to infuse and permeate out lives, the sin and unhealthy elements present in our lives will be eradicated and destroyed. Consequently, our lives and characters will begin to be better reflections of Jesus. Then we will begin to "shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:15b

In my cancer journey I also experienced surgery. This was a treatment meant to radically eradicate the tumor and area of cancer discovered in my body. So also the Word of God radically seeks to point out, eradicate, and cut away areas of our lives which are not pleasing to the Lord or are in need of refining. Hebrews 4:12 states, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

My final stage of treatment for cancer in which I am now involved is radiation. While chemotherapy medicine flows all through the body, radiation is equipped to target the precise area where cancer was discovered. Radiation attempts to eradicate any lingering cancer cells which may yet be lurking. This is because even a microscopic cancer cell could eventually develop again into full-blown cancer. We must also be very careful that we do not cherish sin in our hearts. (Psalm 66:18) We must not even cherish or hold close to our hearts sins which we consider small or inconsequential. First of all there is no such thing as small sins. Secondly, just as microscopic cancer cells can develop into uncontrollable cancer, so the "small" sins of our lives can soon develop into big sin problems and a lost of our zeal for the things of the Lord. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." We must seek to be constantly radiated by God’s Word, so that sinful attitudes and actions can be nipped in the bud. We must also seek to be constantly radiated by God’s Word, so that we can become increasingly more beautiful reflections of our Lord Jesus Christ! May this be our passion!