The subject of Biblical testing at the initiation of God is one of fleeting understanding. In fact, this author wrote a short commentary on “Job” a few years ago, only to wander, today, if there was any accuracy in the insight. I am thinking of writing a revision. I had discussed “Sense evaluation” as a target of God’s testing, which I still hold to be true. God’s servant in Isaiah 11: 3, judged not “after the sight of his eyes, neither reproved after the hearing of his ears.” — a prophetic passage pointing to Christ. The reference refers to temporal thinking which, again, God targets for exposure and ultimate removal. God seeks to orient us to the eternal. Our degree of Spiritual content through the intake of God’s Word reveals itself in the trial. In his booklet, “When Testings Come,” Dr. Carl H. Stevens writes that in tests. “God watches six…
Category: <span>Personal God</span>
And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way. 1 Samuel 30:1-2 An adverse day, “So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.” 1Samuel 30:3 David lifted his voice and wept, And so too, all the people with him. Then, “…the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters.” Out of the bitter gash created in every man’s…
Galatians 5:13 instructs us, ” …brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” In this profound verse, Paul addresses the Christian who has discovered the Precious Holy Spirit, the death of separation, the life of resurrection, the victory of ascension, the repose of being seated with Christ in glory. In a sense, Paul admonishes us as Spiritual men and women: Don’t use your liberty as a bondage maker by willfully reverting to the sphere of “non-liberty..’ The implication here carries a power house of truth. The Spiritual man has become a discerning person. also a will-deciding individual he or she choose their identity. They carefully must be wary of past identities. They must discern false identities. They must adhere to the parameters of their new identity in Christ. Paul summarizes the accepted identity, “in love…
On our Romans 7 discourse, Expositors comments, “…it is the cry of a human soul, if ever there was a personal cry. the passage betrays a kind of conflict far deeper and more mysterious than merely that of “I ought” with “I will not.” –It is a conflict of “I will” with “I will not”; of “I hate” with “I do.” Romans 7:19 illustrates this, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. “ Troublesome, the divided mind looks like this: On one hand, we want to do good. On the other hand, however, evil over-rules the good intentions, resulting in injurious or bad actions. Perhaps we determine harder to do the good we want. Before long we witness the weakness of our will as we surrender again to that troublesome, pernicious, destructive, baneful display. We need an…
Instead of confident walking, we shake. Instead of inward peace, our heart divides. Instead of trusting our Savior, we distrust our threatened fortunes — poor health, financial strain, relationship shortcomings. Our trials and testing are greater than we have ever seen before. We fear we are going to die, or suffer pain, or lose everything. In the case of some, the above rattles their cage like a rain storm in the desert, maybe a flood on a mountain. Things hit us as strange, mystifying — out of the ordinary — to say the least. Help stands aloof, we fear an abandonment has somehow taken place, a forsaking or betrayal. Forgive me if I sound a bit familiar, but, at my age, all of this kind of talk has overtaken me Z times. These kind of words, and even more dire ones, more descriptive, more hopeless, appear to me as Christianity…
“…and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf (bullock), and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (pouncing on its prey as a vulture) Revelation 4 They had six wings, as did the Seraphim of Isaiah 6. We find that Cherubim guarded the path to the tree of life in Genesis 3:24. ” And he drove out Man; and he set the Cherubim, and the flame of the flashing sword, toward the east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life. “ In Ezekiel 1:13-14, “…their appearance was like burning coals of fire, as the appearance of torches: it went up and down among the living creatures; and…
“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. ” Revelation 3:8 “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.” 2Corinthians 4:1 “For who hath despised the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:3 “…thou hast kept the word of my patience,” Revelation 3:10 Somehow we get to walk with God alone. Often that walk can be lonely, for God dwells in the thick darkness. I too must acclimate to that darkness, for in that darkness I find true light.…
God’s love covers a multitude of sins. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. Proverbs 16:14 A person brings in a propitiation, anger is pacified. Yes, the sin, the offense, the fault — he removes it from the equation. There is no imputation of sin. God has called us to a tender reply, even a show of weakness. It repels the malignant part in the other, as it sides with the sinner, not to condone his sin, or sinful behavior — but to identify with it as also me-owned, admitting fulness of potential to self-display the very same sin — at any moment. I have always been amazed at God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4:6; “‘Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen? ” YLT. Cain displayed dismay, even anger and sorrow at the rejection by God of his…
The perfect love of Jesus casts out fear. 1John 4:10-18 makes this clear. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “We love because he first loved us. “v19 ESV Propitiation? “ …the scriptural conception of the verb is not that of appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship.” quote is from Vincent “Word Pictures.” Christ, our sin-bearer, altered the character of sin by becoming sin for us, and taking it to a bloody cross, so sin died. Access to the Father resulted. So: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever…
“And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 David never forgot the love of his friend, Jonathan. This man had helped David escape at a time when Saul’s jealous wrath was pointed toward him. Jonathan was a friend that loved at all times, a brother born for adversity — a rare, but loyal and true friend. As we navigate the perils of the Christian’s call, we certainly have a similar friend, Jesus. Touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He meets us at the Throne of grace. Here we find acceptance in spite of our broken hearts, mercy that rejoices against a certain judgment. As the story of 2 Samuel goes, found in the shadows of Lodebar (pastureless), was a forgotten son of Jonathan whose name was Mephibosheth. “Then King David sent and brought…