Pondering God (Part 21)

21 May. Continuing our study of God. He is not pedestrian. I know that sounds unusual. But what I mean by that is that He is above normal random encounters. "Hi, I'd like you to meet my friend, Bill." you might say when you and Bill and another mate meet up. And it's very good to try to introduce people to the Almighty. I never want you to stop trying to do that. But here's what I mean.

Moses wrote, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." (Deut. 29.29)

There are things which are 'too wonderful for me.' (Job 42.3, Psa. 139.6, Prov. 30.18)

He says "My ways are not your ways' and "as the heavens are highter....so are my thoughts higher than yours!" (Isa 55.9)

He does promise to be found now and then "‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’) (Jer. 29.14)

But usually He hides, until we are in the best frame of living, until He has our full attention. Isaiah said, "Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! " (Chap 45.15)

So which is it? Is He available or is He hidden? The answer: "YES!"

Turn to Him with humble heart and without grudges, without animosity towards anyone, turn to God in the name of Yeshua, and open your heart to His plans. He will be found by you, even now.

Pondering God (Part 22)

22 May. Continuing our study of God. God is on time. I suppose I alluded to this in a previous post about His being eternal. But this 'subtheme' is important to our living out life with Him in these days. He is never late. Some of the best biblical characters made serious mistakes thinking that their timing was better than the Lord's timing. Most notable of those is Abraham, father of the faith.

Seems Abraham had a promise from God when he was 75 years old. God told Abram He would make him as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands on the seashore. Wow, that's a lot of progeny. And Abe was 76, then 77, and on and on....up to 86 years old. Then he kept mulling the promise in his head and so did his wife Sara. 

Sara couldn't wait any longer and suggested Abraham take care of the situation by sleeping with her personal assistant Hagar. The child she would bear (think surrogacy) would take care of the heir problem which was looking gloomy.

Neither Sarah nor Abe was patient, and Ishmael was born a few months later, and he and his descendants have been the cause of much trouble in the Middle East to this day.

God is not patient as the world counts patience, but He is on a different timeline to be sure. Peter wrote this, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3.9)

God's love and patience is causing Him to delay His own sending of Messiah to the earth, SO THAT those who do not yet profess Him as Messiah and Lord will have time to do so. That's awesome, eh?

Pondering God (Part 23)

23 May. Continuing our study of God. He is a man of war. A warrior. A battler. God gets involved in situations, for His name's sake, and fights. Maybe you are imagining a scene from Game of Thrones or Superman, El Cid or Star Wars. Each of those has some mystery like the Heavenly battle and the Heavenly Battler. But it's not quite right.

There is justice, after all, which matters and the whole idea of God doing things for His own glory, and for His people. I imagine the similarities can be visible. 

But it's more than that. After the Jewish people escaped Egypt in about 1500 BCE, in the original Exodus, Moses leads the people in song. Not bad for an 80-year-old crooner. One line is "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name." (Exodus 15.3)

This shout of exaltation is as big as a GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLL by a World Cup announcer. It's as noisy as a chest-beating self-congratulations by Lebron James after taking Game 4 in the Eastern finals in the NBA. 

Moses is making God's name known in the Red Sea, as they cross from Egypt into the wilderness. Listen to other phrases in that song. "He is highly exalted", "He has hurled the horse and rider into the sea." And again, "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. "

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous of the Lord. 

Earlier this month I quoted Zephaniah 3 as God is Singer. Here, Moses joins in that Song of Praise to the Almighty. Zephaniah said, "Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, o daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.
The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. " (3.14-17)

The victory and the Lord and the singing and the shouting...it's all merged. 

But it's not only a contest of physical and brute strength. It's a matter of honour and holiness and living right before God. 

How are you doing on that one?

God will be the warrior; He will win battles in His name for you. Your job? Stand with Him, love Him, and keep clean.

Pondering God (Part 24)

24 May. Continuing our study of God. Who is He? He's King of Kings. A bit redundant, you say? After all, if He's the King, then He's the King of all Kings. Right? Well, tell that to the King of Thailand or King Philippe of Belgium, King Hamad of Bahrain or King Abdullah of Jordan, next door to where I am here in Jerusalem. They might think the king of Thailand, #10 is a nice guy, but is he the king of the other kings? Not a chance!

Look how hard it is for the press/ media to get it right about who is canceling the North Korea/ USA summit next month. Who is going to submit to whom? Whose timeline is going to be kept? See what I mean?

So when the Bible uses the phrase "King of Kings" (1 Tim. 6), it means much more than a single 'king' might mean. After all, there are kings like Nebuchadnezzar and Herod recorded in the Scripture. Kings like Ahaseurus and Pharaoh rule for a time, but God has a way of bringing ends to these dominions. 

Another way of saying "king of kings" to quote Bob Mumford is "King of all those kinging it." In other words, all those other kings are reigning (kinging) now, but Yeshua is the real king, the verifiable king. The One and Only King. The One King unto whom all kings are going to bow. Maybe not today, but they will. And so will you. 

Look what Paul wrote Timothy in the earlier citation: "I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Messiah Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, which He will bring about at the proper time — He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."

The Bible uses double words like ''king of kings or 'Lord of Lords' to emphasize, like using BOLD or ALL CAPS on a typeset. 'Holy of holies' means the MOST HOLY place. So what would King of Kings represent? The MOST King. The Real King. The ONE. 

All political kings, once and future ones, should bow to the King. You should bow to Him, too. He's going to welcome you into His arms.

Pondering God (Part 25)

We are rewinding these FB posts for you on Blogger just now. Enjoy the whole month of May musings.

25 May. Continuing our study and contemplation of God. He is Holy. Don’t hang up. Really— I’m not going to make you feel too guilty, too soon. Holy is one of the most used words to remind us of the God of Israel. By translation it can mean 'separate' or 'sanctified' or 'set apart.' And by convention most people consider this word to be a religious term having to do with things we are not supposed to do. Holy people don’t smoke, right? They don’t kill or get drunk. Ok so if God is holy, he must not smoke or get drunk. 

But God is not interested in such religious appellation. 

What holy means to me is that He is other. He is not like us. The psalmist Asaph quoted the Almighty in chapter 50.
“You let your mouth loose in evil and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you.” (19-21)

He is other. 

His ways are not our ways.
His thoughts are not our thoughts. 

There are children in classes today who are contrary. God wants us to listen to His words and to obey. He wants us to love. To love Him and all His people. To love His creation. He wants us to be other than the spirit of the age. 

I haven’t been holy throughout my life. I have failed God over and over. I have broken His commands. And yet God says of me and us “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”. (1 Peter 2.9)

Out of the dark. Into the other.
Out of self-consumption into His light.
Out of living for myself to living for God. 

He will shine His light into my darknesses and expose my sins. The purpose of that shining? That I might join Him in His beauty and majestic Holiness.

Pondering God (Part 26)

We are rewinding these FB posts for you on Blogger just now. Enjoy the whole month of May musings.

26 May. Continuing our study of God. Ponder this. He is the Bridegroom. Don't think one of those TV 'reality' shows, please. It's not anything like that. Nor is it like the Royal Wedding of Harry and Meagan. BTW, for a strange list of TV shows about weddings, check (https://www.ranker.com/list/best-wedding-shows/tvs-frank) here.

No it's not about romance or money. It's not about a single rose or losing weight. It's not the Bachelor.

What is it with God as Bridegroom? He is patient, and loving. He is longing to be in relationship with us. He has proposed to us, not on the basis of our beauty or our usefulness. This is not a marriage of convenience. This is a marriage of chosenness. 

Isaiah says this, "And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. " (62.5) God as bridegroom? Wait, then who is the bride? That's for another lesson down the road, since we are focusing on the God of the Bible this whole month. 

Thus God as bridegroom requires some notice. 

John Piper wrote this sermon in 2004, and gave it on Palm Sunday. There he references over and over the Bridegroom imagery and covers much extra territory as well. I hope you will like it. https://www.desiringgod.org/…/jesus-christ-the-bridegroom-p…

God as Bridegroom. He woos us. He asks us. He invites us to be married to Him. This is not some weird nunnery thing. This is real. It's personal. It's the invitation that you see every week on the Billy Graham show. Or when you go to that church where they 'give an invitation.' They want you to be born again. It's as if God is proposing to you, but you have to say 'yes.' 

No single rose.
No flowers at all.
No choir.
No organ.
No pressure.

Just God's open arms saying, "Will you be mine?" 

It's a lifetime of covenantal commitment.
It's a calling.
And He wants you to respond.

Will you? Will you just now say 'yes' to Him?

Pondering God: Part 27

27 May. Continuing our ponderings on God. Who is He? He is Saviour. This idea of rescue may not be something everyone is keen to consider. To admit a Saviour is necessary is to admit one needs salvation. To admit we need salvation is to admit there are problems beyond our human capabilities to solve. I've been there. I wonder if you've been there?

The biggest problem issue we have to sort is the problem of sin. Don't let me lose you here. Sin isn't about how many comic books you stole from the news agent when you were 10, or what movies you watched last week in the hotel room when you thought you were alone. It's much bigger than that. It's the continual inability you have to stand up for righteousness, your inability to control every aspect of your life and bring it under the surrendered control of God. It's selfishness in every sense of the word. It's "I'm first!" rather than how can I love my neighbor. It's when it's all about you.

That sin nature will produce sins like the stolen book or the pornographic movie, but sin is deeper than all that. It's your continual resistance to the plans of the Almighty. 

When you see how far you have veered from God's plans, and how desperate you are to get into His good graces, then you will see your need for Salvation. Only then will "God is your Saviour" make sense to you. Only when a person is overboard off the deck of the cruise liner does he reach for a life saver. Only when you smell the smoke in your burning apartment, only then do you ring EMERGENCY 9.1.1. or 000 or here in Israel 100. Only then do you run outside and grab the garden hose and try to save what is dying. 

Isaiah used that word Savior over and over in his prophecy.
For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior " (43.3) and again, "I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me. " (43.11) and again, "Surely, they are My people, sons who will not deal falsely.” So He became their Savior." (63.8) (Do read chapter 63 in context. You will be amazed that the very God who spilled his own lifeblood on the earth for us [sound familiar as in crucifixion?] is our Savior and we as Jewish people would reject Him)

The abundance of Newer Testament references will be useful to the student reading this. I will supply them at the end. 

But for you who are just learning along with me this month as I unpack the nature and character of God, let this be the summary: We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. (from 1 John 4.14). 

Receive Him as your Savior today. Say this prayer, "Lord save me. I admit my sins and I admit my sin nature. I need saving. I want to live like you want me to live. Forgive me. Change me. Make me into the person you want me to be."

He will do it. Let me know if you did that. Thanks.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now for those serious students who want to read more about the Savior Yeshua: 

Hos. 13.4 ¶ Yet I have been the LORD your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me.
Luke 1.47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Luke 2.11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior, who is Christ the Lord.
John 4.42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Acts 5.31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 13.23 “from the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
Eph. 5.23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
Phil. 3.20 For our 1citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
1Tim. 1.1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of bChrist Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
1Tim. 2.3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
1Tim. 4.10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
2Tim. 1.10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
Titus 1.3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,
Titus 1.4 ¶ To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus 2.10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of aGod our Savior in every respect.
Titus 2.13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
Titus 3.4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
Titus 3.6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
2Pet. 1.1 ¶ Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, ¶ To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2Pet. 1.11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
2Pet. 2.20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
2Pet. 3.2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
2Pet. 3.18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
1John 4.14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Jude 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.