There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
BY THIS STAGE IN JESUS’ MINISTRY, the tensions between him and the authorities have become acute. Some are overtly theological; others have pragmatic overtones and elements of turf protection. Every unit in Luke 20 reflects some of this increasing tension. We shall focus on the parable of the tenants (20:9–19). The story becomes more comprehensible to Western minds when we recall that these “tenant farmers” in the first-century culture were not simply employees (in the modern sense), but workers tied to an entire social structure. They owed the owner of the vineyard not only a percentage of the produce, but respectful allegiance. Their treatment of the servants he sent was not only harsh and greedy, but shameful. That he should send his son would not be thought of as a stupid act on his part: it would simply be unthinkable for them to kill him. But in the story that Jesus tells, that is just what they do: they kill him, hoping somehow that the land will become theirs now that the rightful heir is dead. What then will the owner do? Jesus answers his own question: “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (20:16). The people grasp the point of the parable. The main lines were clear: God was the vineyard owner, the tenant farmers were Israel, the servants rejected by the farmers were the prophets, and eventually God sends his “son” (doubtless a slightly ambiguous category for them)—and the result is that the land and prosperity that the owner provided are stripped from them and given to others. Small wonder they exclaim, “May this never be!” That was exactly the response Jesus expected from them. He had set them up for it. But now he looks at them steadily and cites Scripture to prove that that is exactly how things will turn out, exactly how things therefore must turn out. For doesn’t Scripture say, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone” (20:17; Ps. 118:22)? That “stone” finally wins; those who fall on it are broken to pieces, those on whom it falls are crushed. But the fact of the matter is that the stone is initially rejected by the builders. Doubtless Jesus’ hearers did not understand all of the ramifications of this parable. But the scribes and chief priests understood enough to know that they themselves did not figure too well in it: they must be included among the people who beat up on prophets and finally reject God’s Son. Politically, this is one more step to the cross; theologically, Jesus teaches his followers what kind of Messiah he is, and how his death is as inevitable as the scriptural prophecies that predict it.
Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 91). Crossway Books.
THINGS ARE NEVER QUITE AS GOOD as they might be. Or if for a brief moment they are as good as you can imagine them, if for a while you seem to suck in the nectar of life itself with every breath you breathe, you know as well as I do that such highs cannot last. Tomorrow you go back to work. You may enjoy your job, but it has its pressures. Your marriage may be well-nigh idyllic, but in a sour mood you may marvel at how much you cannot or will not share with your spouse. The warm west wind that tousles your hair metamorphoses into a tornado that destroys your home. One of your parents succumbs to Alzheimer’s; one of your children dies. There is so much around you to enjoy, yet just as you begin to chew on a filet mignon that your children have bought for you for your birthday, you remember the millions who starve every day. There is no escape from the brute reality that, however wonderful your experiences in this broken world, others suffer experiences far more corrosive, and you yourself cannot ever believe that what you are experiencing is utterly ideal. That restlessness is for our good. It is a design feature of our makeup, of our nature as creatures made in the image of God. We were made to inhabit eternity; by constitution we know that we belong to something better than a world (however beautiful at times) awash in sin. Paul understands this point perfectly (2 Corinthians 5:1–5). He anticipates the time when “the earthly tent” (our present body) will be destroyed, and we will receive “an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (5:1)—our resurrection body. “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (5:2). It is not that we wish to “shuffle off our mortal coil” and exist in naked immortality: that is not our ultimate hope, for “we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (5:4). Then Paul adds: “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (5:5). God made us for this purpose, i.e., for the purpose of resurrection life, secured for us by the death of his Son. Moreover, in anticipation of this glorious consummation of life, already God has given us his Spirit as a deposit, a kind of down payment on the ultimate inheritance. Small wonder, then, that we groan in anticipation and find our souls restless in this temporary abode that is under sentence of death.
Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 2, p. 91). Crossway Books.
Imagine the courtroom. Imagine the joy. A wicked and guilty sinner is declared innocent by a righteous judge. How is this possible? By faith, we the guilty are declared righteous through the substitutionary death of the Lamb. What a glorious thought. We are saved from God’s wrath!
Yet however great that might sound, the book of Hosea demonstrates that salvation is far greater than this courtroom scene. Biblical salvation is not just a past spiritual declaration that makes a sinner righteous—it is an all-encompassing salvation, spiritual and physical, in which God makes sinners the objects of His everlasting affection.
Hosea illustrates this salvation story.
The ten northern tribes of Israel had utterly prostituted themselves in the worship of foreign gods, building golden calves, erecting high places on every hill, and trusting in the strength of men. They had forsaken God’s covenant. Thus, God sent the prophet Hosea to declare His righteous sentence against them.
Yet instead of beginning with a spoken word, God commands Hosea to do something quite odd. Hosea is to marry a “wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom” (Hos 1:2). And though the exact timing of Gomer’s promiscuity is debated, God’s point is obvious: Hosea is going to have to live through what God is experiencing—being covenanted with a wife who is committing adultery.
After proving Israel’s adultery, God does what anyone would expect a husband to do: He explains to Israel that He no longer loves them or considers them His people. Hosea also has to live out this reality, naming his first daughter “No-Mercy” and his second daughter “Not-My-People,” daily illustrating to the people of Israel the message, “You are not my people, and I am not your God” (Hos 1:9).
In fact, in the book of Hosea, God consistently inverts the message of the Mosaic covenant, communicating to the Northern Tribes that through their disobedience, they have annulled their relationship with Him. Thus, God is removing the blessings of the covenant and returning them to the state in which He found them.
The Lion of Judah promises to tear them apart, instead of their enemies (Hos 5:14), adding that “He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt” (Hos 8:13). From Egypt God had called them, and so to slavery they would return (Hosea later explains that returning to Egypt is symbolic for returning to slavery and that their place of captivity would actually be Assyria, Hos 11:5).
The point: the people of Israel had ceased to be God’s people and God had promised to punish them.
You say, “Hey, I thought this was a message about salvation! This is dark!” Yes, but that’s the beauty of God’s salvation. The more we understand the depths of our depravity, the more we appreciate the power of God that rescued us from our damnation.
God cannot remain angry with the descendants of Abraham forever because His compassionate heart cannot withstand it and His very nature demands that He keep His promises. Thus, after rejecting Israel God says, “My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst” (Hos 11:8–9).
He promises that though He had cast them off, someday, “in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God’” (Hos 1:10).
This too, Hosea was to live out in his relationship to his adulterous wife, Gomer.
After Gomer leaves Hosea to live with another man, God tells Hosea to do the unthinkable. Hosea must seek out Gomer and love her again. God commands, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins” (Hos 3:1).
So this action was also symbolic, this time not of God’s wrath, but of the future restoration of all things (Hos 3:4–5). Though Israel had forsaken the Mosaic covenant, God still remembered the Abrahamic covenant and promised that someday He would regenerate and restore His people to Himself after their disobedience (Deut 30:6).
God was using Hosea to explain this future reality to Israel. One day He would “allure her,” “speak tenderly to her,” and “remove the name of Baal from her mouth” (Hos 2:14, 17). Why? So that He could say: “And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord” (Hos 2:19–20).
God had judged His people, but He had not forgotten His promises. He promised that one day He would forgive Israel’s sins, cure her of her harlotry, and lavish His love upon her forever.
So you see, God’s picture of salvation is not merely of a judge declaring that the adulteress is innocent. Because a judge could acquit an adulteress, yet want nothing to do with her. Rather, God’s picture of salvation is of a judge changing the heart of an adulteress so that He could step down from His bench and propose marriage to her, lavishing His love upon her for all eternity. This is the gospel of the kingdom, the restoration of all things.
So when you think and teach about salvation, don’t truncate the message by limiting salvation to justification alone—include also the future realities of glorification. It is true that Christ’s cross reconciled us to God, and that is wonderful. But God is even more wonderful.
Now that He has justified us, He actually desires to spend eternity with us. News can’t get any better than that! One day God will fulfill all His promises, when we, together with Israel, reign with Christ in the New Jerusalem.
[Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated.]
Instead of writing one article about one subject, I thought I’d write an article highlighting numerous situations that either have recently occurred or are occurring now. It’s hard to keep up with everything, but I’m listing some things here that are worth noting.
Tall el Hamman This is very interesting to me. Archaeologists and biblical experts believe they have found the remains of Sodom, destroyed by God for their overt sin and lawlessness.[1][2] What is interesting about this particular archaeological dig is the way in which it is believed occurred.
Experts call it a “cosmic airburst” that rained down destruction onto the area referred to as Tall el Hamman.[3] The airburst was created due to a large asteroid entering earth’s atmosphere and hitting what may well be Sodom from a northwesterly approach. As one article notes, the explosion that occurred, wiping out all life in an instant and decimating buildings and crops, was 1,000 times greater in energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
A city-wide ~ 1.5-m-thick carbon-and-ash-rich destruction layer contains peak concentrations of shocked quartz (~ 5–10 GPa); melted pottery and mudbricks; diamond-like carbon; soot; Fe- and Si-rich spherules; CaCO3 spherules from melted plaster; and melted platinum, iridium, nickel, gold, silver, zircon, chromite, and quartz.[2]
Moreover, we are told that temperatures during the blast exceeded 2,000 degrees Celsius. It’s absolutely fascinating what this cosmic airburst created in a brief moment of time. Scholars believe this area was destroyed during the Middle-Bronze-Age and the area was “…in the southern Jordan Valley northeast of the Dead Sea.” Interestingly enough, others have previously believed that Sodom was on the southern portion of the Dead Sea.
Bone fragments, skull fragments, leg bones and other things have been unearthed indicating that the devastation was abrupt and very quick. It is believed that whatever this area was, represented an ancient city with high walls and massive gates with a population of roughly 50,000 people. What remains is a flattened hill.
Of course, not all archaeologists agree that the area was the ancient site known as Sodom. It must be remembered that many to most archaeologists are atheists or at least agnostics. They claim to simply pursue the science, yet when things point to the Bible, they often deny any and all connections. At most, what some may do is state that Tall el Hamman occurred and the story was passed down to successive generations and then eventually someone wrote it down and the narrative was picked up by the writers of the Bible and included in the text, while changing significant points to make it more in line with the purpose of the Bible.
At any rate, people like Dr. Steven Collins and many others have been working on the site since 2005 and his book offers a great explanation about the dig and the possible connection to Sodom.
Vaccines The march to get everyone jabbed continues and this is in spite of information continuing to come out proving that the adverse events can be linked back to the mRNA jab. This is generally either denied or ignored by those who push the jab.
In one instance, non-scientist Bill Gates is heard in an interview stating that the only reason that there are more incidents of autism today is because the definition has been broadened. Okay Bill.
In the meantime, more and more people – young and younger – are dying suddenly and there’s essentially no explanation from the medical complex. The media is wasting no time stating that the increase in deaths among the youngish is due to “climate change.”
Here is just one article noting the death of a baby after receiving 7 vaccines.[4] Even though parents were questioning whether or not the jabs had anything to do with their baby’s death, the medical staff assured the parents that there could not be a connection. They know this how?
Due to the amount of aluminum and other adjuvants, it is quite possible that the baby died because of the harm the vaccines created once inside the child’s body. How any medical personnel could unequivocally state that there is no causal connection is absolutely beyond me. They’re simply repeating what they are taught and told to say.
But all this should not be new. There is, on record, going back to 1885, headlines about the negativity of vaccines. What has changed? Numerous things. For one thing, Ronald Reagan signed a bill granted total immunity to pharma companies. When he asked why they didn’t simply make safe vaccines, the answer was, “it cannot be done.” So, he signed a bill that gave pharma massive protection. Because of that, there is absolutely no incentive for pharma to even try to create jabs that are safe.
From 1885
The amount of information that is coming out about the lack of efficacy, the lack of testing and the lack of control groups etc., is all conveniently set aside by those within the medical complex. They choose to either ignore it or attack those who bring the topics up.
Getting back to Bill Gates, does this statement make sense to you; that we can essentially reduce the population on this planet and vaccines can help with that? Of course, if you go to a “fact-check” site, they will state that his comments are being distorted or taken out of context.[5] But then again, this Reuters article pushes “climate change” as well, so I’ll leave you to decide if the authors have integrity or if they’re just pushing Technocrats’ talking points.
Truth is, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is working with Trump regarding mRNA vaccines: Using AI and robotics, it’s now possible to design and make mRNA cancer vaccines “for every individual person” in just 48 hours. So, it seems clear the globalists are giving up on neither mRNA jabs or Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Sadly, there has been a noted suicide surge among people who’ve experienced devastating adverse events believed to have occurred after they received the mRNA jabs/booster.[7] There has also been a significantly higher incidence of CV infection among jabbed individuals.[8]
Also very interesting here is the issue of autism and the potential connection between that and the transgender movement.[9]
Illegal Immigrants ICE is trying to do its job but it keeps being stymied because of leaks to the media. In the most recent case, ICE’s massive round up in Los Angeles was put on hold because of a leak to the media. Turns out, according to Border Czar, the leak may have come from the FBI.[6] What more proof is needed that the FBI is working against Americans by working against the Trump administration?
Hopefully, they’ll find all the leakers and send them on their way. However, what they are doing is more than leaking information. They are actually breaking laws and need to be arrested.
USAID & FEMA These orgs are deeply infected with wokism and actually need to be shut down. There is tremendous waste in both of these agencies with billions of taxpayer dollars going abroad to support everything from transgenderism to terrorism. Why should the USA be funding any of this at all? It’s not as though America has no homeless situation that needs attention or devastation caused by recent hurricanes. Top people at FEMA have now been fired. Maybe there will be more to come?
Interestingly enough, there is an alleged connection between USAID and Wuhan.[10] Gosh, who knew? I was watching a clip of CNN with Anderson Cooper who actually stated there is zero proof that USAID has wasted taxpayer dollars. And I’m the Jolly Green Giant…
Beyond this, it was just learned that last week, officials at FEMA sent $59 billion to luxury hotels in New York City to pay for housing for illegal immigrants there. This was in direct defiance of President Trump’s executive orders. So, Trump has now fired the top person at FEMA and has stated his desire to shut the agency down because of all the waste. I believe Trump was able to “claw” the money back from New York City.
Of course, the courts are standing against Trump but what are they going to do, arrest him? Fine his administration? Sanction him? This is what the Left does and we knew they would not sit idly by while Trump dismantled their growing kingdom.
This kind of propaganda has no place in the media. Instead of doing their own research (what’s that?), they simply parrot what they are told to say in order to continue to prop up everything as a right-wing conspiracy.
NAR and Apostles I’ll leave readers with this information. There is an international organization called International Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (ICAL).[11] Apparently, they’ve been around for 25 years as a “missional” movement. Their stated mission is as follows.
The mission of ICAL is to provide our members ACCESS to other Apostolic Leaders worldwide, EXPOSURE to Kingdom ideas, strategies and procedures successfully implemented by other Apostolic Leaders around the world, and DIALOGUE with other members in a global conversation.
In short, these people fully believe that there are apostles today (and prophets), who, in holding the office of apostle, have the same authority as the original apostles noted in Scripture. Consider that for a moment. What did many of the original apostles do? They healed people and even raised them from the dead (through the empowerment of God’s Spirit). They also wrote what has become part of the Bible in the form of either Gospels or letters. It is not far fetched to believe that those who consider themselves to be apostles today believe that they have the same ability.
So, is God still writing His Word? Clearly not and while they might argue they are not adding to it, they end up doing that very thing when they speak from the pulpit or write something that they believe and announce is directly from God Himself. This is one of the tragedies of the Charismatic Movement that I was involved in years ago. There is always something “new” that God is revealing. Yet, what I have found is that the new thing never takes root. It never gets any traction. But it does have the ability to hit people in their feelings so they tend to grab onto it.
Pastor Michael Grant did a short video on this topic,[12] highlighting the fact that even within evangelicalism, too often Christians and/or the Church in general grabs hold of the latest thing instead of waiting and using discernment and wisdom (from God and His Word), to determine its efficacy.
God’s people need to be discerners of truth and the more we read through and study His Word, the greater our discernment becomes to avoid pitfalls and problems.
That’s all for this article. I pray all of you have a wonderful day in the Lord!
I’m often asked if Paula White is part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement. Given President Trump’s announcement, Thursday (Feb. 6), that he appointed White to lead the newly established White House Faith Office, I thought it could be helpful to share an excerpt from our book RecklessChristianity that explains her connections to NAR–most notably, her role in the movement as an “apostle.” As you read the excerpt, pay attention to how she follows the practice of many other NAR leaders of not directly referring to herself as an apostle, but allowing others to do so and accepting that designation.
(Note that the photo below is from 2017 in Nashville, when I was invited to take part in a Religion News Association panel about NAR–alongside Paula White and the NAR prophet James Goll–before an audience of reporters from the nation’s top media outlets. Even back then White’s connections to NAR were becoming known. You can watch the panel on Facebook here.
And here’s the excerpt about Paula White from Reckless Christianity: The Destructive New Teachings and Practices of Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, and the Global Movement of Apostles and Prophets.
During Trump’s term in office, NAR leaders, including many from Bethel Church [in Redding, California, an influential NAR church], gained unprecedented access to the White House. This was certainly due in part to their ministry connections with Trump’s spiritual advisor, Paula White. White, a well-connected televangelist and prosperity gospel preacher, is known as an apostle who concurs with much Bethel Church and NAR theology.
White announced in 2019 that she would pass direct leadership of her church, City of Destiny in Apopka, Florida (formerly New Destiny Christian Center), to her son, Brad Knight. She would then function as a governing apostle over the church. However, she said, she would not adopt the title “apostle” since a title like that may be misunderstood. She favored, instead, the designation “oversight pastor.” Moments after her announcement, her son told her publicly, “You truly are an apostle. And the quicker that people realize that God has granted you favor and authority, and unique favor and authority, the better off that they’ll be.” In response, Paula White was seen nodding in apparent agreement. (See White and Knight, “We are streaming live!” [30:00].) So, although White does not speak of herself as an apostle, she apparently does view herself as one, as does her church leadership.
Learn more about RecklessChristianity on Amazon here.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.” – Jeremiah 19:15
Today, any mention of God’s judgment is intensely unpopular. This is true not just with worldly people and skeptics, but it is also remarkably unpopular with people who consider themselves to be religious. If you read all of Jeremiah 19, you will discover that was also true of many in the days of God’s prophet, Jeremiah.
What feeling does our text for today stir within your heart? Have you been so stiff-necked, so wilful, so caught up in yourself, that you no longer really listen to God’s Word? Then you do well to fear, because the judgment of God will certainly fall upon sinners who do not repent and turn to Jesus for pardon.
Our text makes it clear that the judgment of God is not just going to come on murderers, thieves, adulterers, and others guilty of obvious, public sins. It will also fall upon those who just played at being religious, but who in reality were stiff-necked and who, in their inmost heart, would not listen to God’s Word.
This message of judgment is unpopular. Unrepentant sinners don’t want to hear it. Hypocrites don’t want to hear it. It is, however, a basic teaching of God’s Word, and popular or not, the message of our text is true. God judges people in this life and in the life to come. May you and I be ready for God’s scrutiny. May we be found as those who listen to God’s Word, and thus be found as those who live by faith, and practice that faith in humble obedience.
Suggestions for prayer
Ask the Lord to work in your heart so that you be found a careful listener of God’s Word, and one who puts that Word into practice in your life.
Rev. Gregg V. Martin was ordained to the Gospel ministry in 1977. In his years of service, he pastored a total of five congregations in three Canadian provinces. He also served for more than seven years in Latin America as a missionary providing leadership training in Reformed mission churches. He is presently retired and living in Toronto. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
SCRIPTURE READING: John 6:65–69 KEY VERSE: John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
In his classic book The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan told of the adventures of Christian on his spiritual journey as a believer in Christ. Christian knew that the straight and narrow path—the way of Jesus—was the only road to heaven, the Celestial City. But the path was often rough and rocky; trials and temptations surrounded him. Discouraged, Christian looked away from the road at the soft grass of By–path Meadow and took what he thought was a shortcut, another way to God. Moments later, he was thrown into a dark dungeon as a prisoner of the Giant Despair. Christian got a hard look at the hopelessness of other options and learned where they led—away from Christ. Understanding who Jesus is will keep you from false, tempting choices. When compared to Jesus, all other options pale. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6 NASB). Nothing else will do. No other course brings true and lasting rewards. There are no substitutes, no bypass. His love and forgiveness are all–sufficient. He gives direction and purpose to your life. The way may be arduous at times, but it is the best route to a meaningful life.
Jesus is the way. There are no other options for me! Keep me on the right path this day, even though it might be difficult. Thank You, Lord, for the direction and purpose You give my life.
Stanley, C. F. (1998). Enter His gates: a daily devotional. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
The nation of Israel grieved God’s heart continually by chasing after other gods and withholding their devotion and adoration from Him. To provide the errant nation with a living illustration of His righteous grief and anger, God gave the prophet Hosea an unusual command. He told him to wed a harlot and begin a family with her. Without questioning, Hosea obeyed and took the prostitute Gomer to be his wife. Though she wandered and continued in an unfaithful lifestyle, Hosea obeyed the Lord and did not cast her away. The book of Hosea contains God’s words to the people of Israel as revealed through Hosea’s dramatic example of steadfast love. The moving poetry of this book also reveals the longing of God for uninterrupted intimacy with His people. Can you feel the agony of separation in these words?
How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?…
My heart churns within Me,
My sympathy is stirred.
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger. (Hos. 11:8–9)
God longs for the same intimate relationship with you. He would do anything to get your love—and He did. In the most radical display of all time, He provided His Son, Jesus Christ, as the means to make such fellowship possible. God is the passionate and faithful Lover of your soul.
Dear God, thank You for displaying Your love by giving Your Son, Jesus Christ, to restore my fellowship with You.
Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 16). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
In our final podcast episode of 2024, Dr. Jay Richards returns to discuss three essential topics that often cause confusion and dissent among both Christians and non-Christians in America today: the history and purpose of government, macroevolutionary theory vs. intelligent design, and the root cause of chronic disease. Together, Frank and Jay address questions like:
What is the biblical purpose of government?
Where do our rights come from?
How should we define American exceptionalism?
Was America founded on Christianity or something else?
What did Thomas Jefferson mean by “separation of church and state” and how has the term been misused and misunderstood?
What is macroevolutionary theory and why does it fail to explain the origin of life and new life forms?
How should Christians respond to the “God of the gaps” objection?
Is Darwinism consistent with what we can observe in biology?
Why is America sicker than ever despite our ultra-advanced health care system and will RFK Jr. solve the problem?
From politics to science to health, Frank and Jay will cover a lot of essential truths in this year-end episode of ‘I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist’ that will still be relevant in the decades to come! If you want to learn more about any of these topics, be sure to check out our list of recommended resources below. Let’s continue standing for truth, defending the faith, and boldly living out the biblical worldview in every area of life in 2025!
If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY HERE. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Taking the small, inflatable raft, he went out just beyond the wave break where he could relax and enjoy the coolness of the ocean water. He had left his glasses with his wife on the beach. Though his vision was blurry, he kept telling himself, “I can still see the shore.” Soon, the sound of the lifeguard’s horn and shouts of onlookers signaled that he had drifted out into dangerous water, never feeling the silent pull of the ocean’s undertow.
Sin often operates this way in the lives of believers. Satan begins by tempting us to deviate only slightly from God’s principles. Then he watches for our reaction. Do we find sin palatable or nauseating?
Spiritual drifting begins with the words, “I know I probably shouldn’t do this, but I don’t see any harm in doing it just once.” Before you drift into harm’s way and away from the fellowship of God, ask Him to surface any area of sin you may be harboring.
Very few of us successfully resist rationalized sin the second time around. The man who eats a hot fudge sundae and concludes that it doesn’t make him fat is deceived. Make the wise choice to obey, and avoid the danger of drifting.
Heavenly Father, I don’t want to drift. Surface any disobedience or compromise in my life, and keep me from the deadly spiritual undertow of sin.1
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil,’ says Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:17). Part of that fulfilment, as the Gospel of Matthew eloquently shows, is the ways in which the birth of Jesus fulfils Scripture. It is impossible to review all the prophetic words relating to this extraordinary event in this article, but one example is enough to demonstrate the richness of Jesus’ claim to fulfil the law and the prophets. When King Herod plots to destroy the holy family, an angel appears to Joseph and tells him to flee to safety in Egypt. This, Matthew tells us, ‘was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son”’ (Matt. 2:15). The quotation comes from Hosea 11:1 and its use in Matthew has caused a lot of confusion. The verse in its original context in the book of Hosea simply does not read as a messianic prediction. It goes: ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.’ Problems with prophecy There are three problems. First, in mentioning the son of God, Hosea is not talking about the second person of the Trinity. He means the nation of Israel, which in Exodus 4:22 is called God’s ‘firstborn son’. Second, this is not a prediction about the future. Hosea refers to a past event, the exodus from Egypt under Moses which demonstrated God’s love for Israel. Third, Matthew’s geography is odd. Hosea is thinking of Israel’s movement from Egypt into the Promised Land. In Matthew’s story Jesus, the Son of God, moves in the opposite direction – from Judea into Egypt. What is Matthew doing here? Was he sloppy and imprecise in his use of Hosea’s prophecy? Or was he trying to deceive his readers into thinking that there was this spectacular prediction about the Messiah’s escape into Egypt? Neither of those explanations is likely. The Gospel of Matthew is the most Jewish gospel, relying more than any of the other New Testament gospels on the readers’ knowledge and understanding of the Jewish Scriptures. Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than most other New Testament writers precisely because he writes for an audience that cares about Scripture. Theological fulfilment Rather, by using Hosea, Matthew wants to make an important theological point. Jesus fulfils this prophecy because he fulfils God’s call to Israel. Israel was rescued by God to become a light to the nations and a witness to God’s saving power. Israel’s slavery in Egypt also exposed the oppressive cruelty of Pharaoh and his people. It culminated in the confrontation between God and Pharaoh, the Egyptian plagues and the rout of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. With the redemption of Israel also comes God’s judgement on Egypt. In the same way, Jesus’ coming into the world exposes its sinfulness and depravity. Much like Pharaoh (Ex. 1:15-22), King Herod orders the slaughter of innocent children because he fears the challenge that the kingdom of God poses to his own power. As the Judean king hears the news of the Messiah’s birth, his heart hardens. He does not submit to the will of God but seeks to thwart his purposes by killing his son. Jesus is saved from Herod’s clutches, as Moses was saved from death in the Nile (Ex. 2:1-10), and as Israel was saved through the waters of the Red Sea. This is why Jesus’ flight from Judea is placed in parallel to Israel’s departure from Egypt. Judea has become a spiritually dark place, so much so that it has taken the place of Egypt. By rescuing his son from persecution and death, God affirms two things. One, he will judge human sin. The king of Egypt cannot stand when he refuses to heed the word of God, and neither can the king of Judah. Two, God’s saving purposes will prevail even in the face of human opposition. Pharaoh tried to kill the children of Israel but could not prevent the redemption of God’s people. Herod tried to kill the children of Bethlehem but could not stop the advance of the kingdom of God. Thus, when Jesus fulfils the prophetic word of the Old Testament, he does not simply act out events that have been foreseen in advance. He does much more. He reveals the true meaning of what God has done in the past and what God is doing in the present. The whole gospel is contained in the fulfilment of Hosea 11:1, as Matthew sees it. The Son of God is called out of Egypt to bring judgement and salvation to the world.
Hosea 10:12 — This chapter has been difficult to read, but this verse is clear. “Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD.” A.W. Tozer preached a message on this verse. Also, from the Steve Pettit Team:
Hosea 10:13 — 15% of people pray that something bad they did will not be discovered.
Hosea 11:1 — Notice that God retells the story of Israel. They were ransomed from Egypt through the Passover, but they immediately began sacrificing to Baal (Hosea 11:2). Clearly, they were bent on backsliding (Hosea 11:7).
Hosea 11:8 — What on earth is Admah and Zeboim? They are allies of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:2-3) that were likewise destroyed (Deuteronomy 29:23). Will God destroy Israel like Sodom & Gomorrah? No (Hosea 11:9)! He will make them walk after Him (Hosea 11:10).
Hosea 12:6 — In spite of all the judgment God is bringing, He pleads, “turn thou to thy God.”
Hosea 13:4 — Notice the comparison to the First Commandment (Exodus 20:2-3).
Hosea 13:14 — God is more powerful than death and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:55)!
Hosea 13:16 — How could God be so cruel? GotQuestions.org compares this passage to Nahum 3:10:
The immediate context speaks of the defeat of the Egyptian city of Thebes by Assyria, of which Nineveh was the capital. When Thebes was defeated by Assyria in 663 B.C., the detestable acts of Nahum 3:10 took place. The Assyrians sold people into captivity and killed infants (cf. Hosea 13:16). The infants were likely killed by the Assyrians as a gratuitous act of cruelty and because the infants could not be easily exiled.
It’s important to note that God did not condone this horrific action. In fact, Nahum mentions this account as justification for God’s condemnation of Assyria.
Hosea 14:1 — Calling out again to Israel: “Return unto the LORD thy God.” Aren’t you thankful for His patience with us? How do we return? Repent (Hosea 14:2), turn (Hosea 14:3), and be healed (Hosea 14:4).
Jude 1 — According to Insight.org and J. Vernon McGee, Jude is the half-brother of Jesus, yet introduces himself as “the servant of Jesus Christ.” McGee makes an interesting point:
Neither James nor Jude believed in the messianic claims of Jesus until after His resurrection. It was the Resurrection that convicted them and confirmed to them that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Up until that time they thought He had just gone “off” on religion, that He was, as the Scripture puts it, beside Himself. But after His resurrection they became believers. You see, it was possible to grow up in a home with Jesus in the days of His flesh and not recognize Him.
Jude 17-18 — Two observations: 1) The brother of Jesus is submitting to his brother’s disciples, and 2) Jude 18 is a good description of today.
Jude 22-23 — Great verses today! “Of some have compassion, making a difference” (Jude 22), and “save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.” Let’s remember that hell is real, and as someone once said, “The most sobering reality in the world is that people are dying and going to hell today.”
Psalm 127:1 — A great reminder to those of us who like to build projects! Ask God what He thinks first!
Proverbs 29:16 — Thankfully, the wicked don’t reign forever!
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
God hides in plain sight. In our world, on our streets, in the back alleys and warehouses and boardrooms that look nothing like God’s hangouts. He’s dressed up as the misfits who embarrass us and the tollbooth workers we pass by unnoticed. And he’s beneath our skin too. He has sunk himself into our unglamorous lives that there he might do what he does best: give, love, serve, help, and pray.
The little things we do—like pouring cereal for our sleepy children before school, driving a delivery truck to keep businesses rolling, visiting a friend who’s laid up in the hospital—these seemingly little things are divine deeds over which angels rejoice. The evening news will never report on them. The church newsletter won’t mention them. No one will upload a YouTube video about them that goes viral. Yet that’s their hidden beauty: unnoticed by earth, applauded by heaven. To us they seem as natural and boring as watching the grass grow. But to God, they are his humble, holy niche in a world blinded by bigger, better, bolder.
The Lord’s incognito way of infiltrating the commonalities of life and infusing them with a divine purpose is not limited to our humanity. He’s active not only in lackluster people but also in lackluster things and places. Sometimes, in fact, these things and places are not only lacking in glory but are positively bizarre. They’re the last place one would suppose the Lord of heaven would be found on earth.
The Scriptures, especially the Old Testament, parade before us example after example of this. For instance, God hangs out in inhospitable spots. He chooses godforsaken places as the venues in which to teach his people that he won’t forsake them. For instance, in the desert wilderness of the Sinai peninsula, for four long decades, Yahweh taught his people how to live by faith in his Word of promise. The five foundational books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—were all written by Moses here. The covenant of the law was enacted here. The priesthood, the tabernacle, and many promises of the Messiah all originated in this place where death was everywhere. Later, God would compel David, Elijah, and even Jesus into the wilderness in order that there they might live by faith in the Word of their Father. In the desert, not in a garden, God did his best work among his people. It is no different today. When it feels like we’re in a place forsaken by God, when it seems our lives are a barren wilderness full of nothing but disappointments, as we drag ourselves from one oasis to the next—precisely in that wilderness of suffering, when it feels like God is most absent, he is most present in our lives.
The Old Testament stories also focus on how the Lord chooses to heal us through remedies that are far from wonder drugs. Yahweh writes prescriptions that are unorthodox. When his people suffer snakebite, he doesn’t administer an antivenom. He bids his people stare at a bronze replica of a snake attached to a pole. Those suffering from leprosy are cleansed by blood and water applied to their skin. Even a dead man is raised to life when he’s dropped into a grave full of a prophet’s bones. But above all else, God heals, cleanses, forgives, and makes alive through blood. No pharmaceutical company would ever market God’s remedies. They aren’t supposed to work. But they do. They work not because they are imbued with magical properties but because the restorative Word of the Lord is in them. The bronze snake, the water, the blood, the bones—all of this stuff, this earthly matter—are infused with grace and power by the same God who spoke creation into being from nothing.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
—Genesis 3:24
Yes, worship of the loving God is man’s whole reason for existence. That is why we are born and that is why we are born again from above. That is why we were created and that is why we have been recreated. That is why there was a genesis at the beginning, and that is why there is a re-genesis, called regeneration.
That is also why there is a church. The Christian church exists to worship God first of all. Everything else must come second or third or fourth or fifth….
Sad, sad indeed, are the cries of so many today who have never discovered why they were born. It brings to mind the poet Milton’s description of the pathetic lostness and loneliness of our first parents. Driven from the garden, he says, “they took hand in hand and through the valley made their solitary way.” WHT056-057
Lord, use me today to point someone to the way out of the wilderness. Sad, sad indeed is the fact that so many of my own acquaintances may not yet know why they were born. Speak through me today. Amen.1
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.
Exodus 20:5
It has been proven often in history that whoever entertains an unworthy conception of God is throwing his or her being wide open to the sin of idolatry, which is in essence a defamation of the divine character.
It is vitally important that we think soundly about God. Because He is the foundation of all our religious belief, it follows that if we err in our ideas of God, we will go astray in everything else.
We would like to believe that there are no longer false gods in the world, but actually we recognize some of them in our own society. What about the glorified “Chairman of the Board” of the modern businessman? Or the storytelling, backslapping god of some of the service clubs? Think of the dreamy-eyed god of the unregenerate poet—cozy, aesthetic and willing to fellowship with anybody who thinks high thoughts and believes in moral equality. We often encounter the tricky, unscrupulous god of the superstitious; and the list goes on!
Thankfully, we have found that to know and follow Christ is to be saved from all forms of idolatry!
Lord, it is definitely a challenge not to be swept up by the latest media craze or the hot-selling electronic gadget or the most recent fitness or diet program. I pray, Lord, that none of these “things” will ever supplant You as the focus and purpose of my life.1
International (MNN) — November 18 was the global day of prayer for Muslim background believers. The website I Found the Truth captures the testimonies of these Christians from Muslim backgrounds for the world to see. “Some of our films have gone into all parts of the Muslim world, 100% Muslim areas, and we’re getting responses from Muslims all over the world wanting to know who Jesus is,” says Josh* with Uncharted Ministries. “We [connect with] Muslims that become Christians and then [who] use the films to as tools to evangelize to Muslims.”
(Graphic courtesy Uncharted Ministries via Facebook)
“We started I Found the Truth to reach Muslims with the gospel, to have a safe space for Muslims to come and hear about Jesus, where they weren’t able to find some of these answers before,” Josh says. “We’ve got trained folks on our end that can talk [with] Muslims and bring them through that continuum of who Jesus is all the way to knowing how to accept Him into your heart.” More than half of the population in the Middle East is under 30 years old. Josh says their team connects with many young people in this region who are looking for hope and peace. “We’re finding young people are gravitating to Jesus or wanting to know what, what else is there,” he says. “They’re sick and tired of going into this marrying age group, of having kids being brought up into this world with so much instability.” I Found the Truth has five seasons of compelling stories you can watch today. These are people whose lives have been turned around by Jesus! (More on that here.) “We always say you can never argue someone to Christ, right? Really, I think that these stories are so powerful because they do hit the heart,” Josh says. “They hit the heartstrings of people that are watching and [thinking], ‘I want that too.’ Or ‘I’ve had a dream,’ or ‘I’ve had a similar circumstance where I’m stuck in and I want out. I want help.’ They feel trapped, and they hear someone else’s story and it offers them hope.” The team is preparing amazing content for Season 6 of I Found the Truth. Join in praying for the Holy Spirit to lead from beginning to end — from the people who risk sharing their stories publicly, to the production, to those who will watch the films. Pray for God to bring the stories to just the right people and bring many to know Christ. To learn more and watch the series yourself, visit ifoundthetruth.com. *Name withheld for securityHeader photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Mostafa Meraji via Unsplash.
God’s parental love for his children is a real tonic:
Here are some basic biblical truths we believers must always keep in mind: One, we have been created in God’s image as male and female. Two, God himself is beyond gender. Three, God has overwhelmingly revealed himself using male imagery and pronouns. Four, sometimes however feminine imagery and pronouns are used of God in Scripture.
Thus masculine traits, images, characteristics and terminology are in the main used of God, but not always. Most of these points I have looked at in more detail in earlier articles, such as this one: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/10/29/god-and-gender/
Here I want to look at three texts which do run with feminine terms or pictures. I have discussed all three before, but here I want to discuss them further, and draw upon some expert commentary in the process. And I do this for a few reasons.
First, we all hurt, grieve, know betrayal and feel rejection. Having a God that we can relate to – usually depicted as a strong supportive father, but at times as a caring, compassionate mother – can help us all as we deal with these painful experiences in our life.
Second, I have a friend who just recently posted on the social media about her sad upbringing. In addition to all the health problems and other issues she is now dealing with, she revealed that as a child she had known abuse, betrayal and rejection from her own mother.
Third, I was contemplating all this last night, and as I fell asleep, I had a very brief dream in which my mother was bending over and comforting and caring for me in my sleep. However, I was a full-grown adult in my dream, and not a young child when she would have done such things many decades ago. It made me think of God’s continuous loving care and attention of me and of his children everywhere.
Here then are the three key texts which portray God and his deep passion for us using images of family, of a caring parent, and of a loving, committed and devoted mother attending to her children:
Isaiah 49:15-16
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
The context of this text is how God will restore Israel, even though it seems that he has abandoned them as they languish in Babylonian captivity. Paul Wegner puts it this way:
The Israelites exiled in Babylon wondered whether God had forgotten them and would ever again act on their behalf (see 40:27). The LORD immediately reassures them that this is not the case; that his love for his nation is much too strong for him to abandon them: Can a mother forget the baby at her breast… God affirms that even if a mother could forget her baby (something highly unlikely), he could never forget Israel. God’s love far exceeds every form of human love.
The dramatic imagery of verse 16 underscores God’s love for Jerusalem and how personally invested he is… In this context ‘engraving’ implies cutting with a sharp object. Even though Israel was forbidden from tattooing and self-mutilating by cutting (see Lev. 19:28), God uses this image to reinforce how permanent is his love for them. His engraved hands and Israel’s walls serve as a constant reminder to God of Israel – he could never forget them.
And Tim Keller reminds us of the New Testament application: “When Isaiah writes those words, they’re simply a graphic image of God’s commitment to his people—like people who write reminders to themselves on their hands in pen. It’s as if God has tattooed our names on his hands. But these words have added power for us because God’s commitment to us is written in the scars on the palms of Jesus. He can never forget his people.”
Hosea 11:1-4, 8
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them….
How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
Hosea by Phillips, Richard D. (Author)
Explicit language of mother care may not be used here, but the picture presented certainly leads one to think in those terms, given the high level of emotion being shared here. The parental pathos of God is on full display here. Says Richard Phillips:
Hosea 11 is a little-known Old Testament gem, clearly depicting the gospel message that arrived in the New Testament through Jesus Christ. Israel’s betrayal prompts an emotional conflict within God that would not find its answer until Jesus prayed to his Father in the garden of Gethsemane and cried out in anguish from the cross. Derek Kidner comments: “This chapter is one of the boldest in the Old Testament – indeed in the whole Bible – in exposing to us the mind and heart of God in human terms. . . . God as a father rebuffed, torn between agonising alternatives, may seem too human altogether; But this is the price of bringing home to us the fact that divine love is more, not less, ardent and vulnerable than ours.
The New Testament counterpart of Hosea 11, of course, is Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, in which the height and depth of God’s love is reviewed precisely because of the sin that he is already to forgive. One key difference is that, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is actually present in this Old Testament story, since the loving claim of Hosea 11:1 is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matt. 2:15).
He goes on to comment on the divine attributes of justice and grace:
Given his Holiness, we would expect that God’s justice would win over grace, rather than the other way around. Yet instead of justice triumphing over grace, the opposite occurred. If we wonder why God’s holiness results here in mercy, we should remember that holiness extends beyond the attribute of moral perfection, encompassing to the entire transcendence of God’s being. God is infinitely above all manner of human conception, feeling, and action. Stuart writes that “his holiness embodies all that makes him different from humans, and especially the qualities that elevate his thinking and moral behaviour above their usually petty standards.” The holiness of God includes his love, which is a holy love, and for this reason Israel was not underly consumed. John Newton wrote that “the patience of man, or of any mere creature, would have been overcome long ago by the perverseness of Israel; but he who made them, and he only, was able to bear with them still.”
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
These words of Jesus to a wayward Jerusalem clearly lay out the imagery of motherhood and a deep love of one’s offspring. Leon Morris comments:
There is compassion in his words, and it is very moving to find him likening his desire for the city’s inhabitants to that of a hen gathering her chickens. There are the thoughts of the helplessness of the chickens, of the care of the mother hen for them, and for their safety under her wings. All this applies to Jerusalem. Jesus is saying that he had had a deep affection for the inhabitants of this holy city and that he had wanted them to commit themselves to his care. Under his wings they would have found safety. But the final condemnation is put in the simple words, “you would not.” The words mean “you were not willing”; the will of the inhabitants was directed elsewhere. They could join with the Galilean pilgrims in welcoming Jesus at the triumphal entry, but this was no more than a passing enthusiasm. When matters got serious they did not will to seek the shelter that he offered them. They preferred to send him to the cross.
And Craig Blomberg puts it this way:
“Jerusalem” is a metonymy (the use of one name or object to refer to a closely related item) for the corrupt leadership of the people. Jesus’ words betray great tenderness and employ maternal imagery. God transcends gender and displays attributes that humans often associate with women, as well as those commonly associated with men. Here Jesus wishes he could gather all the recalcitrant “children” of Israel, to love, protect, and nurture them like a mother hen does with her baby chickens. Similar imagery recurs frequently in Jewish literature (e.g., Deut 32:4; Ps 36:7; Ruth 2:12; Isa 31:5)
These biblical truths should powerfully and wonderfully comfort and provide succour to those who grieve, who hurt, who suffer, and especially to those who feel betrayed and rejected. What a wonderful God we serve.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:12
The Bible tells about man’s being alienated from and an enemy to God. Should this sound harsh or extreme, you have only to imagine your closest friend coming to you and stating in cold seriousness that he no longer has any confidence in you.
“I do not trust you. I have lost confidence in your character. I am forced to suspect every move you make”—such a declaration would instantly alienate friends by destroying the foundation upon which every friendship is built. Until your former friend’s opinion of you had been reversed, there could be no further communion.
People do not go boldly to God and profess that they have no confidence in Him, and they usually do not witness publicly to their low view of God. The frightful thing, however, is that people everywhere act out their unbelief with a consistency that is more convincing than words.
Christianity provides a way back from this place of unbelief and alienation: “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God took the wrong upon Himself in order that the one who committed the wrong might be saved!
Father, You have pursued us passionately and diligently in order that our relationship with You might be restored. Yet so many have turned a cold shoulder to You. Jesus, I love You and appreciate all that You have done for me and my family and friends.1
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Have you ever considered the gentleness of Jesus? Isaiah prophesied about this very thing:
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” (Isa. 42:1-3)
Jesus knows we are fragile reeds.
You’ll notice that this passage touches upon two things: first, our fragility and second, our Savior’s gentleness. Indeed, we are the “bruised reed” mentioned in these verses. We are bruised by sin, which weakens all our faculties. We are just like that tall, limp blade of grass blowing to and fro in the wind. Scripture often compares our plight to that of a flower that is thriving one moment and dead the next.
Elsewhere, Scripture describes our weak condition by saying we are “dust” (Ps. 103:14). In that same verse, however, the psalmist also tells us that God knows we are weak and frail and fragile; therefore, he is kind and gentle with us. Isaiah is saying the same thing—for though we are a bruised reed, Jesus will not break us. He will not crush us. He will not stomp us out. He is gentle. Here are two ways Jesus cares for us with his gentleness:
1. Jesus bears our weaknesses for us.
How does Jesus show this gentleness to us? By being broken for us. By being crushed in our place. We are so delicate that we could never hope to take the harsh blow that God’s justice requires, so Jesus took it for us. Because of this, he is well aware of our sinful condition and how needy we are. Thus, he sweetly invites us, saying, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). He will never give us more than we can bear. He always takes our frailty into account when apportioning to us our lot.
Think upon the great and good gentleness of your Savior today, friends. As you feel overburdened, remember that Jesus has already taken the heaviest burden off you—your sin.
2. Jesus is restoring us.
And now that he has done this, he continually—day by day—is sanctifying you and strengthening you by his grace. He is healing your bruised condition. He is making you fit for heaven. This is the other wonderful thing about this passage, something implicit that we might not pick up at first glance: even more than not breaking us, Jesus is restoring us. Hear the words of the seventeenth-early eighteenth-century minister Matthew Henry (1662-1714):
He will not break the bruised reed, but will strengthen it, that it may become a cedar in the courts of our God. He will not quench the faintly burning wick, but blow it up into a flame.
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on March 10, 2021.
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. (Genesis 32:27)
Don’t be surprised if God asks you the same question He asked Jacob. God forced Jacob to look at his identity! He wrestled him into a revelation of who he was—not who others said he was. His answer was pitiful! “I’m Jacob” (which means “Deceiver”). His parents gave it to him, others called him by it, so he believed that’s who he was, and that’s who he’d always be. Child of God don’t buy it! You’re not who others say you are! Why should they name you? Determine who you are before God; let Him set the limits of your success!
Why should others be allowed to live at their highest potential—but not you? If you can hear me behind that protective shell, then listen: You’re more than your childhood! More than your past! More than the color of your skin! More than your bank account! More than your circumstances! Tell them “You’re confusing me with somebody else. God says my name is “Israel,” a prince with God. If I’m a prince, then I have the right to be treated like one!” The Word says, “You’re a royal priesthood” (l Peter 2:9). “You’re an overcomer” (1 John 2:13–14). “You’re the head and not the tail; you’re above and not beneath” (Deuteronomy 28:13,14).
Lift your head, square your shoulders, dry your tears; God says you are “somebody special,” and it’s time you started believing and acting on it!1
No one ever sank under the burdens of today; but add yesterday and tomorrow to today, and it can capsize your life. Jesus said, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Dr. Osler, a famous physician of years past, made a helpful observation. He noted how oceangoing vessels were able to seal off various sections of the boat so that a leak could be contained in only one part of the ship. Though damaged, a ship could still make it to safety.
Just so, he suggested, we need to develop the capacity for sealing off the yesterdays and tomorrows that fuel the fires of worry. We need to learn to live in the compartment of today alone.
God is the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14), not “I WAS” or “I WILL BE.” The Christian who lives with Him today, in the present tense, is the one who will be free from worries about yesterday, today, or tomorrow.1
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