Recent Posts

The Tongue of the Learned

“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (Isaiah 50:4)

The prophetic words of our text were spoken by the Lord Jesus in the context of His suffering—“I gave my back to the smiters…I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (v. 6)—and His attentiveness to the will of His Father despite the suffering—“The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back” (v. 5). The amazing love of Christ is seen in the fact that, in the midst of His intense personal pain, He could still continue, even on the cross, “to speak a word in season to him that is weary” as He comforted His mother, spoke salvation to the dying thief, and even sought forgiveness for His executioners.

In all this, He was “leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). How easy and natural it is to complain and rebel when we are suffering. We seek comfort and counsel from others when we (like our Exemplar) should be comforting others with “the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:4).

Though we cannot comprehend it fully, we must simply believe the mystery of the incarnation. God became man in Jesus Christ, and the omnipotent One “learned…obedience” (Hebrews 5:8). He was omniscient, yet somehow He “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52) as well as stature, and as He studied God’s Word, wakening “morning by morning,” He learned to hear the voice of the Father, thus receiving “the tongue of the learned,” that “gracious words” might proceed out of His mouth (Luke 4:22).

May the Lord grant each of His younger sons and daughters this gracious “tongue of the learned” as we, like His Firstborn, awaken each morning to hear His voice. HMM

Invisible Qualities: Authority

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3)

As we consider that “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20), we may notice one of the key motivations for those who deny God’s handiwork in crafting our very bodies.

Our psalm says we did not make ourselves. In order to make yourself, you would have to exist before you came into existence. That violates basic logic. Likewise, the assertion that “it is he that hath made us” demands that something outside of us made us. Either nature gets credit or “the LORD,” here translated from Jehovah, which means self-existent or eternal. But nature itself is created. Therefore, God is our Creator, and if God made us, then we are His people, as today’s verse asserts. We should do what He says since He has that kind of authority.

His authority over us is one of those invisible attributes that are clearly seen, being understood by noticing how carefully He crafted our bodies, from speaking lips to fingertips.

What motivates us to suppress the truth of His rightful authority? Our unrighteousness does, not science or any experiment or observation. Indeed, what experiment has ever shown that nature can craft even the simplest biochemical from scratch, let alone a whole, integrated body?

On the other hand, if you “humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,…he shall lift you up” (James 4:10). When we submit to the authority of our Creator, He “giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6-7). BDT

Invisible Qualities: Transcendence

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2)

Surely God’s transcendence is one of “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world [that are] clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

In this psalm, Moses offers high praise to the most high God. God transcends “the earth and the world” that He formed. This means that God both began this cosmos and keeps it running. His essence is not tied to the created order. He exists before and beyond it.

The New Testament agrees. As God, Jesus is “upholding all things by the word of his power,” “and he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17). Stars, the earth, and our bodies all had a beginning. And they also decay toward death as “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). Someone who transcends this Curse must be holding our finite world together. Scripture reveals the Lord Jesus as He who transcends all created things, does not change, and cannot fade away. What might this mean for each of us?

Paul wished that the Ephesian believers would “make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9). How glorious that such a One would actually long for fellowship with cursed creatures like us! His very transcendence is just what we sinners need—someone to transcend our sin and restore our fellowship with Him. BDT

Invisible Qualities: Faithfulness

“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)

The apostle Paul said, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). This teaches that anyone can clearly see some of God’s invisible qualities through His handiwork. As this handiwork principle pops up throughout Scripture, it offers at least two benefits.

For one, it encourages those who already know God as Savior. To know Him simply requires repentance from sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who made Himself “to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The Lord paid sin’s required death penalty to become “the mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 12:24). These true spiritual teachings come from the same Word of God that teaches God created the whole world. Thus, believers find assurance in the congruence between what the Bible says about God’s work in creation and what the creation itself implies about the kind of Person who must have made it.

Today’s verse suggests a second benefit from this handiwork principle. Paul teaches that God has been the one responsible all along for supplying rain to produce the fruit that exactly meets both our need for nourishment and our desire for food’s flavors. What invisible qualities of God does this show? Certainly, one is His faithfulness.

He is faithful to supply even the needs of those who despise Him. In this and many other ways, the handiwork principle supplies us even as it did Paul with ways to introduce God to those who do not yet know Him. BDT

Righteous Friends

“Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

The phrase “a man is known by the company he keeps” has been used in English-speaking countries since the 1500s. Not only is the saying biblically based, but it is easily observable in everyday life.

Friends shape friends. “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17). In our text above, James notes that the world’s friendship so contrasts with the heart and mind of God that such a friendship turns our relationship with God into enmity. The apostle John gives the clear reason: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).

Friends love each other. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you….I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you….These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:14-17). This is pretty simple. If I love the Lord Jesus, and you love the Lord Jesus, then we will love each other—because we have a common friend!

Friends stick together. Because of our common love for the Lord Jesus, we do not forsake “the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25). Neither do we follow the “counsel of the ungodly,” hang around “in the way of sinners,” or feel at home with “the scornful” (Psalm 1:1), because there is no fellowship in “righteousness with unrighteousness” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Godly people will have godly friends. HMM III

Undeserved Suffering

“Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)

This cry of the psalmist has been echoed times without number by those persecuted for their faith. “Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest thou, O LORD? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?” (Psalm 44:22-24). Consequently, one of the great mysteries of life is the suffering of the righteous. How can a God of love and power allow such undeserved suffering in His creation?

The fact is, however, that there is no such thing as undeserved suffering, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The reason there is suffering in the world is that there is sin in the world. Even though one’s particular experience of suffering may or may not be directly related to his particular sin, all of us are sinners before God and therefore deserve nothing but suffering and judgment in the sight of a holy God.

It is not suffering that is undeserved but God’s grace and mercy! “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). There has only been one person in all of history whose suffering was undeserved, and He suffered for us, “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Our sufferings are not undeserved, but neither are they uncontrolled, for God “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). There are many good reasons why God permits a faithful Christian to suffer, but even if one cannot discern the particular reason at the time, he can at least “rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13). HMM

The Faith of Our Mothers

“...when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2 Timothy 1:5)

The “dearly beloved son” (v. 2) of the apostle Paul was a young disciple whose strong and sincere Christian faith was due, more than anything else, to the lives and teachings of a godly mother and grandmother. As Paul wrote to Timothy in his last letter, “From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Timothy’s mother was a Christian Jew (Acts 16:1), but his father was a Greek who evidently was not a believer. In the ideal Christian home, the father is to assume spiritual leadership (Ephesians 5:22, 25; 6:4), but countless fathers, for some reason, are either unable or unwilling to do this. There have been many homes where a mother or grandmother, usually by default, has had to assume this all-important responsibility, and the Christian world owes these godly women a great debt of gratitude. The writer himself was raised in such a home, and much of his own concern for the Word of God is due to the concerned dedication of a Christian mother and two Christian grandmothers.

It is significant that the fifth of God’s Ten Commandments requires children to honor their parents, and it is the only one of the 10 that carries a special promise: “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3). Every godly parent is worthy of real honor every day—not just once each year. And when a Christian mother, like Timothy’s mother, must assume all the responsibility for leading her children in the ways of God, she deserves very special praise. HMM

A Righteous Desire

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were quite religious in their behavior, but our Lord often took them to task because “all their works they do for to be seen of men” (Matthew 23:5).

God’s kingdom is first priority. The Lord’s admonition in our text was given to focus His followers beyond the “ordinary” desires and needs of their physical existence. We are expected to “look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). As promised, when we are rightly focused, “all these other things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Yield to righteousness. We become “servants” of those things that we “obey,” and we obey that which we have “yielded” ourselves to (Romans 6:16). It is not possible to “serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Our “members” (our physical bodies) can either become “instruments” of ungodliness or of righteousness (Romans 6:13). We either “walk” after the Spirit or after the flesh (Romans 8:1).

Doggedly pursue godliness. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Timothy 6:11). Even though our “new man” longs for righteousness, and we consciously yield ourselves to seek and serve God’s kingdom, “with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:25).

We must never become slack in our diligence. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). HMM III

The Christian’s Calling

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” (Ephesians 4:1)

The Christian’s calling in Christ is a high calling. Since we are encouraged to walk in a manner worthy of this calling, it behooves us to make careful study of it, lest our lifestyle bring reproach to the One who has called us. Consider the following sampling of the uses of this important word.

First, the calling is “of God” and irrevocable (Romans 11:29). We are called “by his grace” (Galatians 1:15) and “into the grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6). We are called “out of darkness” and “into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Furthermore, we are “called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). He has “called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9). We are “partakers of the heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1), and in response, we should “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

The New Testament writers also mention many things to which we are called. We are “called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). We are “called unto liberty” (Galatians 5:13) and are now free to “serve one another,” even though it means accepting the call to suffering. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). The “eternal life, whereunto thou art also called,” may not come easily, for it involves the “good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). We are called “to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3), even “his eternal glory by Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:10), for we are “called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). JDM

Heartfelt Prayer

“Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.” (Lamentations 3:41)

It is so easy to let our prayers become routine and repetitious, and we need to remember that God listens more closely to our hearts than the phrases from our lips. The Lord Jesus cautioned us about this: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

Many people will lift their hands to pray or prostrate themselves on the ground. Some will stand; some will kneel. Some shout, some pray silently, some even leap and dance. Some will write out their prayers and then read them to an audience. Others will pray eloquently and at great length. But the thing that counts far more than posture or eloquence is our attitude of heart. We must lift up our hearts to the Lord, not just our hands or our voices. Then He will hear in heaven!

We need to feel as the psalmist felt: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1). Our hearts need first to be right, of course—pure and true in His sight. “Call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).

Our prayers must also come from a believing heart. “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Otherwise, “let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6-7). With these conditions met, the Christian is ready to pray, and then he must pray from deep within his pure, true, believing heart, and God will answer. “The effectual fervent [one word in the Greek, energeo] prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). HMM