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No Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)

The “vision” mentioned in this familiar verse is more than just a noble goal; it means a literal revelation from God to His people. It was first used in the sad testimony of 1 Samuel 3:1: “And the word of the LORD was precious [that is, ‘rare and costly’] in those days; there was no open vision.” This was just before the capture of the Ark by the Philistines and the death of the inept prophet Eli.

The word used for “perish” here means “exposed and helpless,” and the glory soon departed from Israel once they had forsaken God’s leadership (1 Samuel 4:21). Our own nation was also founded on God’s written Word (the modern equivalent of the divine “vision”), but the Word has now been almost forgotten, at least in our schools and other public institutions as well as in the daily lives of most of our people. Consequently, “the people” are indeed largely exposed and helpless before the attacks of the wicked one. The terrible warning of Psalm 9:17 hangs over our nation: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

There is an encouraging exhortation to the believer, however, even if he lives in an apostate nation: “He that keepeth the law, happy is he.” To keep the law means not merely to obey God’s commands, but more precisely, to guard His Word! Even if all around us are neglecting or even ridiculing and seeking to destroy the Scriptures, we must defend and obey and proclaim their eternal truth and authority. Even if this should entail opposition and persecution, God assures us that here is the way of blessing and true happiness. “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7). The people who lose God’s Word will perish, but “happy is that people, whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 144:15). HMM

All the People

“And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD commanded to Israel.” (Nehemiah 8:1)

That was an amazing congregation there in the street of Jerusalem that came together that day just to hear Ezra read the Bible and explain its teachings. Nehemiah’s previous chapter had just enumerated over 42,000 people who had returned from Babylon to rebuild the city.

Even if “all the people” is not meant to be understood literally but representatively, this was still a very large assemblage. It even included all but the smallest children (Nehemiah 8:2), and they all stood up (!) throughout the reading and exposition (Nehemiah 8:5-7), from morning to noon (Nehemiah 8:3).

Presumably all they had was the Pentateuch (tradition says that Ezra, who was doing the reading, eventually compiled the rest of the books with it into the Old Testament canon), but this was enough, and “all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law” (Nehemiah 8:9). Ezra not only read the actual words but also “gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). He further explained that, although they had been guilty in breaking God’s laws, they had been redeemed, and God was fulfilling all His gracious promises in restoring them to their land. Thus, they had joy as well as grief over their sins.

So should it be today. That is, when God’s Word is simply read and explained, that should be enough to generate both sadness and repentance over sin and also true joy in salvation. Then, as it was to the returning Jewish exiles long ago, “the joy of the LORD” becomes our “strength” for true worship and obedience (Nehemiah 8:10). HMM

Disciples and Servants

“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” (Matthew 10:24)

Note the twofold relation of the believer to the Lord Jesus Christ expressed in this verse. We are His disciples and servants; He is our Master and Lord. Each of the two relationships is vital.

The word for “disciple” means “pupil.” The word “master” is the same as “teacher.” The Lord Jesus, therefore, is our teacher, and He teaches us through His Word—the Holy Scriptures. It is our function to learn His teachings and, of course, to believe them. No Christian (one under the authority of Christ) has the right to reject or even to question one of the teachings of His Word (Matthew 5:18-19). The lord-servant relationship goes even further. The word for “servant” is actually “bond slave.” The “lord” of a slave was his owner; the word itself means “supreme ruler” and is the title commonly assigned to God Himself in the New Testament. Thus, if a disciple is to believe the word of his master without question, the servant is to obey the word of his lord without hesitation.

But the world scoffs at the teachings of God’s Word and will try to persecute those who seek to follow them. The unbelieving world—even the religious world—responded to the teachings of the Master by ridiculing Him, then torturing Him, and finally hanging Him on a tree to die.

Yet we are to go to the same world with the same teachings. “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). “As thou hast sent me into the world,” He prayed, “even so have I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18).

He does warn us: “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20). HMM

Moved with Fear

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

Noah was indeed a man of mighty faith, believing God’s word even about “things not seen as yet,” preparing for a worldwide flood in a day when God had never yet even “caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) to an unbelieving world for at least 120 years (Genesis 6:3), “while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20), without gaining any converts except his own family.

But why would he have been “moved with fear”? Noah was surely not afraid to die! He had “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9) for 600 years (Genesis 5:32; 7:11) before the Flood, and he was certainly not afraid to die and go to meet the Lord.

Evidently it was for “the saving of his house” that he was afraid, realizing that his own children would soon be engulfed by the awful spirit of unbelief and wickedness that pervaded the antediluvian world if they could not somehow be delivered from it. So he “prepared an ark,” and his house was saved. “Come thou and all thy house into the ark,” said the Lord, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Although they could easily have refused, they all chose to follow Noah.

In a like manner today, God speaks to the head of each house: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). A consistent example of obedient faith set by a godly father and/or mother often results in the children also trusting in the Lord for salvation. Every caring parent should resolve that “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). HMM

Whom Shall I Fear?
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

David had more than his share of opposition. His father and older brothers thought little of him. King Saul relentlessly pursued him. His generals oftentimes conspired against him. His own son tried to usurp his throne. If anyone had opportunity to trust God for deliverance, David did.

In this psalm—an anthem of trust—David reveals his special relationship with his God that buoyed him in times of trouble. As we read in our text, his Lord was his light, salvation, and strength, and so He is to us.

The Lord is my light. When we walk in His light, we do not stumble. Enemies are not able to hide in the dark and catch us by surprise. He vanquishes the darkness. “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me” (Micah 7:8; see also 1 John 1:5-7).

The Lord is my salvation. God delivers His children from physical and spiritual danger, including deliverance from the penalty of sin. “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake” (Psalm 79:9).

The Lord is the strength of my life. God is our defense, a place of refuge. “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

Even in the face of seemingly overwhelming opposition, we have no need to fear. Our focus should be on the source of deliverance rather than on the problem. “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). JDM

Supreme Joy in Sacrificial Service

“Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.” (Philippians 2:17-18)

Paul’s entire letter is full of sincere expressions of great joy. In fact, joy is repeated seven times in Philippians, which is more than in any of his other epistles (1:4, 25; 2:2, 17, 18, 29; 4:1). In this context, the word rejoice (synchairo) means to “experience joy in conjunction with someone or something else” (Luke 15:6, 9; 1 Corinthians 13:6). Paul calls the Philippians and believers today to live out this joy.

How many of us really experience true joy as we live for Christ? Paul did. As a chained prisoner (Philippians 1:7, 12, 13; 2 Timothy 2:9), he was grateful to sacrificially serve his Lord and continued to tirelessly love all believers throughout the known world (Colossians 1:3, 9; 1 Thessalonians 3:10).

Sadly, the reason so many of us know so little about this kind of joy is because we are loathe to sacrificially serve God in little ways, much less in the ways Paul and his companions did (Philippians 1:1; 2:15, 19; 4:18). Let’s not forget the perfect example of joy and sacrifice modeled by the Creator and Savior of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-8).

Believer, what are you sacrificing in your loving service to Christ? What have you said “no” to in order to say “yes” to accomplishing God’s perfect will? Loving and serving God sacrificially will bring you true joy (Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 10:36). Such joy can only come through our Savior, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). CCM

Introducing God

“And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9)

How should believers introduce God to unbelievers? Scripture gives good examples, like the way Jonah defined his God to pagan idolaters onboard a storm-tossed ship. Jonah’s God, in magnificent and holy distinction from their gods, made the universe and all it contains. They soon observed that He is sovereign over all His creation, including the weather. Stopping the terrible storm required no effort from the Creator. They then “feared the LORD exceedingly” (Jonah 1:16).

In that moment, the crew acknowledged what many idol-worshiping Israelites did not. Thus, Jeremiah had to reintroduce them to “the true God” by saying, “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens” (Jeremiah 10:10-11). In contrast, the living God “hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion” (v. 12).

King David also encouraged God’s people to introduce God by crediting Him with creation. “Declare his glory among the heathen; his wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:3-5). And Paul famously introduced God as the Creator to pagan Gentiles in Acts 14:15 and 17:23-25.

God introduces Himself to all who open to the first page of His Word as He who created the heavens and the earth. Do you know someone to whom you can introduce Jesus as Creator? BDT

Massive Microsoft outage

While the world depends upon computers, it can lead to consequences that haven't been seen before. While the software bug has been fixed, the experts say the manual reboot of each affected Microsoft computers will take a huge amount of work

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, with banking, healthcare and payment systems all affected In the UK, GPs have been struggling to access records, pharmacies have been hit and TV channels knocked off air

So while Microsoft is down, go outside, grab your Bible and enjoy the day.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/07/19/microsoft-windows-outage-blue-screen-bsod/

Thy Word Is Settled Forever

“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89)

This is the central verse in the longest chapter in the longest book in the Bible, and it is surely one of the greatest verses in the Bible. It conveys the amazing news that the Word of God (which is the theme of the entire 119th Psalm) has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist forever in the future. It was eternally settled in the mind of God before the world was created, then gradually inscripturated “at sundry times and in divers manners [as God] spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1).

Other verses in this psalm likewise stress the eternal validity of God’s words: “The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting....Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever....Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:144, 152, 160).

In the book of Isaiah appears a magnificent claim: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). This contrast is expanded by the apostle Peter: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).

To guarantee this great truth beyond any further question, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself made the following tremendous claim: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).

The entire physical universe is literally “passing away,” heading inexorably downhill toward ultimate death—with one exception! The words of our Bible and its glorious promises are eternal and immutable. HMM

Sadly a wonderful comedian has passed away, Bob Newhart passed away this morning. I never heard a cuss word out of him when I saw his show in Vegas and hope he knew the Lord, Jesus Christ

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/bob-newhart-dead-comedian-1236077300/