Day by Day

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"What God Has Promised"

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth." Job 19:25
   

It is hard to imagine a greater shock than the one that came to a couple in the Missouri Ozarks when they learned that someone had wiped out their family by killing their four children. Christian faith sustained the parents. They relied on the Word of God. The message that sustained them was the assurance of God to them: “Your children are in My hands.” Their life continued. God gave them a second family of three children.

That man of great faith, Job of the Bible, had a similar experience. He lost his possessions, his health, the support of his spouse. But even more, he lost his sons and daughters who perished when a severe storm destroyed the house where they were assembled. On hearing this, Job felt thoroughly stripped of everything. He tore his robe, fell to the ground, and exclaimed, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).

Job survived in his faith, confessing, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). It meant that he, too, would rise again from the grave. But even more! Job was to live many more years. God gave him a second family and enabled him to see “his children and their children to the fourth generation” (Job 42:16).

God has not promised that He would replace lost families, but He has solemnly declared, “I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Also this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). This grace is given to us in its fullness in Jesus Christ, His Son, who gave His life for our salvation.

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"Remember Lot’s Wife”—Why?"

Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:26
   

Jesus said we should remember Lot’s wife. It would be helpful if we first remembered Lot, Abraham’s nephew. He was a prosperous cattleman on “the whole plain of the Jordan” (Genesis 13:11), who retired to Sodom. There, when two angels came to visit him, he was sitting by the gate, in an area where legal and commercial business was transacted. Lot was an active man in an active city. Jesus said its “people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building” (Luke 17:28). Lot, very likely, had a spacious home, with extra rooms where guests could be accommodated.

Lot’s wife was involved in the busy life of a busy city, especially in social affairs, perhaps a matronly type. She had two virgin daughters engaged to men in Sodom. Entrenched in a favorable position and blessed with the things money could buy, she would be extremely reluctant to leave the city and flee to the primitive hills.

The context in which Jesus tells us to “remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32) shows that her motive for looking back on the burning city was not curiosity to see a spectacular sight. It was the faint hope to go back to recover something from her house. It cost her life. We remember Lot’s wife for the wrong choice she made.

The Bible tells us of other wives well worth remembering. In the Old Testament we read of a wealthy woman in Shunem called “the Shunammite,” who showed hospitality to the prophet Elisha as he came by that way. In the New Testament we come across Salome, the mother of James and John, who was among the last to leave Christ’s cross on Mount Calvary and among the first to come to the empty tomb. We also remember Pilate’s wife, who interceded with her husband for Jesus. Most of all, there was Mary, the mother of Jesus; her faith shines through in her Magnificat.

Remember Lot’s wife for her folly and the other wives for their faith? Yes, but most of all, we go with what Saint Paul writes, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Timothy 2:, who was “delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

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"Aiding the Aging"

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25
   

Research has indicated that, of persons over 85 years of age, some 20 percent are in nursing homes. Where do we find the other 80 percent? They are everywhere. Some live with their children in what is called three-generation families. Others live in their own houses or apartments, with or without assistance from others. Good health care has enabled many of the aging to care for themselves as they attain longer life spans.

Although the elderly, perhaps more today than in previous times, are better provided for, one has to keep in mind that their needs are more than physical. Their total well-being includes the social and spiritual aspects of life. Nothing can ever take the place of Christian love—love that the elderly receive and can extend to others. If involved in the exchange of love, they have the feeling that they are still in on things—in family circles, in community affairs, and in the mission of Christ’s church.

The Bible has much to say on the subject of showing consideration to people on the sidelines. What was said in the Old Testament still applies: “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God” (Leviticus 19:32). Again: “Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22). And to the aging and ailing, God declares, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you” (Isaiah 46:4).

Certainly also the elderly, especially those in need, are our Lord’s brothers and sisters. When we serve them, we perform a ministry to Jesus Christ, who came among us to minister and to give His life as a ransom for us all.

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"The Obedience of Faith"

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men. 1 Peter 2:13
   

A revolution can be a frightful thing. In Russia, on July 17, 1918, the rebels killed Tsar Nicholas II and his family and threw their bodies into a mine shaft. When private citizens arm themselves and overthrow a properly constituted government, the action is usually like a rampaging flood or a devastating forest fire, destroying everything in its path, including innocent people.

A nation that resorts to peaceful means when it is necessary to replace an unfit government is a nation truly blessed. It makes necessary changes with ballots instead of bullets. Likewise, a country is blessed when its citizens on every level live righteously, deal honestly, and obey the laws they themselves have enacted through their duly elected representatives in government. The Proverbs writer states, “Righteousness exalts a nation,” adding that “sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). In many instances, corruption in high places of government is a reflection, or projection, of a preceding corruption in the low places of the citizenry.

Christians are under a dual responsibility, rendering obedience to God and to government in the proper spheres. Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Saint Peter, in 1 Peter 2:13-17, and Saint Paul in Romans 13:1-7, tell us what we should render to Caesar. And what is it that we gladly render to God? It is praise and thanksgiving for His marvelous works, especially for sending the best Representative possible, His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, to give His life for our eternal salvation.

When there is gratitude in our hearts and praise on our tongues, there will also be services our hands will perform. This is “the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5).

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"Personal Responsibility"

The man said, “The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12
   

A prominent political leader once said, “We must live with the consequences of our judgments.” Put into another form, the statement says that people must assume personal responsibility for what we do or leave undone.

In our time it is quite common to shove the axioms of life aside and to seek refuge in excuses. You have heard the attempted dodges of personal accountability: “I can’t help it. I am what I am—it is because of genes inherited form my parents.” Again: “My so-called vice is a sickness.” Further: “I only did what the majority of people would do.” Or: “I beat up on my children severely because that is what my parents did to me.” Sometimes the blame is not only placed on other people but also on unfavorable environments.

Alibis may work in society, sometimes even in courts of law. But all forms of pretense and all attempts of self-delusion don’t “wash” with God, who is just, all-knowing, and always beyond deception. The psalmist prays, “Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure” (Psalm 7:8-9).

The futility of trying to avoid responsibility is vividly portrayed in the aftermath of the fall in Eden. Adam said it was “the woman You put here with me” (Genesis 3:12). (It was really your fault, God!) Eve said “The serpent deceived me” (Genesis 3:13).

There is only one thing to do when we are confronted with our wrongdoings—acknowledge personal responsibility. Here is everything in a nutshell: “If we claim to be without sin ... He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). God forgives, because “the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

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"Does the Good Live On?"

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." Revelation 14:13
   

A touch of pessimism and cynicism is inherent in what Shakespeare has an actor say, “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones” (“Julius Caesar,” act 3, scene 2).

It is true: Deceased evildoers have successors who carry on evil designs—sometimes their own sons. Ahab, the evil king of Israel, was succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who likewise “did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:52). Evil is perpetuated because all people are sinners. It is easy for children to walk in the sins of their parents. And so the evil done by people lives on.

What about the second part of Shakespeare’s statement? Is the good that people do buried with them? Sometimes, yes, but not always, depending on what it is. The good that people do in the expression of their faith is work that God blesses; it remains in one form or another. Jesus told His disciples that, if they lived in Him, they would be fruitful in their work, and their fruit “will last” (John 15:16). How true! The Twelve left this world almost 20 centuries ago, but their message and mission continues to this day. Jesus Christ is still being proclaimed as the crucified Savior who rose from the dead for the salvation of the world.

Coming closer to home, we ask: What about our own Christian work, our purposes, our influence? Will they be “interred with our bones”? Of course, some things we stood for will cease when we die. The psalmist says of important people—the mortal princes of this world—when they die: “On that very day their plans come to nothing” (Psalm 146:4). This statement does not apply to those who followed God’s plan. The good done by Christian parents, teachers, pastors, missionaries, and rank-and-file Christians lives on. This is true: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes … they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

The above has to be added to put Shakespeare’s statement into proper perspective.

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"Redeeming the Time"

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
   

Moses writes in Psalm 90, “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength” (verse 10). A proper question for Christians is: “What are we doing with our years?” A person attaining the age of 75, it has been estimated, will have spent 24 years in bed. This is necessary, since we need sleep and rest. More on the questionable side are the 13 years this person will have spent watching television, although some daytime recreation is necessary.

Does the Bible say anything about our use of time? In a general way, it tells us to be faithful stewards of all gifts God has entrusted to us, and time is certainly such a gift, along with our talents and treasures.

In writing to the Ephesians, Saint Paul urges his readers to live circumspectly and wisely, “making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:15). The Greek verb Saint Paul uses has agora (market place) in it, thereby implying a business transaction that can be translated as “buy from” or “redeem.” A purchase involves an exchange, usually money for a product needed. This idea is not foreign to the use of time. In appreciation for the time God has given us we render service to Him. We put time to good use when we give part of our day back to Him for worship services in church, for prayer and study of His Word at home, for work faithfully performed, for needed rest, for giving “our moments and our days” to share the Gospel with our neighbors—always for the reason given by the Apostle: “the days are evil,” and the days are short.

“Redeem” the time is a good term, fitting in with the overall “redemption” theme of the Gospel of Christ. Our Savior gave His time to redeem us; we are bought with a price. In gratitude we give Him back as much of our time as we can so that we might serve Him.

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"Life’s Surprises"

God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 1 Corinthians 1:27
   

There are surprises in the business world. A company in the computer field was going broke. It began to make millions when it switched to making something else—the homely Cabbage Patch Dolls.

From a human viewpoint there are surprises in the way God deals with us. His sense of values seems so different from ours. This is what Saint Paul writes, “Since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). He asks, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20). What a surprise that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and that God’s weakness is stronger than the sum total of human power!

It is true: God chose the weak things of this world—and often weak people—to accomplish His purposes. His plan for our salvation was different from any plan we might have devised. Not in a royal palace but in Bethlehem’s stable lies a weak little baby, Jesus. He is the Son of God, and through Him we are redeemed—not by a mighty ruler or a wise scholar. The first messengers sent out to preach the Gospel were twelve ordinary men. They were not highly educated; they were not equipped with mass communication; they were not backed by an army, navy, or air force. Yet they set the world upside down for Christ.

You can apply God’s surprising sense of values to your own life. You learn not to despise what is small and weak: your child, your limited possessions, your fleeting moments, and your days. In the hands of God, great things can come about through you. Think of the company that couldn’t make it with computers but succeeded with rag dolls.

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"A Good Conscience: God’s Gift"

[Keep] a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:16
   

We have undoubtedly, at one time or another, thanked our Creator for our healthy bodies, sound minds, creative emotions, and memories that bless. Should we also thank God for the moral voice in us: our conscience?

Saint Paul writes that people not under the influence of God’s Word also have consciences “bearing witness” and causing their thoughts to either “accuse” or “defend” them. This says that conscience, even in the unconverted, is a moral monitor. It functions as a judge. The basis on which conscience either accuses or excuses people is God’s moral law “written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). Also in pagan societies, where the Ten Commandments in written form were never taught, there remains a trace of moral awareness. Conscience and the moral law tell them that it is wrong to kill, wrong to steal, and the like. The ancient Inca people of Peru had three rules: 1) Don’t steal, 2) Don’t lie, and 3) Don’t be lazy. This shows that conscience and the internally inscribed moral law are imperfect and incomplete in the unconverted.

Then Bible speaks also—and especially—of the Christian’s conscience. It acts on the basis of God’s Word in the heart renewed by faith. Saint Paul speaks of it as properly related to faith and its fruits, writing to Timothy about “love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). Saint Peter asks his readers to give witness to their faith “with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

It is often said, “Follow your conscience!” This is good advice, provided that it is not an erring conscience but one correctly lined up with God’s Word.

Thank God for a good conscience? Indeed, for it goes with the “whole package” of being a Christian, completely redeemed by the blood of Christ and completely equipped “to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

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"Christian Ethics, Based on Love"

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Romans 12:9-10
   

“Repay kindness with kindness, but evil with justice,” said Confucius, the Chinese philosopher and ethics teacher of some 15 centuries ago.

Confucius was a pagan, but what he said in the above statement is an acceptable principle in an area we call “civil righteousness.” Civil government exists to maintain law, order, and a level of decency in life as we lead it in community, state, and nation.

Jesus rises above that minimal righteousness as enunciated by Confucius and as practiced by us as citizens. Shall we repay “evil with justice” in our private lives as Christians? Jesus has a different formula. He tells His followers, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). In these words He sets aside the eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a tooth principle as improper in our private Christian lives. Instead, He wants us to pray for and do good to our enemies. Saint Paul follows through by likewise enunciating the higher Christian ethic: “Bless those who persecute you. …Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:14, 17-19).

Personal Christian ethics are based on love – love that conquers and endures, love that supersedes feelings of revenge, love that does not repay evil with punishment but with prayer. Such love has its source in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. To the Ephesians Saint Paul writes, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17-18).

We keep in mind that Christian love must at times be “tough.” It does not want to aid and abet evildoers, perhaps even encourage them, by covering things over with a declaration of love. True love, to be helpful and healing, must occasionally serve as a corrective.

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"Our Food: Invitation to Faith"

The Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33
   

God revealed the glory of His love when, in Old Testament times, He fed His people with heavenly manna and caused water to flow from a rock.

No less did Jesus reveal loving concern when at Cana He performed His first miracle by turning water into wine. Later He was to feed thousands by miraculously multiplying a few barley loaves and fishes. By all these acts He manifested His grace and glory.

The Lord reveals the glory of His love even when no apparent miracle accompanies our eating and drinking. Three times a day we sit down to meals to eat and drink what we bought in the supermarket or raised in our garden. Our own earnings and efforts, we think, have provided all this.

Yet, is there not a chain of divine acts of love involved? God gives rain and sunshine so that crops can grow. God sustains our life through these means. God gives wisdom, strength, and health so that we can work for our food and drink. These are daily occurrences, but they speak just as eloquently of divine providence as do astounding miracles.

Above all our Lord and Savior revealed His love by coming into our world to die that we might live. He came to be the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Jesus did not become this by simply speaking the words. He had to do the works the heavenly Father sent Him to do. He rendered obedience to the Law that humanity had transgressed, endured the consequences – suffering and death – and rose again in demonstration of His victory. What is the result for us? Our souls are nourished and refreshed with the bread and water of life – with forgiveness and peace with God.

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"Rome: City of Sinners and Saints"

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the Gospel also to you who are at Rome. Romans 1:14-15
   

Rome is an ancient city, supposedly founded in 753 B.C. It probably began earlier than that as villages on the Tiber River grew together into the city on the seven hills.

Whatever its history, there was never a lack of sinners in Rome, as in every city: thieves, murderers, adulterers. Its heathen temples – and whatever religion was practiced – only added to the sins committed. In fact, idolatry was the fountainhead of all evil, as Saint Paul writes to the Romans: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. …Because of this God gave them over to shameful lusts” (Romans 1:25-26). One of the great sinners in Rome was the emperor Nero, who persecuted the Christians and, very likely, also ordered the execution of the apostles Peter and Paul about A.D. 64.

But God also had His saints in Rome. Saint Paul addresses his epistle to “all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). In chapter 16 the apostle mentions some of them: the deaconess Phoebe; Aquila and Priscilla, who assisted Saint Paul in Corinth during their stay there; Mary, “who worked very hard for you” (verse 6); Epenetus, “the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia” (verse 5); Onesiphorus, who searched hard in Rome to visit Saint Paul and was not ashamed of his chains; many others, including Rufus (or “Red”), who may have been the son of Simon, the bearer of Christ’s cross.

The Gospel, probably first proclaimed in Rome by Christians in advance of the apostles, had the power to change sinners into saints. Also in the capitol of the mighty Roman Empire, the Gospel drew people to Christ who confessed Him as Savior and as the Lord mightier than Caesar.

Also today the Gospel is God’s power for the salvation of all who believe. It is the power that leads them to faith and keeps them in it. It is that power in our hearts and lives, too, keeping us in fellowship with our beloved Savior. It is the power God still releases as we proclaim His Word in this world.

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"A Prophet Who Profits"

August 5, 2005

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. Deuteronomy 18:15
   

Moses, like a gem of many facets, had many talents. Although not an orator (“Lord, I have never been eloquent … I am slow of speech and tongue” [Exodus 4:10]), he was a national leader, lawgiver, psalmist (Psalm 90), and prophet. He spoke of the Messiah as the great Prophet of whom he was a type.

Not only Moses but others as well had prophesied of the ransom, the redemption, the forgiveness of sins that was to come through Him who was not only David’s descendant but his Lord as well. God revealed this, said Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, in his Benedictus song, “through His holy prophets of long ago” (Luke 1:70). This revelation was recorded in the sacred writings of the Old Testament.

As the New Testament opened, we find Zechariah the priest adding to the messianic prophecies by saying that his newborn son John “will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him” (Luke 1:76).

In fulfillment of all prophecies, Jesus Christ came into the world as the great Prophet of whom Moses spoke. By word and deed He proclaimed Himself as the promised Messiah who had come to redeem sinners and reconcile them to God. This redemption is ours, as the Scripture teaches, “through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22). He truly is the Lamb of God sacrificed for us.

Because this Prophet profits us so greatly, both in this life and in the life to come, we can join in the heavenly chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5: 12 )

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"What We Can Do About Poverty"

"God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.'” Luke 12:20
   

“You can’t abolish poverty, but you can abolish some of the consequences of poverty,” said Dr. Albert Sabin, wanting to make his anti-polio vaccine available to poor people, especially those in the Third World.

Poverty, not an evil in itself, often brings with it numerous evils: untreated illnesses, insufficient diet, poor housing, and, on the spiritual side, loss of hope and the temptation to steal.

When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mark 14:7), He did not express His approval of poverty, nor did he imply that His followers need not be concerned about it. At other times Jesus spoke words of concern about the poor. His words to the righteous are: “I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

On many occasions Jesus showed His compassion for the poor. All the while He was well aware of the sinfulness of human nature that directly or indirectly causes poverty. The prodigal son caused his own poverty by his wastefulness. In another parable Jesus underscored the greed and callousness of a rich man toward poor Lazarus. Our Lord did not propound a system to eliminate poverty. But He certainly aided and advocated the abolition of “some of the consequences of poverty,” of which Dr. Sabin spoke.

And that is what Christians are doing to this day. Their concern is essentially, as Christians to make a beginning of this by dealing with spiritual poverty, that is, the great need of people who do not know the love of God in Jesus Christ. Faith in the Gospel of Christ’s redemption from sin enriches people with forgiveness, peace with God, a new purpose in life, and the promise of eternal life.

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"Turning Poverty to Riches"

"Every Word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5
   

It is said that the painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso passed through various periods, or extended moods, including the optimistic “rose period” of youth followed by the “blue period” of mental depressions. The latter was for him also a time of poverty, even of hunger. Consequently at this time, it is said, he seemingly got vicarious satisfaction out of depicting people in the act of eating and drinking.

Poverty, with all its overtones and undertones, is the plight of many people in this world. Poverty is often beset with temptations – to be envious, to steal, to despair of God’s mercy, to harbor the fantasy that riches can be gained through gambling.

Christians, too, can be born – or fall – into poverty. What to do? The apostle Paul urges that they stay productive through work, “doing something useful” (Ephesians 4:28) with their hands. Honest manual labor is no disgrace. If necessary, they can ask for help. To fellow Christians who are better off the apostle says, “We want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2).

For Christians, earthly poverty loses its sharp edge when they reflect on their riches in Christ Jesus, their Lord and Savior. The apostle goes on to tell the Corinthians that Jesus, God’s own Son, for their sakes became poor so that through His poverty they might become rich. He writes to the Ephesians, “In Him we have redemption thorough His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Keeping this in mind prevents us from passing through “blue periods" when we don’t have everything the neighbors have. And it helps when we, like the Macedonian Christians, seek to enrich others by our prayers, words, and works of faith. Then we come under this category: “poor, yet making many rich” (2 Corinthians 6:10).