THE LORD SPOKE (July 27)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Job 14-16

Time! We all have exactly the same quantity. Rich or poor, you can’t buy any more. Not even Bill Gates can purchase more time. He can figure out ways to use it better but so can we.

Today’s texts have a lot to say about time:

• Job 14:5 - “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
• Job 14:6 - “put in his time”
• Job 14:13 - “set me a time”
• Job 15:7 - “brought forth before the hills” (= “as old as the hills”)
• Job 15:20 - “all his days...all the years stored up for him”
• Job 15:32 - “before his time”
• Job 16:22 - “Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return.”

Minutes are a precious commodity. They are an asset that is deposited in our account every day. We must use them wisely. What we squander, we lose. Or worse. We can cast them onto the debit side and will have to make up for them later. In the end, we will give an accounting for all of them.

They are also like a coupon book. We can turn in a few and get a better deal. They can be invested wisely and bring rich dividends later. We can “redeem time” by filling it with good.

“Thank you Lord for giving me time to accomplish everything You intend for me to do. Help me to use it wisely and well. Help me, above all, to use it for You.”


New Testament: Hebrews 4

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb. 4:12-13)

What are the qualities that make for a good sword? It must have...

• good steel - so it won’t break easily under stress
• a sharp point - so it will penetrate the toughest skin
• a razor edge - so it will slice and divide asunder
• a solid grip - so you may hold on to it firmly

How is such a weapon rendered most effective?

• you must be thoroughly familiar with it (know how it works, know all its various parts well)
• you must be prepared to use it (a weapon can’t do it’s job without someone to wield it)
• you must use it properly (otherwise, it can be a danger both to you and to others)

How does the Bible stack up in this evaluation?

• it is “living” = able to produce life (regenerate)
• it is “active/powerful” = energetic (from energes), able to transform
• it is “sharp” = for defense and punishment
• it is “penetrating” = piercing (a bad attitude, a closed mind, a rebellious spirit, a lustful heart)
• it is “discerning” = dividing and judging (from kritikos) both thoughts (what) and intents (why)

How do you rate on weapon usage?

• are you thoroughly familiar with it?
• are you prepared to use it?
• do you use it properly?

THE LORD SPOKE (July 24)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Job 4-6

Eliphaz didn't get it all right. Early in his first counseling session he says, "At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish" (Job 4:9). He uses lots of words like "crushed", "destroyed", and "broken". Perhaps true, but hardly the thing his friend needed at this moment. Eventually he joins the ranks of the "miserable comforters" too. But there are moments of insight in his words and one comes in Job 5:17 when he reminds us all:

Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

Do you remember the dread? Dad would say something like, "Okay, go to your room. You're getting a licking." There you'd sit waiting for the executioner's footsteps outside your door. Maybe you'd do something foolish like stuffing newspaper down your backside. The anticipation hurt almost more than the whipping itself. You knew you were guilty. You knew you deserved what you were getting. When it was finally over, quite often your immediate reaction was to throw yourself into Dad's arms. The flood of emotion and sweet relief that it was over and that the relationship with Dad could be restored brought joy again. You couldn't hug him fast enough.

Joy? Yes, our passage says "blessed is the man" but the Hebrew phrase (hine ashrei enosh) is closer to "how happy is the man". It's the same as used frequently in the psalms and is the Hebrew thinking behind the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 ("how happy is the man who..."). It really is pure joy in the deepest sense when we revel in the restored relationship with our heavenly Father. Can we indeed "count it all joy" when the Lord disciplines us? (See the rest of James 1 for some similar context.) Yes, we can because...

1. It's proof that He really loves us. Otherwise, why would He care? The worst possible thing would be for Him to leave us up to our own devices. An abandoned kid is usually a brat clamoring for attention and that usually leads to foolish actions that need discipline.
2. It's a reminder that He is watching. How we act and what we say is important. What we do affects others and He will hold us accountable. Remember when Dad would say, "don't forget who's kid you are"? God's discipline is a reminder of who's kid we are.
3. It's a restatement of the truth that He is God. It is the Almighty who calls the shots, not us. He is in control and is to be obeyed. He has set the standards and does not allow deviation.
4. It's a course correction by the One who drew the map. We can hardly figure out today. Forget about tomorrow. But He sees all things from beginning to end because He is the master of time and the fountain of all knowledge. We can trust His wisdom and happily follow His direction.

So, when it comes to following His ways instead of our own, Solomon gave similar advise in Proverbs 3:11...

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

The only thing better is to not need the correction and discipline in the first place.


New Testament: Hebrews 1

The Lord spoke. He spoke to our forefathers. We may or may not be Jewish but, if we have genuine faith in God, we are descendants of Abraham to whom God spoke as a friend. We have a spiritual heritage in Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Isaiah, and Daniel. He spoke to and through all of them.

The Lord spoke. He spoke through the prophets. Those men received direct communication from God and wrote it down under His superintendence. They saw things at times that others have never been allowed to see and described them for us.

The Lord spoke. He spoke at many times. This wasn’t a matter of one moment. Repeatedly over the course of some 1500 years, God spoke to man and took care that it should be accurately recorded so that those who came later could hear and learn from those many times.

The Lord spoke. He spoke in various ways. Sometimes it was out loud and others heard too. It took the form of dictation on a few occasions. Twice He even wrote it out Himself (Deut. 9:10; 10:4; and maybe Dan. 5:5). Sometimes He revealed Himself audibly to crowds but most often it was to chosen individuals who were responsible to record and transmit it to others.

The Lord spoke. He spoke to us by his Son. Some had the privilege of beholding His glory and gave us eyewitness testimony (Jn. 1:14; I Jn. 1:1-3). We have four inspired records of His words and works. Through them the Son continues to exegete the Father to us (Jn. 1:18). He is the living Word of God to us.

The Lord speaks. He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. We know all of the above because of what is written down for us in Scripture. Apart from that there is very little else we can know of God. Yes, the heavens declare His glory (Ps. 19:1) and all of creation tells us of “His eternal power and divine nature” (Rom. 1:20). It even does it in some form of universal language or “speech” (Ps. 19:3-4). It is true that God speaks to us outside of the Bible. But it is not audible and it is not in stated propositions. He leads us, He gives us moving impressions, His providence guides us, and He brings clear direction to us but it is not audible and it is not in states propositions. For that we must go to the Bible.

Aren’t you glad He gave us the Bible?! We can always go back to it and receive its messages again and again, just as they were first given in that form. It doesn’t depend on anyone’s memory or someone else’s experience. The Bible is every day the means by which the Lord speaks to us.

THE LORD SPOKE (October 20)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Jeremiah 23-24

Jeremiah 23:28-29 - Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain? declares the Lord. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

The truth of God’s Word is illustrated in this passage by three metaphors:

Grain - God’s Word is whole, integral, and weighty, as compared to chaff which is easily driven away by any little wisp of wind. How dare man mingle the chaff of his own dreams with the pure wheat of the Word of God. How many voices today tell us they have “a word from the Lord” when it’s nothing more than some frothy, charismatic “revelation”. In contrast, Scripture is food for the soul; the very bread of life.

Fire - God’s Word consumes evil. Just as fire can harden clay but soften wax, so the Word of God will work differently with different people. The same fire can consume dross but purify gold. The messenger of God’s Word may be to some “a savour of life unto life, to others of death unto death” (II Cor. 2:16).

Hammer - God’s Word breaks in pieces all false doctrine; it crushes and brings to repentance the man who resists its pressure. The unhumbled heart of man is like a rock; if it will not be melted by the Word of God as a fire, it will be broken to pieces by it, as with a hammer. Whatever opposition is given to the Word will be beaten down and broken to pieces.

The Anvil of God’s Word
John Clifford

I paused last eve beside the blacksmith’s door,
And heard the anvil ring...the vesper’s chime.
And looking in I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.
“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” he answered. Then with twinkling eye:
“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”
And so, I thought, the anvil of God’s Word
For ages skeptics’ blows have beat upon.
But though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unchanged - the hammers gone.

Psalms 67-68

If God were not gracious to us, where would we be? Psalm 67 begins with this most comforting thought:

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us.
Psalm 67:1

Those words recall the “Priestly Benediction”:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

In 1979 two small silver amulets containing those words were found in a tomb in Jerusalem. They were something like good luck charms worn about the neck on a leather thong and had been buried with their owner after death. The amulets dated back to the mid-seventh century BC but the words were much older. Liberal scholarship, which follows the “JEDP Theory” on the composition of the Pentateuch, had arbitrarily assigned the passage to a so-called “P-document” or to the priestly traditions and dated it variously in the fifth, fourth, or even as late as the third century BC. The find in Jerusalem made such a theory patently false! Here was a key “priestly” passage used by common people as jewelry as early as the seventh century BC. This text was written into Scripture by Moses around 1400 BC and appears here in the psalter in a section probably compiled by David around 1000 BC.

It’s quite possible that this liturgical prayer (Ps. 67) was repeated by the people at the conclusion of worship, either just prior to or immediately after the Priestly Benediction (Num. 6). Using the name “Elohim” once, rather than “Yahweh” three times, it invokes God’s blessing and describes the results. The three stanzas (vs. 1-2, 4, and 5-6) are separated by a repeated refrain (vs. 3,5).

But, don’t let the historical and literary analysis get in the way of the message of the psalm. Let this be your prayer today:

O God, be gracious to me, bless me
and make Your face to shine upon me.

THE LORD SPOKE (October 11)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Isaiah 65-66

What makes you tremble? When do you find your “flesh quivering”? What gives you goose bumps and makes your pulse race?

There are a variety of reasons this might happen. It could be fear or anxiety. We tremble when we are afraid of danger or approaching catastrophe. Our nerves are jangled and we quake. It could be extreme danger - our flesh crawls. Or it could be as simple as getting up to speak in front of a group - we get the jitters. Sometimes the trembling doesn’t come until after the danger has passed. Have you ever had to stop the car after a near accident just to let your nerves calm down, stop trembling, and get hold of yourself again? Danger averted may leave us trembling.

Or, we might tremble with expectation. The anticipation of something greatly desired may cause trembling. Do you remember how you felt as a kid during those last few hours before Christmas Day arrived? Or waiting for the mailman when you expected an important piece of mail to be delivered? Or finally tossing your suitcase in the trunk and heading for the airport to embark on a long-awaited trip? Or watching out the window for that loved-one’s car to pull into the driveway? The expectant anticipation left you all ajiggle.

Anger will leave you shaking. Cold will cause you to shiver. Guilt will make you twitch or quake. Defeat will rock you. Victory will give you a rush. Prolonged stress or over-extension will produce fatigue and you’ll begin to quiver. Shear joy or awe will move you and will be evidenced by another kind of trembling.

But when was the last time you trembled while reading God’s Word? If it’s been awhile, get back in the habit! First, you may need to just read it (have you slacked off lately?). Then, you may need to block out all the cares and the busy activities that keep your mind so occupied so you can listen to it. Finally, you have to apply it, make it personal, and do what it says. Come to it humbly, desiring to hear God’s voice to you. Come to it expectantly, wanting to find food for your soul. Come to it with a broken heart, confessing your sin.

Isaiah (66:2b) tells us what God thinks: This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.


Psalms 49-50

Hearses don’t pull U-Hauls. It might even be possible for you to arrange to have all your stuff buried in the hole with you but it still wouldn’t help. The fact remains: you can’t take it with you.

Or, as the psalmist says, “For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others” (Ps. 49:10). The death rate is still one out of one and “the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough” (Ps. 49:7). So, no one should ever think he can avoid it - or even delay it.

We are easily impressed by wealth. It’s a natural enough reaction when we see a beautiful house, nicely situated. Wealth and splendor do catch our attention. But this psalm warns us:

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
When the splendor of his house increases;
For he will take nothing with him when he dies,
His splendor will not descend with him. (Ps. 49:16-17)

Riches without understanding leave you no better off than the beasts. Twice that’s repeated (Ps. 49:12,20), just in case you might be tempted to forget it. Rather than trust in yourself or your riches, there is only one proper way to turn. You must look to God to redeem your life (Ps. 49:15). He is the only source of true value.

Back in the ‘50's and ‘60's it was common to see lots of little plaques on the walls of Christian homes. The little painted plaster knickknacks contained pithy statements that served as reminders along the path of life. Coming or going, they’d help us to pause and reflect on some worthwhile thought. One of the most common was:

Only one life, ‘twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Maybe we need to put up some more of those little plaques so we can be reminded of this truth.