Be Still Before God

“Be still and know that I am God:  I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the ear

-Psalm 46:10 (KJV)

Meister Eckhart stated, “There is nothing in all creation so like God as stillness.”  The stately truths of Psalm 46 begin:  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2, KJV).

Throughout history God’s people have been admonished by spiritual leaders and the Word of God Himself to “Be still and know that I am God.  The Word of God tells us “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11-12).  The time will come when everyone—believer and unbeliever—will bow and confess the Lord of glory.  If you doubt this truth, see a good concordance of the Bible and note the several places this truth is stated.

I want to be counted in that number who bow voluntarily and not among the agnostics and atheists, who, because of the hardness of their hearts, do not acknowledge God this side of eternity, and therefore (too late, too late!) will bow and declare and exalt His name.

We live in a fast-paced age.  Noise and clamor are on every hand.  Many entities vie for out attention.  Amidst it all comes a still small voice through the din and uproar of a world turned aside from God and His priorities.  That whisper is from the Holy Spirit, God with us, urging each person:  “Be sill…be still and know that I am God.” 

This morning as I was praying, studying and writing devotionals ahead, as I sometimes do, I received the news that my brother-in-law, Wade, had gone to be with the Lord in his sleep.  He had lived a full and, although sometimes hard, a good life, one in which he had served his fellowman as an expert builder/carpenter, had been a hero in General Patton’s army in World War II, had reared a good family of three Christian children, and had taken excellent care of his late wife who had been ill for a number of years.  In recent months, in his sometimes confusion, he had begged his children to take him home, not recognizing his own home as the place of his residence.  He was ready for the move from earth to heaven, and in the stillness of the night in his sleep on June 22, 2012 he made the transition from earth to heaven.  How beautiful to think that God said to him, “Come home, Wade.”  In stillness and in acknowledgement of God He works for good to them who love Him.  To God be the glory!

(Note:  This devotional, in slightly modified form, was published in Mountain Meditations, a compilation of devotionals by House of Prayer Church, Blairsville, GA, produced by Morris Printing, Kearney, NE, 2007, p. 207.

Used by permission, with addition of the last paragraph, written 06.22, 2012. –EDJ)

‘Turn to Me and Be Saved’ God Pleads

“Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.  Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?  Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the Lord?  And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior, there is none besides me.  Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return:  To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”-Isaiah 45:20-23 (ESV).

This compelling  passage in Isaiah is predictive prophecy.  In chapter 45 of Isaiah, the prophet is forthseeing that Cyrus, king of Persia, will conquer Babylon where the Israelites were in bondage and exile.  The prophecy was written years before the actual historical events predicted.  Isaiah began to prophesy in 740 B. C., the year that the honored and aged good King Uzziah died as recorded in Isaiah 6.  Cyrus began to rule in Medio-Persia about 550 B. C.  His famous decree which we read about in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4 set the captives in Babylon free to return to their own countries.  Among them were the exiled Israelites.  By the best computation of history, this restoration occurred in the year 539 B. C.  They had been taken captive in 587 B. C.  The Israelites were allowed to return to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.  Cyrus also restored some of the treasures of the Temple taken in exile.  Ironically, some of the Jews, who had fared rather well in Babylonian captivity, did not want to return to war-ravaged Judah.  From those staying in Babylon, Cyrus exacted a tax to help finance the return and the rebuilding.

In today’s focus passage, Isaiah 45: 20-23, Isaiah is consoling his discouraged people in exile.  He first asks them to assemble together to hear the word of the Lord.  It is important for believers to assemble.  Hebrews 10:25 admonishes that we should not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together...and so much so as you see the day (of the Lord) approaching.”Isaiah reminded the exiles that the people who worshiped ‘wooden idols’ had no knowledge of the true God and those they called gods could not save.  “There is none beside me” declares God, “a righteous God and a Savior” (v. 21).  But notice the invitation extended through Isaiah from the one true God:  “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!...To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” (vv. 22, 23)

Josephus, Jewish historian in his Jewish Antiquities, 11:5-7)  records that when Cyrus the king became cognizant of the prophecy written by Isaiah years before his reign began, he was very strongly impressed to follow the prophecy and fulfill it.  In the providence of God, a pagan emperor became the “shepherd” of the Israelites and allowed them to be restored to their land.  “I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other.”  (Isaiah 45:5b-6).  We stand, centuries later, in a troubled time in our own nation.  Many deny the sovereignty of God and want vestiges of “one nation under God,” and “in God we trust” removed from usage.  What hope does the predictive prophecy of Isaiah hold for us today who see our nation departing from its stand as a nation “blessed…whose God is the Lord”? (Psalm 33:12).  As Isaiah of old tried to encourage his people and remind them of God’s promises, so we need a major return to the God who holds all nations within His own power.  We cannot forget God  and His statutes and principles.  In every age and nation they hold true.  We know for surety that one day “every knee shall bow and every tongue swear allegiance” to God.  Until that “terrible day of the Lord” when He pours out His judgment, we still have opportunity to turn to Him in confession and allegiance.  The plea made by Isaiah in his day is a paean cry for our day:  “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other”  (Isaiah 45:22).

The Just Shall Live by Faith

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” –Romans 1:16-17 (ESV).

In these verses the Apostle Paul expresses the theme of his epistle to the Roman Christians—the revelation of God’s judging and saving righteousness in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants to make very clear, to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles, that through the message of salvation in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross God both judges sin and shows His mercy and salvation.  Paul makes himself clear that he is not “ashamed” of the gospel.  Scholars hold that Paul wrote this letter to the church at Rome while he was at Corinth on his third missionary journey about 57 A. D.  As we’ve already seen in a previous devotional (June 16), Phoebe was the likely bearer of this important letter to the church at Rome.

We will remember from church history that Martin Luther put his “95 Theses” on the door of All Saints Church at Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517.  Luther had not intended to cause the world-wide Reformation by his action, but by 1518 the printing press had made possible the printing and distribution of his statements about faith and practice to be known throughout Europe.  The Christian movement we call The Reformation was well on its way.  “Justification is by grace through faith” was Luther’s main contention and the doctrine he strongly upheld.  He was advocating this strong theological stand expressed in Romans 1:17.  And Paul himself was citing from Habakkuk 2:4 which reads: “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

The gospel proclaimed by Paul, many before him, and many since is powerful, personal, positive and persuasive.  It is powerful in that it has the ability to convince those who hear an believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is personal in that “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, KJV).  It is positive in that it accomplishes the purpose for which it was intended:  “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:  Not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV).  It is persuasive in that it gives us security in our faith promising that “we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the tricker of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16).

Yes, indeed, the “just shall live by his faith.”  And the gospel—the word of God—has been the means whereby we have come to faith.  We, as Paul and others, should not be ashamed of the gospel, the power of God unto salvation.”  Thank God just now that you have been redeemed by faith and you will be kept against “that day of the Lord” when all of us who believe and are justified shall  “inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world”  (Matthew 25:34).  Amen!

‘Thine the Kingdom, Power and Glory’

“[For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.]” –Matthew 6:13b. (KJV).

Why did I put brackets around today’s quotation?  Very simple.  Scholars tell us that this was a later scribal addition to the Lord’s Prayer and not in the most reliable and oldest Greek  and Latin manuscripts.  For this reason, these words we memorized and love as a part of the Lord’s Prayer are omitted from most modern translations (English Standard Version among them).  A footnote usually explains why it is omitted in modern translations with the notation that it is not theologically incorrect to quote this praise ending to the most beloved prayer of all time.  It is also appropriate to include this adoration phrase in public prayers.  David’s prayer recorded in I Chronicles 29:10b-13 bears the essence of “”for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  He prayed:  “Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of Israel our Father forever and ever.  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours.  Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all.  In Your hand are power and might, and in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.  And now we thank You, our God, and praise Your glorious name.”(ESV).

We can’t know, of course, how the faithful scribe of long ago might have felt when he finished writing the words in Matthew that constitute what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.”  But I can imagine that he, knowing of David’s marvelous words of adoration as recorded in I Chronicles 29, and many similar bursts of praise in the Psalms and other writings, felt the need to spontaneously write an appropriate addendum.  A major part of prayer is glorifying God’s name.  Is it not appropriate, then, that this prayer begin with adoration and end with adoration and acclamation?  Several years ago, my dear husband and I often did joint teaching in churches that were in the area of associational work where he was the director of missions.  I well remember our teaching (we called it a “study course” then) the book on prayer by Dr. T. W. Hunt.  He gave an acrostic to help us remember the elements of prayer and a good way, always, to approach God.  The acrostic spelled the word ACTS and was a mnemonic device for helping to make our prayer times with God deeper and more meaningful:

            A - Adoration

            C -.Confession

            T -Thanksgiving

            S - Supplication

Even though scholars have found that the last line of the Lord’s Prayer was not in Codex Vaticanus, one of the most valuable of the ancient texts, it still is a vitally important part of this prayer as we learned it from our King James Version.  And one reason for its value is that it returns our focus to God.  It also finishes out the elements of prayer—Supplication.  We depend on the power, might and majesty of God.  Beginning with God, we pray:  “Our Father, Which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”  We end with “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever, Amen.”  We acknowledge God’s sovereign rule:  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.  We recognize His power, omnipotency, sovereignty, supremacy.  We extol His glory, worthiness, omniscience, omnipresence.  And these characteristics of our all-powerful God will be forever and ever.  Amen!  (So be it!).  The principles of prayer in the Lord’s prayer can be found throughout the Bible in notable prayers of leaders and in the Psalms, majestic prayers the Hebrew hymnbook contains. And as we pray, we have the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us “in groanings that cannot be uttered”  (Romans 8:26).  Amen!

Temptation (Testing) and Evil

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”-Matthew 6:12a (KJV).

The sixth and final petition in the Lord’s Prayer asks that we not go into temptation and that we be delivered from evil.  Some of the translations render ‘temptation’ as ‘testing.’  Does God tempt us?  James 1:13-15 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire, when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  God tests his people in order that their character might be strengthened but He never tempts.  God is altogether good and He cannot be tempted with evil.  He would never entice us to sin or to seek that which would weaken our faith.  But God allows trials and testing to strengthen our faith.  Many examples exist in the Bible:  Abraham was tested by being asked to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.  The test completed, God provided the sacrifice.  The Israelites were tested by their years of wandering in the wilderness.  After His baptism, Jesus Himself was led into the wilderness to be tested.  Concerning the account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, most of our translations read:“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness  to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).  The Greek word translated “tempted” here is “peirazo” which can also mean tested.  Jesus had to make choices about falling short of God’s plan for Him.  He was victorious and did not yield to the evil one.  The devil intended to thwart God’s plan and purpose.  If Jesus had yielded (and He definitely did not!), He would have fallen into disobedience to God and would have been disqualified as the sinless Savior.  The areas in which He was tested were (1) to satisfy his physical hunger; (2) to use spectacular power to rescue himself from danger and a short-cut to recognition; and (3) to use a short cut to rule the kingdoms of the world.  Each time, Jesus quoted an appropriate scripture to counteract the devil’s very real power to entice and tempt.  In His temptations, Jesus was an example for us to follow. Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”(Hebrews 4:15b). In this world we will be tempted, we will have trials and tribulations.  Pray that God will give us the strength to overcome, to say “no” to the temptations that beset.

The second part of this petition is “deliver us from evil.”  Evil is on every hand and we are sorely tempted by what we see, hear, feel and experience to go astray from God’s teachings and principles. One of our noted Amercian Christian leaders was asked what , from his lifetime of observation and experience, would he advise Christians to earnestly do.  His unhesitating reply was “Pray every day:  ‘Deliver us from evil. Do not compromise your Christian witness or forfeit your influence by letting Satan have the victory” (Dr. Robert Wetzel).  With all the forces of evil that surround us , we ought to have this prayer on the tip of our tongues many times during the day:  “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”