Present Yourself

Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai,

and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. — Exodus 34:2

True friendship is a rare and wonderful thing. It derives from the recognition in the soul of another, a like-heartedness as well as a like-mindedness. Acts 13:22, speaking of the removal of Saul as king, states, "And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'"

The first friendship we encounter in the Bible is when God walked into the garden in Eden during the cool of the day to meet with his friends Adam and Eve. Notice, it is God who initiated the encounter." It is always God Who initiates the relationship with His creatures. What a tremendous thought! God desires to meet with His creation — us!

Moses was another fellow believer who was considered a friend of God. "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent." Exodus 33:11

And here is a proof text which speaks of the friendship relationship God desires to have with each of us: “Since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.” (Romans 5:10 New Living Translation)

The main point I want to make in these thoughts about being friends with God is that we should never treat that relationship with a familiarity that tries to reduce God to "best buds" status. God is always the One who takes the initiative in the friendship relationship; not man. 

Moses may have been friends with God, but he was still told to "present" himself on the top of the mountain. There is a formality in that description, the same air of formality one might have when meeting with a king. And, is He not, after all, the King of Creation? The instruction to present himself was not a suggestion; it was a command!

Does one command a friend? Yes, one does if He is God. God is the infinite Being. As finite creatures, we can never know Him fully. We should certainly approach friendship with him having an attitude of profound deference and respect.

The age we live in is marked by a high degree of informality, sloppiness and undisciplined living in almost every facet of the culture. The root of that is found in unbelief. Do not expect that God will endorse the informality prevalent in our time. He is the everlasting, unchanging God and it behooves us to conform to His character, not the other way around.

When Moses presented himself to God on the top of Mount Sinai, what did the Lord do? To begin with, God doesn't wait on man, so Moses had to be there first. After descending on a cloud, He stood with Moses and proclaimed His name. "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." (Exodus 34: 6)

Is God asking you to be ready in the morning to go to the top of your personal mountain to meet with Him so He can reveal to you His mercy and grace, His patience, faithfulness and unfailing love? "See that you do not refuse him who is speaking!" (Hebrews 12:25)

• As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. — Daniel 7:9

Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you sea monsters and all the deeps,

fire and hail, snow and frost,

stormy wind fulfilling his command!

                             — Psalm 148:7,8

I was reading Psalm 148 the other day and it struck me as being so odd, the way the things God created were enjoined to praise Him — even though most have no capability of producing a sound. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: everything God has created is fulfilling His command to be what He created them to be.

Every created thing, that is, except for man. Isn't that amazing? All creation obeys the command of the LORD to be a star or a tree or a wave or a mountain or whatever He has called them to be. Except man!

Isaiah had his own description of the sinful rebellion of man when he wrote:

Shall the potter be regarded as the clay;

that the thing made should say of its maker,

'He did not make me;'                     

or the thing formed say of him who formed it,

'He has no understanding?'      

                             — Isaiah 20:16

The word "hallelujah" is a word drawn from two elements in the Hebrew language. The first is the word hallel, which means to boast or rave or shine. The second element is the word for God, Yah or YHWH. It can be both an expression of praise or an exhortation to praise God.

When David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem from the household of Obededom, Samuel says, "David danced before the LORD with all his might," (2 Samuel 6:14) and "Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD." (2 Samuel 6:16) This is a good picture of what praise truly is. David was raving about God.

There are several different words in Hebrew used for praise, each drawing out a particular aspect of what it means to boast about God. The word used in Psalm 149:1 contains the idea of a hymn. In Psalm 118:21 the word 'praise' in the KJV is the idea of worshiping with ones hands extended. Leviticus 19:24 says, "And in the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD," and here the thought is one of rejoicing. In the song of Deborah recorded in Judges 5, the injunction to "Bless the LORD!" in verse 2 is the idea of kneeling before the LORD. It may be a play on words since the name of the warrior Barak in verse one means to kneel. Giving praise in Psalm 108:1 incorporates the idea of making music, singing forth, or celebrating.

In one respect, the salvation of man can be thought of as a return to creation before the fall when everything — including man — fulfilled His command to praise their Creator. And isn't that what the catechism states in the very beginning? Question 1. What is the chief end of man? Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

• For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD and there is no other." — Isaiah 45:18

• The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. — Psalm 19:1

Your Most Valuable Possession

So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

                                    — Psalm 90:12

Psalm 90 was written by Moses. I don't know that he wrote any others, but I find it, personally, to be one of the most beautiful of Psalms. I return to it often because the lesson it teaches is so important: the years of our life "are soon gone, and we fly away." (verse 10)

You have, right now, in your possession, the most valuable commodity on earth — and that commodity is time! Every person on earth, at this very same moment, is spending their allotment of time either wisely or unwisely. Every person who is sleeping, every person who is working, every person who is laying in a hospital bed suffering, or every person who is simply watching television are all quite literally "spending" their time.

The elderly businessman who may be richer than most of the kings of earth, sees his impending death and realizes that all his wealth will not buy him a single second more than his apportionment of time. He also realizes that he cannot take any of his wealth with him. In that regard, he enters eternity on equal standing with the poorest soul that has ever lived, being no more or no less deserving of consideration.

There is an amazing statement at the beginning of Deuteronomy. Maybe you never caught it, but it says in Deuteronomy 1:2-3, "It is eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. And in the fortieth year..."! Isn't that incredible? An eleven day journey took forty years! Any cursory reading of the last four books of Moses reveals what the problem was — unbelief!

Let me ask you, Do you really — I mean really! — want Jesus to transform you into that person you know He wants you to be? 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we all , with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

The veil of which this verse is speaking is those things that Jesus has put his finger on and said, "You must lay this aside so that I can create My likeness in you." Please. Take it from me. There was something in my life on which God put His finger forty years ago that I refused to give to Him. I refused to remove the veil. And for all that time, He could do little with me. Quite literally, forty years! I could have been enjoying the land of milk and honey eleven days into my journey, if I had simply removed the veil. But I refused. "They are soon gone, and we fly away."

Don't waste a moment. Whatever it is that He has put His finger upon in your life — even if it seems good — is not as good as what He desires to give you. We are talking about the God of ALL creation! Can he not give you the richest gifts you can imagine to enjoy for all time? And though that may not seem possible as your consider it, step out in faith and believe that He will replace whatever it is with something that will produce pure joy in your life. Because that is what He really desires for your life.

• Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. — 1 Corinthians 10:6

• But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.' — Luke 10:41,42

• Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. — Job 1:21

• Then one day I went into God's sanctuary to meditate, and thought about the future of these evil men. What a slippery path they are on — suddenly God will send them sliding over the edge of the cliff and down to their destruction: an instant end to all their happiness, an eternity of terror. Their present life is only a dream! They will awaken to the truth as one awakens from a dream of things that never really were. — Psalm 73:18-20, Living Bible

The Arm of the Lord II

Who has believed what we have heard?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

                                                — Isaiah 53:1

Yesterday, I spoke of  two worldviews, two different understandings of how the world operates: the secular and the sacred. That description may be a little too vague. The truly accurate divide between opposing worldviews is the Biblical explanation: one worldview represents believers and the other, non-believers, Christians and heathen, saved and unsaved.

In the KJV, the first part of the verse is rendered "Who has believed our report?" I use the RSV Bible and the Hebrew word for "report" (shemuah) is translated as "heard," but it too is translated "report"  (in the RSV) when it is quoted in the passage in John where the prophecy was fulfilled. Other facets of the word are: doctrine, fame, news, rumor, tidings.

In the second part of the verse, the word "revealed" is derived from the Hebrew word "galah" and contains the idea of discovering, plainly publishing, and to denude or strip, as in stripping away the covering to reveal what is underneath or inside.

The phrase "arm of the Lord" is used several times in the Old Testament, but is only used once in the New Testament in the passage we looked at yesterday, John 12:38, where it is quoted from Isaiah. Perhaps it is because after Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father, believers became his hands and feet (I Corinthians 12:15).

Getting back to the idea of opposing worldviews — the question arises, Are both views valid? Can both be true? Is one as reliable as the other? If you do not answer, No, no and no, consider the following.

If God truly is the Creator of the world, then He has something to say about everything in it. As I said yesterday, there is no neutral ground. It is a binary universe: on or off, yes or no, God or no God. Therefore, any attempt to explain our world without reference to it's Creator is a prejudicial distortion of reality. In other words, even before attempting to explain the universe, the individual has already answered the question in his own heart about whether he believes there is a God Who created it.

The reason why the church and our culture are in such a mess today is because Christians have acted as though the worldview of the ungodly is just as valid as the believer's. We have acted as though God has nothing to say about science or history or education or law or music or math or — you fill in the blank.

In, for example, the realm of science, the godless say, "There is no god; life formed from a big bang and a puddle of slime." The believer says, "The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." (Genesis 2:7) Who has believed what we have heard? So the question arises, If the unbeliever is wrong about his idea of beginnings, why do we send our children to sit under his tutelage?

What about the subject of history? Can a narrative of past events that excludes how God has moved in time be considered valid? At the very least, if God is never mentioned, the message is that He is not important part of the account or, more likely, He does not even exist. "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31) Who has believed what we have heard? If historians deny that the faith which produced the reformation, the development of the English translation of the Bible, and the effect it had on the development of freedom in America, by ignoring or refusing to write about it, are they not hostile to your faith?

How does the unbeliever explain mathematics? Numbers are an entirely abstract concept. You cannot go anywhere and pick a number five in a field. Why should the physical world show an absolute correspondence with measurements found only in the mind of man? How does the unbeliever define the term infinity and can he truly understand it? Who has believed what we have heard? Even the godless completely rely on the precision of numbers in all of their reckoning, but they steal their ideas from the believer's worldview.

Is it any wonder the children of Christians turn their backs on the faith by the time they leave high school? We have entrusted them to learn the doctrines of the world we live in sitting at the feet of the ungodly most of their young lives rather than beneath the shadow of the Almighty. And because of that, the arm of the Lord was never revealed to them, and they are now in the camp of those who have never believed what we have heard.

May God open the eyes of parents and empower them to become doers of the word.

Run, Don't Walk!

Let no one despise your youth,

but set the believers an example in speech

and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

                                   — I Timothy 4:11

Are you a young man who desires to do great things for the Lord? Do you plan on fully living for the Lord once you have gotten beyond school? Would you like to display wisdom beyond your years? Then, don't wait; do it now! Consider this:

Look carefully then how you walk,

not as unwise men but as wise,

making the most of the time,

because the days are evil. 

Therefore do not be foolish

but understand what the will of the Lord is.

                                   — Ephesians 5:15-17

There have been young people in all ages who have demonstrated an incredible level of maturity. Often it has been in difficult situations such as war raging around them. There are probably Christian young people in some war-torn areas of the middle east today who are shouldering a load well beyond their years. Think of all the advantages you have over them! They may be ill-clothed, having to miss meals, having to elude both soldiers and their weapons of war, and yet their hearts still burn to serve the Lord. Consider all the advantages you have over them! Have you lost sleep because an army was shelling your neighborhood?

Why do you hesitate? Have you heard Him calling you? Which of your possessions do you consider of more value than knowing Christ? Lay it aside now; it will get no easier later — and then it may be too late! "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'" (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

Consider all the great men of God who started later in life. Moses was eighty years old when he started to lead Israel out of Egypt! You have a great advantage in that you can start today to give Him your all. Take as your example David, a youth who had already faced both lions and bears before he confronted Goliath on the field of battle! (I Samuel 17:34,35)

Look at the opening verse again. Timothy, no more than a youth, was setting an example for the adults around him in speech, in conduct, in faith and in purity! The Lord will not despise your desire, but will rejoice that He has found someone after His own heart. Every minute you hesitate is one less minute you have to expend in the service of the Lord. You have the exact same amount of time as everyone else. Spend it wisely! Hear what God says to those who have ears to hear:

• Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:1,2

• Again he sets a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." — Hebrews 4:7

• And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel (who may have been no more than ten years old) said, "Speak, for thy servant hears." — I Samuel 3:10

The Arm of the Lord I

Who has believed what we have heard?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

                                                — Isaiah 53:1

A worldview is a conception of what the world is like. All men, whether they want to admit to it or not, have a preconceived idea of what is or isn't possible. This is true of the entire creation, both secular and sacred. Jesus put it succinctly when he stated, "He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters." (Matthew 12:30) There is absolutely no middle or neutral ground!

Let me give you a sacred example. John records that at the time of Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem, there were some Greeks in the city who had come for the Passover and they desired to talk to Jesus.

Who knows what torment Jesus may have been experiencing even four or five days out from the feast in which He knew He would lay down His life. With His understanding of what lay ahead, it may have been difficult for Him to concentrate on anything. It was almost as though He was verbalizing the thoughts he had been meditating on in the days leading up to this point. See John 12:20-26.

Then He cried out, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father glorify thy name." (John 12:27)

Immediately, "a voice came from heaven,' I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." (John 12:28)

Now, note the response from the crowd. First the unbelievers, the ones with the worldview that could not conceive of or allow for anything supernatural, said "that it had thundered." (John 12:29) This is a very naturalistic explanation of what occurred and, who knows, perhaps that is actually the way they heard it lest they turn and believe (John 12:40). But, the point is, their presuppositions regarding what was possible would not allow them to even consider the possibility of a supernatural cause.

These people are still with us today in the guise of evolutionary scientists. There is no way the world could have been subjected to a world-wide flood. Any evidence for a flood has to have been a local phenomenon. Despite clear evidence of a worldwide flood, they refuse to acknowledge the Noahic flood and much more.

Then, there was a second group present, those who saw the world in a more sacred framework. although they may not have been genuine believers — at least at that point in time — they were open to supernatural explanations. Their interpretation was that "an angel had spoken to him." (John 12:29)

Jesus eventually was able to slip away from the gathering, knowing they did not believe the signs He had performed nor did they believe in Him. John says, "it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 'Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?'"  (John 12:38)

This incident details the fulfillment of our opening verse. This entire incident took place so that the verse from Isaiah might be fulfilled.

Arms have denoted strength throughout history. In recent times, Rosie the Riveter was an icon of the power of America's women in building equipment for war during WWII. The most popular brand of baking soda takes as it's name "Arm and Hammer."

Jesus is the arm (i.e., power) of the Lord quite literally. God reached down into our world using His arm, Jesus, to perform signs and wonders in the demonstration of His power so that we might believe what we have heard. If you have not heard Him, perhaps it is time to consider changing your worldview.

In His Time II

And behold, you will be silent

and unable to speak

until the day that

these things come to pass.

              — Luke 1:20

In the first article by this title, we focused on an answer to prayer that was decades in the making. Zechariah and Elizabeth, who lived in the Judean hill country, had seen their hopes for children extinguished by their advancing years.

While his division of Levites was on duty in Jerusalem, Zechariah was chosen by lot to perform the evening task of setting the lamps and incense in order in the temple.

We tend to think of a lottery or choosing by lot as a form of chance. The Bible never presents the act of being chosen by lot as chance, however. It is always seen as God making His will known in a matter. Show me someone who thinks chance exists, and I will show you someone who doesn't think God exists. God and chance cannot coexist.

Exodus 30:7,8 describe what was entailed in this task. "Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it (the altar); every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations." 

So here was a duty stretching back over centuries. The incense was a special formulation (Exodus 37:29) which was not to be mixed for any other purpose and was symbolic of the prayers of Israel rising to God Who is seated in the true temple in heaven.

In the first of two annunciations (Gabriel's announcement to Mary being the second), Gabriel describes to Zechariah how Elizabeth is to bare the long-awaited prophet Elijah (Malachi 3:5), the last great promise of the Old Testament who has been anticipated by Israel for several centuries. Can we blame Zechariah if he looks at his circumstances and doubts the announcement? "For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." (Luke 1:18)

In response to his unbelief, Gabriel points out to Zechariah, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news." (Luke 1:19) In other words, Are you doubting the word I bring you from God Himself who can do anything He wants in heaven and on earth?

"And, behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." (Luke 1:20)

Now, this double description — "silent and unable to speak" — does not describe one infirmity as I once believed. I thought Gabriel rendered Zechariah mute, but it was more than that. He also rendered him deaf and that is what it meant by "silent."

When we read on in the account, we find that the extended family anticipates the baby will be named after his father. To their surprise, Elizabeth reveals his name will be John. The relatives turn to Zechariah, "And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called." (Luke 1:62) It is not necessary to make signs to someone who can hear. 

So, Zechariah was both deaf and dumb. Tomorrow, we will take a further look at some of the implications of this temporary disability.

What If?

He had no form or comeliness

that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

                                                 — Isaiah 53:2b

In every Hollywood portrayal of Jesus I have ever seen and every painting or drawing depicting Him, he is always represented as ruggedly handsome.

Almost every aspect of creation has two extremes so that each can be understood by what it is not. Without rainy days, unending beautiful weather would not be considered glorious. Cold and heat, dark and light, Tall and short, beautiful and ugly — each has its opposite.

In the former post, "More Handsome than He," we noted how humans tend to hold beautiful people in higher regard. That despite the fact that most of us are of average looks — or worse. How would you like to be on the short end of the stick, the one who was created homely so the rest of us could know what real beauty is?

I suspect the Jewish people of Jesus day were also expecting their Messiah to be a handsome personage. The passage cited at the top of the page, however, seems to indicate that Jesus' outward appearance was not particularly attractive.

What if the baby laying in the manger, born humbly in a stable, and wrapped in swaddling clothes was actually hard to look upon? Don't you tend to picture in your mind's eye a beautiful, wide-eyed baby in this setting? But what if the humiliation was complete and, not only did Christ leave the glory of heaven to experience the human condition, not only did He enter into our world by being born in a cow barn, but his outward features were less than perfect? What if He were, say, extremely short?

The first part of the passage cited above indicates that the reference is to Jesus' early life. "He grew up before him (the Father) like a young plant."I once thought verse 3 was describing His visage after he was beaten on the day of His crucifixion. Now, however, I wonder if it doesn't describe His entire life before that day. What if the Pharisees despised him, in part, because he didn't meet their expectations for what the Messiah should look like? What if it were even more than that? What if He were "as one from whom men hide their faces (verse 3)?

"That it should be so should probably not surprise us at all. The Father tends to do what we least expect. In regard to us who live on this side of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Peter said, "Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy (I Peter 1:8)."

Appearance is ephemeral. Even the most beautiful buildings eventually fall into ruin. "All flesh is grass" as it were. May we learn to esteem what is truly valuable.

More Handsome than He

Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his beauty as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. — 2 Samuel 14:25

What is it about human nature that causes us to admire the beautiful and dismiss the less than beautiful? We tend to extend more grace to beautiful people, as though they are more — and you can fill in the blank here — knowledgeable, understanding, compassionate, courageous. Yet they may be none of those things.

We read in 1 Samuel 9:2 that Saul, the son of Kish, was a "handsome young man," and that "There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he."  He met with the approbation of both the people and of Samuel. But apparently, Saul did not share the same opinion of himself as those around him. 1 Samuel 15:17 says, "And Samuel said, 'Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?'" Saul's reign as king quickly devolved into a shambles.

The Lord sent Samuel to choose another king, this time from among the sons of Jesse. Apparently, Samuel was not a great judge of character, and he was about to make the same mistake he had made in choosing Saul. When Jesse brought his sons before Samuel, he saw Eliab and immediately thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him (I Samuel 16:6)."

It was then the Lord gave Samuel (and the rest of us) some advice about beautiful people. "The Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).'"

How would you like to be known simply as someone who is beautiful to look at? You might think the tendency to objectify people is a modern problem, but these verses make it clear it is a universal human trait.

A Messianic passage in Isaiah (42:19,20) reveals how Jesus would handle things having to do with outward appearances — "Who is blind, but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD? He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open but he does not hear."

Jesus ignored the outward, focusing instead on the inner person and the priority of eternal matters. May we get a heart of wisdom in this regard.

In His Time I

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

                                       — Ecclesiastes 3:11

I read about a Chinese man a few days ago who prayed for a Bible of his own for sixty-five years! Can you imagine? It was easy for him to remember because he was saved on January 1, 1950 and finally received a Bible of his own in 2015! I can't help but wonder how long I would have continued to pray.

There is an example in Luke of a prayer that also took decades to answer, an answer that had to await God's timing. Elizabeth, Mary's cousin was barren. In today's culture, we don't see this as something shameful, but back then, couples hoped for large families and fathers hoped for sons to perpetuate their names. A barren woman was generally looked upon as someone who did not have favor with God (see Luke 1:25).

Elizabeth's husband was Zechariah and he was a priest from the tribe of Levi. Elizabeth was actually descended from Aaron, Moses brother. Despite what others may have thought, both were righteous before God and blameless in regard to all the commandments and ordinances. Yet, Elizabeth was barren and the two prayed fervently for a child. Years passed, then decades. And hope passed. Both were advanced in years. Luke doesn't say how old they were, but she was well beyond child bearing age.

During the reign of Herod, the Levitical division to which Zechariah belonged was on duty at the temple and he was chosen by lot, as was the custom of the priesthood. His duty was to enter the temple and trim the lamp (the seven-branched lamp of the Jewish menorah) and insure there was sufficient oil in it so that they did not go out, and also to replenish the burning incense, symbolic of the prayers of Israel rising heavenward. (See Exodus 30:8.)

Zechariah very likely had never had the privilege of performing this duty before and it is not hard to imagine the trepidation he may have felt on entering the stillness of the temple. Suddenly, Zechariah realized he was not alone and there was an angel standing at the side of the altar. This was one of the prince of angels, Gabriel, who would six months later also appear to Mary. Zechariah had the same reaction as every other person who encounters an angel in the Bible: he trembled with fear. "But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard...'"

I want to stop here for just a moment. To what prayer might the angel be referring? Let's continue.

'...and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John (Luke 1:13).'" So, you see, those prayers for a child all those many years earlier were answered!

Can we blame Zechariah if he did not believe the angel? Because of his unbelief, however, he was told, "Behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time (Luke 1:20)."

So, here is an amazing answer to prayer hidden in the prelude to the even greater story of the conception of Jesus! It should encourage us to not abandon hope in the petitions we send heavenward.

This is That or The Spirit of Life Part I

The heavens are telling

the glory of God;

and the firmament

proclaims his handiwork 

                                          — Psalm 19:1

God is the Creator of all that we see in the world we inhabit. God has made that truth absolutely clear even to those who are perishing. Some will vehemently deny this, but either God is right or they are.  "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made (Romans 1:20)." So, "Let God be true though every man be false (Romans 3:4)!"

More than this, God has also created everything in this world to help us understand what heaven is like.  The sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees, wind, water, fire, ocean and more, all point us God-ward and heavenward. If we will consider their characteristics and qualities when confronting them in reading the Bible, we will have a deeper understanding of the Word of God.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus who was a ruler of the Jews. He recognized that Jesus was more than the leader of yet another sect or faction common at that time, because of the signs (miracles) He performed. Concerned with what the Pharisees might think, he came to Jesus by night.

Jesus cut right to the heart of the matter, almost immediately insisting that "unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)." To help him understand the concept, Jesus pointed out that "the wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8)."

In a surprising lack of understanding for someone holding such a high religious position, Nicodemus exclaimed, "How can this be (John 3:9)?"

Jesus remarked in verse 12, "If I have told you earthly things (referring to the characteristics of wind) and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things (referring to the Spirit of God)?" 

It is interesting that the New Testament Greek word for 'wind' is the same word translated 'breath' and 'spirit.' It is no coincidence that this is similarly true for the Old Testament Hebrew language. There is a direct parallel between characteristics of 'earthly' wind and the characteristics of the Holy Spirit. Just like the wind through the trees, one can see the affect of the Holy Spirit but not see the Spirit Himself. 

Acts chapter 2, verse 2 famously describes how "suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind." Not only the believers heard the sound, but also non-believers, and it was this sound that caused them to gather to discover the cause of the noise.

All this is a foundation for what I would like to write about next.

Salvation

And there is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven

given among men by which we must be saved.

                                      — Acts 4:12

I fear Christians today fail to hold the Old Testament scriptures in the same high esteem to which they hold the New. After all, we have the completed picture of salvation in the New Testament and have (it is reasoned) little need for the scriptures that only foretold of Jesus' coming. In truth, if you dismiss the first Covenant, you will have a self-inflicted, limited understanding of the last.

The name of Jesus is so commonplace in modern day culture — at least in this nation — that we tend to forget how radical He is. What I mean is, to the unsaved in society, Jesus becomes (in their understanding) one way of many to attain salvation. This is especially true in an age where truth is mistakenly seen to be relative.

Even as Christians, we can become so familiar with the message of salvation that we need to be reminded that there is an "unbridgeable gap" between man and heaven. As Oswald Chambers stated, "Salvation is God's thought." If the Father had not bridged the gap from His side by sending His Son, the entire human race was lost and destined to the fires of hell.

I was amazed recently to realize the complete gospel message was presented in the fiftieth chapter of the book of Isaiah. In the final verses, it contrasts God's provision for salvation with man's. Verse ten presents God's servant (Jesus) walking into the utter darkness that is death with no light, but trusting in God. Against that, verse eleven presents man's ideas of how to be redeemed. Fill in the blank here with any of innumerable hopes — good deeds, positive mental attitude, asceticism, all religions lead to God.

Verse eleven warns that if you reject God's means of salvation provided in the death of His Son, you will have to kindle a fire using your plan for lighting up the darkness. You will have to set a brand alight and walk by it's light into the darkness of death. There, you will find, the unbridgeable chasm. I get a mental image of a person holding a wooden match between his finger tips after it as burned down and curled into a blackened remnant, standing and overlooking that unbridgeable chasm where nothing can be seen below or ahead.

Our calling as ambassadors for Christ is not simply to point to the need for salvation; people are aware of their need. It is to help them to understand the utter futility of their means of redemption and realize the only provision God has made for man — the cross of His Son.

The last verse in Isaiah fifty stipulates a sobering warning. If you reject the means God provides for your redemption, "This shall you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment (vs 12)."

• What is man that thou are mindful of him, or the son of man that thou carest for him? Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou has crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. — Hebrews 2:6-8a

• Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you become sons of light. — John 12:35-36

Glorifying God

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

                                — Psalm 146:1

Psalm 148, in almost its entirety, enjoins created objects without voice to praise the Lord. I could never understand that until I stopped to consider.

The heavens, angels, sun and moon, shining stars, the highest heavens and even the waters above the heavens — all are commanded to praise Him. 

So, how do all these things and more praise God? By fulfilling their role and being exactly what He created them to be. In fact, when you think about it, there is not one thing in all creation that does not not praise God — except for man.

The most famous of the questions (in the Westminster catechism, known to many Presbyterian children) is the first: Q. What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

The main reason we were created was to praise or glorify God and yet as a race and as individuals, we alone among all God's creations, have failed to fulfill the very purpose for which we were created.

Woe to him who strives with his Maker,

an earthen vessel with the potter!

Does the clay say to him who fashions

it, "What are you making?"

or "Your work has no handles?"

                                   — Isaiah 45:9

It is not until we are restored to a right relationship with God, can we even allow the Potter to have His way with the vessel He has created for His glory. It is not until we as individuals understand our need to be redeemed by the blood of Christ that we finally stop striving, yield to the Potter, and take our proper place in His creation.

• He [Jesus Christ] reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by the word of his power. — Hebrews 1:3

• "As I live," says the Lord, "every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." — Romans 14:11

The Road Taken

Thy word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path — Psalm 119:105

Picture yourself on a unfamiliar path on a very dark night with a storm brewing and the wind blowing and you are struggling to find your destination. All is uncertain.

This is an illustration of what life can often be like. None of us can be certain where the path of life leads.

I graduated from high school at the height of the Vietnam war. I was enrolled to enter college, but the government had begun drafting even those in college. I decided I would rather volunteer and choose the branch of service I would prefer to enter rather than let Uncle Sam choose for me. So I enlisted.

I did so thinking that once I had completed my obligation, I would return to the point in the path where I had had to detour and pick up where I had left off. I saw the decision as relatively minor, an inconvenience to be resolved.

As you might have guessed, I never returned to that path. Although I didn't realize it in the foolish days of my youth, it just isn't possible to return to an earlier time in the journey of life.

Decisions even less consequential than the one I just described can have a major influence on the direction of a life. Take the not-so-unrealistic example of someone simply going out for a loaf of bread, being involved in a car accident, and ending up paralyzed for life.

Extreme? Perhaps. But it serves to highlight just how dark it can be on the path of life. Nothing is certain.

Nothing is certain, that is, unless you are a child of God and trust in Him. 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; 

and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

I can (thankfully) no longer remember how fearful it is to walk through this world alone and without a Guide. The child of God knows that no matter what he or she encounters, the certainty of God's love removes all the uncertainty of life. 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, not powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

• Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him — Job 13:15a

Heavenly Jewels

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,

my soul shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, 

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

                                            — Isaiah 61:10

I asked the Lord why He would show me things from His word that, as far as I know, He hasn't shown anyone else. Some of these things have been beyond my ken.

He immediately gave me, not a vision, but an image, of a hand coming down holding a jewel with my name inscribed on it. It was like no other jewel. He made me understand that I can have an entire treasure chest full of all different jewels. The treasure chest is a book where I write down what He has shown me. A written record helps me to remember what He has told me and also allows me to remove a jewel from the treasure chest and show it to others so that He is praised and admired for His wisdom and love.

Because of the vastness of His Being, every one of his children from all ages can have their own treasure chest full of gems and no two will be alike. I am hoping this knowledge encourages you to start your own chest of jewels from His hand.

• And I will give a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it. — Revelations 2:17b

• But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. — John 21:25

• Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. — Psalm 119:18

• In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. — Colossians 2:3

We praise Thee for the radiance

That from the hallowed page,

A lantern to our footsteps,

Shines on from age to age.

It is the golden casket

Where gems of truth are stored;

It is the heavenly-drawn picture

Of Christ, the living Word.

               — Herbert Lockyer

But all who, for themselves, will prayerfully search, will find the scriptures testifying to their own divine original, and will reap the reward of the explorer who, from new paths of investigation and discovery, brings new trophies; or of the miner who digs up new nuggets of gold, or gems. Here are to be found ever new truths, precious stones of beauty and radiance surpassing the gold of ophir, the precious onyx and the sapphire. "Knowing the Scriptures: Rules and Methods of Bible Study" 

                                                                                        — Arthur T. Pierson.