August 16 – Awesome Respect is Fear of God

“By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” - Proverbs 16:6  (NASB)

Words used in other versions for ‘lovingkindness’ in this proverb are: ‘steadfast love,’ and ‘mercy.’ We receive what we do not deserve and we don’t receive what we do deserve. This is the mercy given to us by God Himself to those who believe in Him and in His promise of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was the work of Jesus who willingly went to the cross to dies as a sinless man that provided all who believe the atonement they need.  By God’s “lovingkindness and truth,” He affects the atonement or covering of sin, which for the believing sinner inclines him to keep away from evil. And “the fear of the Lord” is reverential awe and admiring, submissive fear which is the foundation for all spiritual knowledge and wisdom. The unbeliever may make statements about life and truth yet they don’t have true or ultimate knowledge until they are, by the Holy Spirit brought into a redemptive relationship of reverential awe with God. The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s.

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June 3 –– Keeping Us From Evil

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NASB)

The Bible tells us that Jesus, the Son of God is praying for us in heaven. We might wonder what He is asking God do to for us and we might find some answers to that question in the last prayers which Jesus prayed before he was arrested and crucified.  Recorded by John in chapter 17 of his gospel account.  Jesus prayed for His disciples as He was soon to leave them. He knew what they would face here in this world. He knows what you and I face and he knows the increasing antagonism that Christians are facing these days.  The evil one is active and we do need God's help to overcome the influences just as the disciples did. We believe that this is in part what Jesus is praying for us today. As long as we live here on earth we need God's help and God the Father does help us and answers the prayers of His Son Jesus.  This is a promise that God will keep us from the evil one.  God's way of keeping us is to preserve our souls even as we face difficulty in this world. Trust Him today!

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October 29 – Being Wise and Innocent

“…but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” – Romans 16:19b-20 (NASB)

One commentary on Romans tells us the wisdom the Apostle Paul advocates in these verses is more than “knowledgeability”. It is a spiritual as well as a mental quality. Paul wants the recipients of this letter to live in such a manner that we will be equal to the task of choosing what is good in the eyes of God, and that we will be innocent and guileless about evil. We should be wise for the purpose of doing and promoting what is right, and should not get “mixed up” with anything that, in God’s sight, is wrong. God promises to exercise his sovereign will in the interest of his people! 

• He will crush Satan. He will fulfil the promise of Genesis. 3:15. Not Satan but God is Victor.
• He will crush him under your feet. Those who are co-heirs (Romans 8:17) are also co-conquerors. 
• He will do so soon. In a sense it is true that God is crushing Satan right along. A most decisive victory was won on Calvary. There can be no doubt about it, though, that the present passage has reference to the final, victory of God over Satan.

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William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 12-13:512–513.

September 30 – Not To Drift

“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. ” – 3 John 11 (NASB)

Of the 3 letters written by John the Apostle, the third is the shortest. John was urging the believers to continue to maintain the practice of Christian hospitality that they had been taught and were practicing. In their body was one who was arrogantly violating this practice. With promises from John that he would deal with this malcontent when he visited, he offered the instructions fount in our verse today. It is an essential that what we do is truly good and not just good according to worldly standard but good that comes from our position in God. It is a very strict teaching that many ignore a great deal in the Christian church today. Many teachings of Jesus and then the apostles are being redefined and rationalized based on what “seems right in one’s own eyes.” We tend to become careless and drift away from God’s Word. The drift comes from imitating ways of the world around. Those ways are controlled by Satan who is evil. True good exists and we can emulate what is good. Remember that those who do good are of God and those who do evil cannot claim to know God.

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April 21 – For Whom Wrath is Reserved

“A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.” - Nahum 1:2.” (NASB)

Again today, we find God’s promises in one of the Minor Prophets. Most of the promises we ponder are promises of blessings from God for us, His own people. Today’s promise is not like those. God has promises for those who by faith believe in Him. He also has promises which are warnings of judgment and wrath for those who do not believe. Those who refuse to believe remain the enemies of God. Nineveh, an ancient city full of wickedness and evil, was the capital of the Assyrian Empire during the period of Assyrian dominance throughout the ancient Near East. God instructed the prophet Jonah to go and preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh. He first refused, but eventually obeyed and the people of Nineveh repented. But by the time of Nahum’s prophecy, a century later, they had returned to wickedness. Nahum’s ‘oracle,’ as it is called, prophesied the city’s destruction by Babylon. Here is the promise God gives Nahum: “The LORD is an avenging God.” Those who remain enemies of God will meet the wrath of God for it is reserved for those who reject to the end the call of God, to repentance and faith in God.

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November 9 –Avoid Being Bone Tired

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.”  Proverbs 3:7–8. (NASB)

The two verses before today’s selection (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB) are often most familiar in the book of Proverbs. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart….” The Proverbs of King Solomon frequently offered a word of wisdom, how to be wise in our behavior, followed by the benefits that such living brings to us. Today's promise is written that way. The wisdom is a caution for us to not be wise in our own eyes. Many promote themselves as wise, knowledgeable, experienced; as expert at whatever they want to claim. Solomon says, “No. Do not think that way. Do not perceive yourself as wise.” This does not mean we are to think of ourselves as unwise or foolish. There is something unrighteous about thinking too highly of ourselves. Solomon commands, “Fear the LORD" (hold Him in awesome regard) and reject the temptations that are evil. Turn away from such thoughts. In return we will have healing and a healthy body. We won’t be weighed down but will experience refreshment deep to our bones. Reject self conceit and evil ways, and we will be healthy. We will not be bone tired. That’s a promise from God.

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November 3 – No Reason for Early Departure

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15  (ESV)

The context of these words is the prayer Jesus offered on behalf of His disciples but not only for them, for us as well. His requests were for all “who will believe in me through their word,” (John 17:20). We do not find in Scripture encouragement to ask God to let us die. Christians may say and look forward to getting out of this world, but isn't it when we are in the middle of struggling with trouble or trials. We might even claim that it is “Because we would be with the Lord.” But mostly we want to be with the Lord, to avoid the difficulties and temptations in our daily lives. There is likely no true yearning to be with the Lord, it is because we desire to escape trouble. We want to get home, not so much for the Savior’s company, as to get out of the little hard work. Jesus’ prayer here is for God to NOT take us out of the world because of trouble but promise to protect us and keep us from the enemy of our soul while we continue the work of proclaiming the glory of God.

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April 12 - Resurrection Sunday

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  -Matthew 5:11-12  (ESV)

These words from the mouth and heart of Jesus were spoken to a multitude including his newly called band of disciples.  Likely they were more directed at those who would follow him for the next three years than at the large multitude.  They were part of the Sermon on the Mount and incorporated into the Beatitudes. Let’s look at these words in light of Resurrection Sunday.  Followers of Jesus, the Son of God, who believe what Jesus taught, do share in in all things glorious. This includes persecution, slander, defamation, lies about character. How Jesus was treated by the apostate Jewish leaders and reprobate Roman governor is how we are to expect to be treated. Because Jesus was persecuted, we should expect the same.  Because Jesus was crucified, we count ourselves crucified with him and in faith we live for Him. Christ’s resurrection on that Sunday after His Friday crucifixion is something we share.  We too have the new life given to us when we believe.  Now it is only for us to rejoice that we, raised with Christ in faith, can look forward to a great reward in heaven.  

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May 7 – Awe-inspiring Fear

“Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments.” Psalm 112:1 (NASB) 
“He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”  Psalm 112:7 (NASB)

These promises in these verses are, of course, written for all of people created by God and who are therefore all equal in His sight.  We include these two verses this way because we believe that they describe the kind of person who follows this blog.  We are therefore thankful and take great delight in hearing the suggestions which God has given in the Bible as to how we should live.  When we pay attention to the teaching which God has given us in the Bible it does give us the ability to not shrink in fear when we hear of evil that is at work in the world. Rather, these  promises give us courage and strengthens our hearts so that we are standing firm and trusting in the Lord our God.  We trust our Lord because of who He is and our fear of Him is an awesome respect of Him.  We do not cower from God but we submit to His awe-inspiring authority over all things and submit to His will.  We do not have to cower from evil news either because God Almighty is our God and we recognize that all things come from Him.  So we take hope and delight in following in His way and commandments no matter what we encounter in our life.   

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June 3 – Keeping

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NASB)

The Bible tells us that Jesus, the Son of God is praying for us in heaven. We might wonder what He is asking God do to for us and we might find some answers to that question in the last prayers which Jesus prayed before he was arrested and crucified.  This prayer was recorded by John in chapter 17 of the gospel account he wrote.  Jesus was praying for His disciples as He was soon to leave them. He knew what they would face here in this world. He knows what you and I face and he knows the increasing antagonism that Christian are facing these days.  The evil one is still active and we do need God's help to overcome the evil influences just as the disciples did back in that time. We believe that this is part of what Jesus is praying for us today. As long as we live here on earth we need God's help and God does help us in answers to the prayers of His Son Jesus.  This is a promise that if we let Him, God will keep us from the evil one.  God's way of keeping us is to preserve our souls even as we face difficulty in this world. Trust Him today!

August 10

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”  2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

It is wonderful to know that our God is aware of our needs. I am reminded of what our Lord Jesus said to His disciple, Peter, that last night before the cross. Jesus knew that Peter would be tempted to deny Him. He told Peter that He had already prayed for him. The same is true with us today. He knows how our faith will be tested. And He will strengthen us to endure testing and protect us and bring us through. God has committed Himself to keep us and we can depend on Him.