Knowing God Through His Name

Meredith Hodge

God, Father, Lord—These names typify our communication with and about him. We know His name is to be honored, not said in vain (Exodus 20:7). It is to be “hallowed,” revered in our prayers (Matthew 6:9). Yet, God’s name signifies so much more.

God invites us through Scripture to see how His name declares who He is. And as we faithfully ponder His majestic, holy, and awesome name (Psalm 8:1; 111:9), we see how He not only reveals His character, but also His promises to us. Here are four names that embody the Lord’s attributes and assurances:

1.) He is Jehovah-Raah: The LORD My Shepherd

God’s Word illustrates the desperate need of sheep for a shepherd. Because sheep are prone to stray and become lost, they will fall into destruction without a tending shepherd. It’s no surprise that the Bible compares humanity to sheep:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6)

Thankfully, we have Jehovah-Raah, “who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). The Lord our Shepherd cares for, guides, protects, and leads His wandering sheep.

Isaiah says of Him:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (40:11)

Jesus is our Good Shepherd—he knows His sheep, and we know Him (John 10:1-16). He has compassion on us in our propensity to wander and in our helplessness (Matthew 9:36). Our Shepherd willingly laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), carrying our iniquities to reconcile us to a holy God (Isaiah 53:6).

He now awaits us in the middle of heaven’s throne, where He will guide us to streams of living water (Revelation 7:17) and give us the unfading crown of glory (1 Peter 5:8).

Therefore, like King David, we echo in praise: “The LORD is my Shepherd. I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

2.) He is Jehovah-Jireh: The LORD Will Provide

Abraham saw God’s gracious provision in sparing Isaac’s life with a sacrificial ram, naming the location, “The Lord Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14). Notice, Jehovah-Jireh does not mean, “The Lord did provide,” but rather, “The Lord will provide.” Abraham was not looking solely to past and present provisions; he was anticipating a future action from his Almighty Provider—and we can too.

Jehovah-Jireh provides earthly life and breath (Genesis 2:7) and eternal life (Romans 6:23). He gives abounding grace (2 Corinthians 9:8); the ability to escape temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13); heavenly rewards (Matthew 6:1-4); good and perfect gifts (James 1:17); and every need according to the riches of His glory in Christ (Philippians 4:19).

God’s ultimate provision points to Calvary, where He provided Jesus to pay the penalty of mankind’s sin, giving salvation by death on a cross (John 3:16; Romans 8:32). Yet, Jehovah-Jireh did not stop there: As Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, so did He provide His Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of His people (John 16:7). 

3.) He is Jehovah-Shalom: The LORD Is Peace

Jehovah-Shalom occurs once in Scripture in Judges 6, where Gideon realized that he saw an angel of the Lord. Gideon was fearful, but God responded to him assuredly: “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die” (Judges 6:23). Responding in praise, Gideon built an altar to the Lord, calling it “The Lord Is Peace” (6:24).

With “peace,” the word “shalom” also means “to be complete or sound” and “absence from strife.” Therefore, Shalom, according to the Bible is: found in Him (John 16:33); a blessing reserved for His people (Psalm 29:11); promised to His faithful servants (Psalm 85:8); for those who love His law (Psalm 119:165); for those who trust (Isaiah 26:3); a secured covenant (Isaiah 54:10); a spiritual gift (Romans 8:6); an effect of righteousness (Isaiah 32:17); and a result of a mind set on the Spirit (Romans 8:6).

Peace also comes after godly discipline (Hebrews 12:11) and guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).

Believers have the utmost shalom: peace with God through Christ (Romans 5:1). The prophesied Prince of Peace has come, and His chastisement brought us peace with God (Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 53:5). We can rejoice that, not only has He given and continues giving peace, but He himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14)!

4.) He is Jehovah-Shammah: The LORD Is There

In Ezekiel 48:35, Jehovah-Shammah is a symbolic name for God’s presence in the earthly Jerusalem: “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There” (italics added).

In this context, the Israelites’ shameless rebellion and detestable idolatry caused God to withdraw His presence from them. Yet, in abounding mercy, Jehovah-Shammah did not fully abandon Jerusalem. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised to restore and return to Jerusalem. In that day, the city would be called “Jehovah-Shammah.” That very prophecy was fulfilled when the exiles returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls.

The Lord’s once-departed glory (Ezekiel 8-11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4)—and His presence returned with fulfillment in the form of Jesus Christ. And though Jesus physically departed from the earth after his death, He ascended into heaven with assurance for us:

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

In his place, the Holy Spirit was provided to dwell in the Church and His people forever (John 14:15-17). He is there within us, teaching, helping, convicting, and interceding for us.

We eagerly await God’s restoration of the New Jerusalem, where we will dwell glorified in His presence forever. And as we apply this promise to our present lives, we are fueled by the Spirit’s power (Acts 1:8).

Matthew Henry says of our divine union with Jehovah-Shammah:

“It is true of every good Christian; he dwells in God, and God in him; whatever soul has in it a living principle of grace, it may be truly said, The Lord is There.”

The Name That is Above Every Name

When life’s hardships often tempt us to forget that God is our Shepherd, Provider, Peace, and that He is There, gaze upon the name of Jesus Christ. Paul says of him:

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

This name of incomparable power, authority, and deity humbled Himself to be made lower than the angels, to suffer death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9). This name poured out His life unto death, numbered among the transgressors, bearing the sins of many, making intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12).

Yet, this name brought salvation (Acts 4:12), and was given dominion, glory, and kingship, so that every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:14).

So in faith, we respond in praise:

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! (Psalm 113:2)

THE AUTHOR

Meredith Hodge

Meredith Hodge lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband Matt. She is a freelance writer and editor who loves coffee, spending time in nature, cooking, reading, and serving others in ministry. Meredith blogs about living for Christ in faith-led freedom and grace-filled growth. Follow her blog at It's Positive!.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/09/knowing-god-name/

The Essence of A Calvinistic Life

By Sinclair Ferguson

Calvinistic theology has always placed great emphasis on biblical and doctrinal knowledge, and rightly so. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2). This transformation is a prerequisite for our worship, since it is by the Spirit’s illumination of our minds through Scripture that we gain understanding of God and His ways. But Calvinism—at least in its consistent forms—has never been merely cerebral. The history of Reformed Christianity is also the story of the highest order of spiritual experience. Calvinistic doctrine expressed in God-exalting words of praise leads to a distinctive Christian experience. The melody that is composed intellectually in Calvinistic theology and sung enthusiastically in Reformed worship also can be heard in the lifestyle and experience of Reformed Christians.

The seriousness of the Reformed world and life view means that, even when the melody is played in a minor key, it remains a melody. Indeed, to use a metaphor of Calvin, as this melody is played in the church, it becomes a glorious symphony blending the following motifs:

• Trust in the sovereignty of God.

• The experience of the power of God’s grace to save hopeless and helpless sinners.

• An overwhelming sense of being loved by a Savior who has died specifically and successfully for one’s sins.

• The discovery of a grace that has set one free to trust, serve, and love Christ while yet not destroying one’s will.

• The quiet confidence and poise engendered by knowing that God has pledged Himself to persevere with His people “till all the ransomed church of God is saved to sin no more.”

These motifs all conspire to give God alone the glory.

The essence of the Calvinistic life is living in such a way as to glorify God. This, after all, is the burden of the answer to the opening question of the Shorter Catechism written by the Westminster Assembly of Divines: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.” Here is the ultimate surprise in Calvinism for many people: the glory of God and the enjoyment of man are not antithetical, but are correlated in the purposes of God.

The view that God’s glory diminishes man and robs him of pleasure is, in the light (or should one say “darkness”?) of Genesis 3, the lie about God that was exchanged for the truth (Rom. 1:25). It is satanic theology that plays God against man.

In sharp contrast, biblical theology that exalts God in His sovereign grace and glory opens the door for man to enter into a quite different order of reality. Here is offered the experience of, and delight in, the rich pleasures of restoration to fellowship with God, transformation into the likeness of Christ, and anticipation of being with Christ where He is in order to see Him in His glory (John 17:24).

Posted at: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/essence-calvinistic-life/

The Lord is... (part 3)

By Wendy Wood, CHCC Counselor

The Lord is…. My rock.

Psalm 18:2  “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Deuteronomy 32:4  “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Isaiah 26:4  “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

The word “rock” in scripture refers to a cliff, a boulder, or a huge rock.  This is not a pebble or a small stone you would throw and skip on a lake. A rock is a solid, large, immovable object.  God refers to himself as a rock because large rocks don’t move. “A rock is battered by a storm and it does not bend. The waves beat against it but it does not fall.  Our weight presses down on it but it does not sink. That is our God: always perfect; always just; always faithful; righteous and upright; never unjust. So you can trust him and cling to him today, tomorrow and every day.”

“The Lord is my rock” means that when life seems uncertain, or when people betray you, or when everything around you is changing, God is sure, faithful and unchanging.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”  The Lord is dependable.  The Lord is the one constant in life you can always count on.  He is faithful and will never let you down. He is unchanging, so his ways and purpose remain the same in bringing honor to himself and working all things for the good of believers.  When your circumstances seem bad to you, you have a rock to depend on.  

This is what Joseph did when he spend over 20 years struggling in Egypt after being sold into slavery.  Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit, sold him to slave traders, covered his coat with blood and told their father he had been killed.  Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault and thrown in jail. Joseph was forgotten in jail and left there an extra two years. Through all of this, God, the Rock, had a plan and was working all things for his purpose.  God had never left Joseph. God had never diverted from his plan. No one had thwarted God’s plan.  Everything was working out exactly as God ordained.  

In the midst of difficulty, suffering, false accusations, and fear of the unknown, there is a Rock you can lean on.  God the rock is unchanging, unwavering, solid, immovable, and constant. You can go to the rock for comfort and to find sure footing. When everything in life is shifting in your circumstances, lean on the Rock.

Another aspect of “God is my rock” is the title “cornerstone”.  

Matthew 21:42-44 says, 

“Jesus says to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes?”

There I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him”.

Jesus is the cornerstone.  A cornerstone is a huge rock that unites two masonry walls.  It is a stone representing the starting place. It is essential to a large building.  

Jesus is the rock of faith.  He is the rock of the church.  All believers must have Christ as the starting place.  His gospel remains essential to faith and a relationship with God forever.  Rejecting Jesus as the cornerstone means that you will be crushed by the weight of your own sin.  Jesus is the only way to God.  

Do you take time to think about the cornerstone of your faith?  Do you daily think about what Christ has done for you and that it is his completed work on the cross that gives stability and surety of your relationship with God?

God is my rock means that God is like no one else in His immutability, protection, and faithfulness.  Deuteronomy 32:31 says, “For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.” There is nothing that can replace God.  There is no one who loves like God loves. There is no one who gives grace like God gives grace. There is no one who rules justly like God rules justly.  There is none like Him! Sometimes we try to substitute other gods in place of God. We might believe that reputation, being loved by our spouse, achievements at work or school, having nice stuff, will provide the hope and peace that we so desperately want.  But, God is clear that nothing and no one can replace him. As creatures made by God, we were made to need him and depend on him. Nothing else can fill the God-shaped hole in our souls. 1 Samuel 2:2-3 says “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.  Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.”  No one is like God. 

What are you looking to to be your rock?  Are you trying to depend on your spouse or your kids, or your job, or something else to give you stability and hope?

Only God is the rock that is dependable, unchanging, and who can withstand the weight of your hopes.  

The Lord is.... (part 2)

by Wendy Wood

The Lord is… My Light

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

John 8:12  “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 1:5  “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Light is defined as “something that makes things visible or affords illumination”.  Light makes things clear and able to distinguish. When we are in the dark, it is difficult to see objects clearly.  We may stumble around our house, tripping on things left on the floor, banging our knees against the coffee table, stubbing a toe on the corner of the doorway, all because we don’t see clearly what is around us.  Darkness can also be a place of fear. Walking down a dark street, we tend to look around us with fear. Our hearts beat a little faster, our senses are on full alert, and we walk faster trying to get to a lighted area.  Darkness reveals our weakness and timidity. Darkness inhibits life. Things that are alive need light to grow and flourish. Without the sun, our universe’s source of light, there would be no life. Earth would be left cold and dead.  Plants must have light to go through the process of photosynthesis. This allows plants to produce food and oxygen for all life on earth. Darkness leaves us blind, fearful and lifeless.

But, if we have light, all that changes.  Light gives us the ability to see things clearly, to have life, and to experience courage.  God is light. God gives us the ability to see Him clearly and to see ourselves clearly in relation to Him.  God gives us life. He is the Creator of life and sustainer of life. In Him we have eternal life. God is the source of courage.  It is in His strength and presence that we can act boldly in faith.

Psalm 119:130 tells us “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”  Without God’s word, we are left unable to see clearly, trying to figure out life on our own. We are self-centered and look for ways to solve our problems without God.   Before the fall in Genesis 3, man was made to depend on God for water, food, shelter, wisdom, understanding, and companionship. God graciously gives us the light of his word.  Psalm 119:25 says “My soul clings to dust; give me life according to your word.” On our own, we cling to worthless things. We are blinded to seeing ourselves clearly. Our sin blinds us to our own sinfulness.  Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Without the word of God, we fail to see our need for Christ. We are left to stumble and fall in the darkness of a sinful world. God is light.  God’s word is light. God reveals himself to us. God declares himself in Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” In Isaiah 43:3 God states, “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”  In John 14:6 Jesus makes known, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” God tells us who he is. He reveals himself in the light of his word. He is our God. He is our Creator. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He is the way. He is truth.  He is life. God shows us the way to think about him and us. Scripture tells us that we are sinners and that our sin separates us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).  The light of God’s word exposes our sinfulness and reveals God’s holiness. In light of who God is and who we are, we see life clearly. We need a holy Savior and Redeemer. We need to depend on God to show us our sin. God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joint and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  God is light. He exposes our need for Him through the light of His word.  

God is light.  He is the Creator and Giver of life.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1).  It is only in Christ that we experience life. Light is necessary for our life.  John 1:3-4 says “All things were made through him and without him not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” We are born dead. Our sin separates us from God and makes us spiritually dead to truth.  Ephesians 2:1 says “And you were dead in the trespasses and sin in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we are once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  We were dead. We all naturally choose sin and selfishness over God and others. God exposes our desperate situation and then is the answer to our problem. He is light and life. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will” (Ephesians 1:7-9a).  As the sun gives what is necessary for life on earth, God gives what is necessary for eternal life with him. God gave us Jesus. God gives us eternal life with him through faith in Jesus Christ. God lights the way out of slavery to sin and into the freedom to be a servant of Christ where true life and joy are found.

God is light.  He gives us courage and confidence to walk obediently with him through life.  God gives us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and gives us his power to live life in him.  When Paul address Timothy in his second letter, Paul encourages Timothy that God has given him a spirit of power to live boldly.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:7-8).  Instead of being fearful and worrying about what others think of us, or if we can handle a situation on our own, God is the light of courage. His spirit in us grants us everything we need to live content, obedient lives. When we fix our eyes on the Light, we see clearly that this world is not our home.  The courage to live a life that pleases God, not man (including ourselves), is a gift from the Light of the world. With light, we see clearly where God’s path goes. Psalm 119:9 tells us that we can keep our way pure by living according to his word. Psalm 119:19 says, “I am a sojourner on earth; hide not your commandments from me!”  “Your testimonies are my delight, they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). Psalm 119 is a beautiful song about the glories of God’s word. God’s word is the light to our path. He shows us the way we need to go and gives us the courage to walk that path. Throughout this chapter we see the psalmist entreating God to give him the strength and courage to live it out.  “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (verse 37). It is God who gives us the ability to be faithful. It is God who gives us power to change and be obedient. We participate with him by staying in his word, meditating on His attributes and commands. We step out in faith knowing the Light is always with us.

Which of these descriptions of light do you most need to cling to right now?  God’s light to reveal His own awesomeness and our sinfulness? God’s light to give eternal life in Christ?  Or God’s light to give courage in the face of eternity?

What needs to change in these areas in your thinking, believing, and acting?

Is God your Light?  How are you living in the Light?

The Lord is....

by Wendy Wood, CHCC Counselor

The Lord is ….. My Shepherd

John 10:11  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Psalm 23:1  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

Sheep are dependent on their shepherd.  A flock of sheep will either flourish under a good shepherd or struggle under a bad shepherd.  A flock of sheep that is cared for by a selfless, gentle, kind, wise and brave shepherd will thrive and grow.  A flock of sheep under a careless, selfish, harsh shepherd will be thin, weak, riddled with disease and will fall prey to wolves and other wild animals.  Sheep are like humans in many ways and that is why God uses this analogy. Sheep are fearful, timid, stubborn and short-sighted. They wander and put themselves in danger.   When scripture refers to people as “sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17), it is not a compliment! We, too, are fearful, timid, stubborn, short-sighted and get ourselves into dangerous situations.  We were made to be dependent on God, even before the fall, and God is the only true Shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd.  He provides everything that we need.  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  The NIV translation says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.”  God, in Christ, has met every single one of our needs. In Christ, we have been justified and made right with God.  In Christ, we have forgiveness and freedom from being enslaved to sin. In Christ we have eternal life with God. In Christ, we have eternal hope and joy.  We lack nothing that we need. You may have some things that you want, but if that was what was best for you, you’d have it. Your good shepherd knows what you need and knows what is best for you.  Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The glory that is in Christ Jesus, the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and eternal life with God is all you need.  The Lord is your Shepherd and you lack nothing.

The good Shepherd makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside still waters.  Green pastures were hard to come by in the middle east, where David was shepherding when he wrote this Psalm.  A shepherd would have to seek out green pastures for sheep to graze and meticulously plan during dry seasons for the sheep to be fed.  Sheep only lie down when their stomachs are full. “He makes me lie down in green pastures” is a picture of God caring for us and making sure we have what we need.  “He leads me beside still waters” is another picture of God’s care and provision. Sheep will not drink from running water. A wise and good shepherd must find “still waters” and lead sheep there to drink.  God feeds and waters us through His word. He gives us “food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27) and says to us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).  God calls us to green grass and still waters. His ways, revealed in His Word and Son, are the best ways. God’s way of living leads to the rest and peace in our souls that sheep experience Our problem is that we think the grass is greener and the water is sweeter somewhere else.  We want to think that instead of overlooking a sin, holding a grudge will make the other person see their sin. Or we think that spending our money on ourselves will bring happiness instead of giving generously and trusting God’s word that it is better to give than receive. Only when we follow our Shepherd and listen to His voice will we find the contentment of green pastures and still waters.

The good Shepherd rescues His sheep and leads them back to the fold.  “I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16) Left on their own, sheep wander down wrong paths and get hurt or get devoured by wolves.  In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and will leave the ninety-nine to find the one who has wandered off. God pursues us. John 10:27-28 tells us “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Our shepherd holds onto us. Even when we wander, God pursues, rescues and restores us to the flock. A shepherd has two different instruments to use to bring back a wandering sheep.

“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)  The rod is a club-like weapon that a shepherd uses to save the life of a sheep in trouble.  The rod could be used against a lion or bear, the object of danger, or the rod could be used on the sheep.  If a sheep was continually wandering off and putting itself in danger, the shepherd may strike the sheep, even breaking its leg, to keep the sheep from being killed by a wild animal.  The shepherd does not delight in hurting his sheep. But, it may be the most loving thing to do, and necessary to save the sheep’s life. If the shepherd has to break the sheep’s leg, the shepherd would lovingly bind the broken leg and then carry the sheep around his neck.  Keeping the sheep close to him was the shepherd’s protection and loving care. As quoted above from Isaiah 40 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart”. 

The staff was a more gentle form of guiding sheep, keeping them on the right path, or lifting them over obstacles.  The staff is the candy-cane shaped crook that we associate with shepherds. The shepherd must be close to the sheep to use this tool, and guides the sheep through difficult circumstances or darkened paths at night.  The path remains the same. The path may be treacherous, dark, close to a cliff, or steep and rocky. The shepherd leads and guides the sheep down whatever path is necessary to get to the destination. The gentle nudge of the staff keeps sheep on the right track.  Or, the staff may lift a sheep over an obstacle that is too high or difficult for the sheep to maneuver alone. We experience both the rod and staff at times. Both tools are used in love and protection for us. Sometimes in life we need a rod to break us of a sin of commission or omission, and God causes pain to rescue us and bring us back into close fellowship with Him.  Sometimes God uses a gentle prod of His word or a well spoken word from a friend to reveal changes we need to make. God is the good shepherd who loves us. He pursues us and rescues us from our own stubbornness and wrong choices.

Often times green pastures come after a steep rocky path.  The best path might look like the most difficult path, but that’s the one the Good Shepherd is on with you! 

Questions to think about:

What does the path of your life look like right now?  Are you on a steep rocky path or are you in the meadow?  What evidence do you see of your Shepherd near you? What evidence do you see that you are listening to your Shepherd’s voice and following Him?

Are you seeking the green pasture and quiet water of God’s word and Jesus’ grace?  Or, where are you trying to find your contentment?

Are you resting in the loving care and provision of the Shepherd who knows what you need?  Or, what are the greener pastures you are pursuing?

Are you enjoying the tender care of the Good Shepherd?

Thoughts on Holiness

A Habitual Attitude

There is no holiness or Christian life that does not have repentance at its core. Repentance is not merely one element in conversion, but a habitual attitude and action to which all Christians are called. It is, argues Packer, a spiritual discipline central to and inseparable from healthy holy living. But what is it? How should it be defined? What are its characteristic features? A close reading of Packer reveals that he understands repentance to entail a number of interrelated themes. The most important dimension in godly repentance is the fundamental alteration in one’s thinking with regard to what is sin and what God requires of us in terms both of our thoughts and actions.

Repentance thus begins with a recognition of the multitude of ways in which our thinking and attitude and belief system are contrary to what is revealed in Scripture. We are by nature and choice misshapen and warped in the way we evaluate truth claims. What we cherish, on the one hand, and detest, on the other, are fundamentally at odds with God’s value system, and repentance must begin with an honest confession that such is the case. But merely acknowledging where our thinking has gone wrong is only the first step in genuine repentance. The most sincere of apologies is at best only a start down the pathway of repentance. There must follow a change in behavior. There must be a conscious and consistent abandonment of those courses of action to which our sinful and rebellious thinking gave rise. Thus repentance:

signifies going back on what one was doing before, and renouncing the misbehavior by which one’s life or one’s relationship was being harmed. In the Bible, repentance is a theological term, pointing to an abandonment of those courses of action in which one defied God by embracing what he dislikes and forbids. . . . Repentance [thus] means altering one’s habits of thought, one’s attitudes, outlook, policy, direction, and behavior, just as fully as is needed to get one’s life out of the wrong shape and into the right one. Repentance is in truth a spiritual revolution.1

There is also an emotional or subjective sorrow and remorse that true repentance requires. Merely feeling sorry for one’s sins is not itself repentance, but it is impossible for repentance to occur in the absence of a deep conviction, and its attendant anguish, for having lived in defiance of God. Thus whereas one may well, and indeed should, feel regret for a life of sin, repentance is never complete until one actively turns away from those former dark paths in order to face, embrace, love, thank, and serve God. Whatever feeling is entailed in repentance, it must lead one to forsake all former ways of disobedience. To acknowledge one’s guilt before God is one thing; to abandon those actions that incurred such guilt is another, absolutely essential, dimension in genuine repentance. Thus there is in repentance not only a backward look at the former life from which one has turned but also a commitment both in the present and for the future to pursue Christ and to follow him in a life of devoted discipleship. Throughout the process the believer is also examining his heart and habits to ensure that nothing of the old ungodly ways is making its way back into his life.

Cultivating a lifelong mind-set of repentance begins with one’s understanding of God.

Packer also sees humility as a necessary constituent element in repentance. “What we have to realize is that we grow up into Christ by growing down into lowliness (humility, from the Latin word humilis, meaning low). Christians, we might say, grow greater by getting smaller.”2 There is hardly a more counterintuitive or countercultural notion than this, yet that is what sets apart the Christian from all forms of mere religion or secular models of personal improvement. When the biblical authors speak of humility and repentance, they have in view “a progress into personal smallness that allows the greatness of Christ’s grace to appear. The sign of this sort of progress is that they increasingly feel and say that in themselves they are nothing and God in Christ has become everything for their ongoing life.” Repentance, then, entails a “continual shrinkage of carnal self”3 as one seeks the enlargement of the fame of Christ.

Cultivating a lifelong mind-set of repentance begins with one’s understanding of God. On the one hand, Christians are fascinated and enthralled with the transcendent glory of God’s grace and love. But they are equally captivated, with a slightly different effect, by his holiness and justice and purity. “This characteristically Christian sense of the mercy and the terror (fear) of the Lord,” Packer explains for us,

is the seed-bed in which awareness grows that lifelong repentance is a “must” of holy living. That awareness will not grow under any other conditions. Where it is lacking, any supposed sanctity will prove on inspection to be flawed by complacency about oneself and short-sightedness about sin. Show me, then, a professed Christian who does not see and insist on the need for ongoing repentance, and I will show you a stunted soul for whom God is not as yet the Holy One in the full biblical sense. For such a person, true Christian holiness is at present out of reach.4

True repentance, then, begins when a Christian is enabled by God’s gracious power to transition out of self-delusion, or what modern psychologists might call denial, into what the Bible describes as heartfelt conviction of sin. This in turn leads to the abandonment of self-centered disobedience and is replaced by a God-centered life in which the Savior is honored, his people are served, and his revealed word is obeyed.

Notes:
1. J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1992), 123. 
2. Ibid., 120.
3. Ibid., 121.
4. Ibid., 132

This article is adapted from Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit by Sam Storms.

Posted at: https://www.crossway.org/articles/j-i-packers-thoughts-on-holiness/

Agricultural Metaphor for the Christian Life

Matthew Barrett

At the center of the Christian faith is a fundamental belief: there is no one like God. He is not the creature but the Creator, the One Isaiah says is high and lifted up (Isa. 6:1). How amazing it is, then, that this God would stoop down and make Himself known to finite and sinful creatures like us.

John Calvin loved to say that God is like a nurse who bends low to lisp to a newborn. When we read the Bible, we see this accommodation whenever God uses metaphors to convey His saving message to us in a way that we can understand. These metaphors help us know God and live the Christian life coram Deo, before the face of God.

For example, out of the many ways God could have communicated with Israel, He chose agricultural metaphors. Israel was a people whose existence depended on the soil. Israel was liberated from Egypt to enter the land God promised to her father Abraham. Yet notice how this land is described: it is a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8). Agriculture was not only a way of life for Israel; it was a sign of God’s covenant blessing. To enjoy the fruit of the land was a sure indication that God had fulfilled His promises to Abraham.

When Israel sins and breaks the covenant, her punishment is exile from the land and the fruit it bears. It is fitting that the prophets describe Israel as a tree that has been cut down. Nevertheless, God remains faithful to His covenant, promising to raise up a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” so that a “branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isa. 11:1). We know from the New Testament that this righteous Branch is none other than Jesus, David’s greater Son, the long-awaited Savior of Israel.

The agricultural metaphor is utilized by Jesus as well. To convey the salvation He offers, Jesus says He is the “bread of life” (John 6:35), an image that no doubt resonated with His listeners who remembered how their fathers received manna from heaven in the wilderness. “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (6:33).

The Christian who abides in Christ is like a tree planted near streams of water.SHARE

Jesus again turns to agricultural imagery when He describes what it means not only to believe in Him initially but to abide in Him perpetually. In the Old Testament, Israel is called a vine (Ps. 80:8–16; Jer. 2:21) and a vineyard (Isa. 5:1–7; 27:2–6), but Israel is a vine that failed to bear fruit. This agricultural metaphor is a type that pointed forward to the coming of the true vine. That explains why Jesus says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. . . . I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:1–5). Those branches that do not bear fruit the vinedresser breaks off and throws into the fire. Those branches that do bear fruit the vinedresser prunes so that they will bear more fruit (vv. 2, 5–7). On the one hand, Jesus’ words serve as a warning, lest one think he can claim the name of Christ but not live in obedience to Christ. Those who do not truly know and obey Him will experience the judgment to come. On the other hand, the branch that does bear fruit represents the believer who is united to Christ. That union with Christ is by faith alone, but such a union always results in the fruit of good works and obedience.

The New Testament authors use this same agricultural metaphor to describe the Christian life. For example, Paul tells the Galatians that the Holy Spirit is at work to sanctify them more and more in the image of Christ. As any Christian knows, however, this is no easy process, for this side of heaven we continue to fight against temptation. So, Paul warns the Christian against the “works of the flesh,” and, like Jesus’, Paul’s warning is serious: “Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21). By contrast, the Christian is to be characterized by the “fruit of the Spirit” (5:22–23). Bearing such fruit may be a painful process: Jesus says branches that abide in the vine must be pruned to bear fruit (John 15:2), and Paul says that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). Nevertheless, we have every confidence that we can bear fruit because the Holy Spirit, who first united us to Christ, is also helping us live and walk by the Spirit (v. 25).

Posted at: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2019/06/agricultural-metaphors-for-the-christian-life/

God Invites You to Delight Yourself in Him

Randy Alcorn

Psalm 37:4 is a great but often misunderstood verse: “Delight yourselves in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Some people take this to mean that God will give us whatever we think we want. But the key part is “delight yourself in God.” When we delight in the Lord He often changes our heart’s desires to what most honors Him, then grants them to us. It’s not that we always get what we want, but that He teaches us to value and even want what He—in His sovereign and loving plan—gives us.

As we contemplate God, and ponder who He is, we will want what He wants. The desire of our hearts will be to hear Him say to us, “Well done.” And when that day comes, He will flood us with more joy than we can imagine. He will say, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

But we don’t have to wait until we die to know how He wants us to live! He commands us, for His glory and our good, to delight in Him not just in Heaven forever, but also on this present earth, here and now. 

To delight in God is to be happy with Him and in Him. To do that, we must cultivate our relationship with Him just as we do with other people by spending time with Him, bowing our knee before Him as our Lord, and also spending time with Him as our friend. That’s how we get to know Him, by learning and meditating daily on what’s true about Him. (I recommend these great books: Knowing God by J. I. Packer,  The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer, and Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.) 

In Bible study it’s always helpful to think about what the text says in contrast to what it does not say. It says, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” It doesn’t say, “Sit there and wait for the Lord to come and delight you.”

It’s active, not passive.  God doesn’t spoon-feed us His pleasures; we need to go to His banquet, reach out our hands, and select that delicious cuisine. As surely as it’s our responsibility to put good food in our mouths, it’s our responsibility to move our bodies to open His Word and move our minds toward God, and to seek to delight in Him!

While it’s true that God and His Word are nourishing, just knowing that won’t bring us to the table. We need to turn from our self-preoccupied thoughts and instead seek to cultivate our appetite for God: “Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!”(Psalm 34:8, HCSB).

When I contemplate Christ—when I meditate on His unfathomable love and grace—I lose myself in Him instead of in my hurts and disappointments and fears. When He’s the center of my thinking, before I know it, I’m happy.

Here’s the Good News Translation’s rendering of Psalm 37:4: “Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” This corresponds to the words of Jesus: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33, NLT).

Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” At first this sounds shocking, but it fits perfectly with “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will grant you the desires of your heart.” When we find our happiness in God, we will naturally want to do what pleases Him. But it’s up to us to go to Him and ask for His help and empowerment to delight in Him.

God placed just one restriction on Adam and Eve in Eden, and when they disregarded it, the universe unraveled. On the New Earth, that test will no longer be before us. God’s law, the expression of His attributes, will be written on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). No rules will be needed, for our hearts will be given over to God. We will always delight ourselves in the Lord and He will always give us the desires of our hearts.

Whatever we want will be exactly what He wants for us. What we should do will at last be identical with what we want to do. On God’s New Earth there will never by any difference between duty and delight!

But we don’t have to wait, and we dare not, to discover this. Let’s delight ourselves in Him so that we can enter into His happiness now, not just after we die.

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy’s related books, including Happiness.

Posted at: https://www.epm.org/blog/2019/May/31/god-invites-you-delight-yourself-him?mc_cid=f3b0f4c0d6&mc_eid=3c0fdc7348&fbclid=IwAR0Zn0kNzr8mSLFJTXH7CebxrJ52nVfD0YKaKno48CZXnIVMA-MU5Q1aB3g

Waiting When God Seems Silent

BY RANDY ALCORN

In a time of suffering, David engaged in righteous self-talk about how he should respond in light of God’s goodness: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

The call to wait on God is an invitation to trust and hope. It entails believing that one day—even if today is not that day—He will make all things right. In times of waiting, as we seek God in prayer, we must learn to listen to Him as well as talk to Him—to shut out the clatter and quietly wait as He unfolds to us His person, purposes, promises, and plan.

But what about when we wait and listen, and God still seems silent?

God Is Near

In Deserted by God? Sinclair Ferguson discusses what our Christian forefathers called “spiritual desertion”—the sense that God has forgotten us, leaving us feeling isolated and directionless. But through faith, we can affirm God’s loving presence, even when He seems silent and we feel deserted. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8) is a promise God will not break, despite how we feel.

Several years ago, for no apparent reason, I went through four months of depression. I had to learn to trust God for His presence despite what I felt. Eventually, as I continued to open His word daily and seek His face, while still in that depression, I gradually regained my ability to sense and hear Him.

Many of us have walked the Emmaus road (Luke 24:13–32). Overwhelmed by sorrow. Plagued by questions. We wonder where God is. When, all along, He walks beside us.

Is This Your Best for Me?

A pastor friend told me about his experience after his teenage son’s death: “Nearly every morning, for months, I screamed questions at God. I asked, ‘What were you thinking?’ And, ‘Is this your best for me?’ And finally, ‘Do you really expect me to show up every Sunday and tell everyone how great you are?’ Then, when I became silent, God spoke to my soul. He had an answer for each of my questions.”

Waiting on God involves learning to lay our questions before Him. It means that there is something better than knowing all the answers: knowing and trusting the only One who does know and will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Trusting God when we don’t hear Him ultimately strengthens and purifies us. If our faith is based on lack of struggle and affliction and absence of doubt and questions, that’s a foundation of sand. Such faith is only one frightening diagnosis or shattering phone call away from collapse. Token faith will not survive the dark night of the soul. When we think God is silent or absent, God may show us that our faith is false or superficial. Upon its ruin, we can learn to rebuild on God our Rock, the only foundation that can bear the weight of our trust.

His Silence Is a Matter of Perspective

There’s a sense in which God is never silent. He has already spoken in His Word and by becoming man and dying for us on the cross, purchasing our eternal salvation. This is speech, and speech is not silence! What we call God’s silence may actually be our inability, or in some cases (certainly not all) our unwillingness, to hear Him. Fortunately, that hearing loss for God’s children need not be permanent. And given the promise of resurrection, it certainly won’t be permanent.

Psalm 19:1 tells us the heavens shout about God’s glory. Romans 1:20 shows how clearly creation proves God’s existence. God speaks not only through His Word, but also through His world. When my heart is heavy, walking our dog Maggie or riding a bike through Oregon’s beauties is often better than listening to a great sermon or reading a good book.

Still, when we can’t hear God, we can keep showing up and opening His Word, day after day, to look at what He has already said—and done—and contemplate and memorize it until we realize this is not silence but is God speaking to us. Naturally, there remains a subjective sense in which we long to hear God in a more personal way. God spoke to Elijah in “a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).

The problem with low whispers is they’re not easy to hear—especially when all around us the wind is howling! Why does God sometimes speak so quietly that it’s hard to hear Him? The answer may be to bring us to the end of ourselves. To prompt us to be still and seek Him. And to build our faith and eventually speak more clearly or heal our hearing problem.

When Life Goes Dark

Martin Luther’s wife, Katherine, saw him discouraged and unresponsive for some time. One day she dressed in black mourning clothes. Luther asked her why. “Someone has died,” she said. “Who?” Luther asked. “It seems,” Katherine said, “that God must have died!” Luther got her point. Since God hadn’t died, he needed to stop acting as if He had.

What can we do when God seems silent and life is dark? We can pray with biblical writers who cry out to God:

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 28:1)

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! (Psalm 83:1)

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. (Job 30:20)

We also can remember that, however long the silence seems, God promises it is temporary. Consider Zephaniah 3:17:

The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, he will be quiet in his love, he will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (NASB).

Just because we can’t hear God exulting doesn’t mean He is not rejoicing over us with shouts of joy. A blind or deaf child may not see her father’s face or hear his words, but can learn to sense his love and affection nonetheless. The blood-bought promise states that this brief life will be followed with an eternity in which His children “will see his face” (Revelation 22:4).

My Soul Waits for God

My wife, Nanci, while going through chemotherapy treatments that ended several months ago, read me this from Andrew Murray’s Waiting on God: “It is God’s Spirit who has begun the work in you of waiting upon God. He will enable you to wait. . . . Waiting continually will be met and rewarded by God himself working continually.”

“For God alone my soul waits in silence . . . my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:1, 5). If we lean on Him while we wait, God will give us the grace to wait and to listen carefully as we pray, go to trusted Christ-followers for encouragement, and keep opening His word and asking Him to help us hear Him.

Posted at: https://www.epm.org/blog/2019/May/24/waiting-when-god-seems-silent

Three Marks of Every Man and Woman of God

Colin Smith

In a previous article, I wrote that without Christ you were a lost and helpless and hopeless sinner. But now in Christ you are a new creation. God’s Spirit lives in you! 

You are God’s man, God’s woman. Be who you are. 

In this article, I want to give you three distinguishing marks of every man and woman of God. These were God’s words through Paul to Timothy, and so they apply to us today.

Three Distinguishing Marks of Every Man and Woman of God 

1. You have made a confession. 

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

Paul is pointing to a specific time, remembered by many people, when Timothy confessed faith in Jesus Christ. It seems most likely that this would have been his baptism. 

Since the day of Pentecost, Christian believers have confessed faith in Jesus through baptism, which is a sign and seal of our union with Christ. Scripture says: 

If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) 

From the earliest times people made this confession at baptism: “Jesus is Lord.” Timothy had made this confession, and a large crowd of people had heard it. 

A Christian is a person who has reached a conclusion about Jesus Christ. Christians are in process about many things. We are in the process over holiness, repentance, spiritual growth, overcoming temptation, and prayer. 

But we are not in process over who Jesus is. We stand with Peter when he said to Jesus, “You are the Christ” (Matthew 16:16). We stand with Thomas when he bowed before Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). And, we stand with the whole church in every place and every age, confessing that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).

If you are God’s man or God’s woman, you don’t start each day wondering who you are, why you are here, or who you belong to. You are Christ’s, united with him in his death and resurrection. You have made a confession. 

Have you made this confession? If you have, remember who you are: God’s man, God’s woman.  

2. You have embraced a calling. 

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus… I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame… (1 Timothy 6:13-14) 

The command that Paul is referring to seems to be in verses 11 and 12: “There is character to pursue, a battle to fight, and a life to gain… But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 

a. Character to pursue 

John Stott says that: “Endurance is patience in difficult circumstances. Gentleness is patience with difficult people.” [4] 

b. A battle to fight 

Fight the good fight of the faith (1 TImothy 6:12). 

The world will always reject Christ, and those who proclaim that “Christ is Lord” will always be in conflict with the unbelieving world. 

c. A life to gain 

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses… (1 Timothy 6:12) 

Notice the language—pursue, fight, take hold. The Christian life will be a struggle. Calvin says that: 

Self indulgence springs from [the Christian’s] desire to serve Christ… as if it were a mere leisure activity. Christ calls [his servants]… to wage a war.[5] 

Where do you find the energy for this struggle? Sometimes it is hard to keep going—too many disappointments, too many unanswered prayers, too many failures. You feel run down and you get weary in the struggle. 

How do you find the strength to sustain the rigors and the demands of this Christian life? When Paul gives Timothy this charge, he says “in the sight of God, who gives life to everything” (v13). 

God will give you the energy you need for this. He gives you life. He sustains your life. And, he will give you strength for each day. Pursue your calling in the sight of the God who gives life. He will quicken you by His Spirit. As your days are, so shall your strength be. 

3. You anticipate Christ’s coming. 

Keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ… (1 Timothy 6:14) 

One day we are going to see Jesus Christ. He will appear. God will bring that day about “in his own time” (1 Timothy 6:15, NIV). The day will come when your faith will be turned to sight. This is an amazing promise. 

Then Paul reminds us that “God… lives in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). God is not hidden in unapproachable darkness, but in unapproachable light. We are not alienated from God because He is obscured in darkness, but because he is inaccessible in light. 

Our problem is not that we can’t find God. It is that we couldn’t come near him if we did! All through the Bible, we find that man at his best is unable to stand in the presence of God: 

When Isaiah, the holiest man of his time, saw God’s glory fill the temple, he cried “Woe to me… I am ruined” (Isaiah 6:5). When John the Apostle saw the glory of the risen Christ, he “fell at his feet as though dead…” (Revelation 1:17). 

If the best of men in the Old and New Testaments are on their faces in the presence of God, how do you think it will be for us when the Son of God comes in his glory and all his holy angels with him? 

Thomas Blinney explains how we can abide in Christ’s presence when he comes:  

There is a way for man to rise   
To that sublime abode:  
An offering and a sacrifice,  
A Holy Spirit’s energies,  
An Advocate with God: 

He points to: 

• An offering: The Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us 

• A sacrifice: Christ bore our sins in His body on the tree 

• The Holy Spirit: uniting us with Christ through the bond of faith 

• The risen Christ: advocating for us in the presence of the Father 

Who We Are  

This is the life that we share together in the church: We share the same confession of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. We share the same calling to pursue a holy life, to fight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold of the eternal life to which we have been called. We live in the same anticipation of Christ’s appearing and our entry into the glory of His presence 

Whatever you are facing in your life right now, here’s what you need to know. You are God’s man, God’s woman, bought by the precious blood of Christ, called to the blessing of life under the rule of God: The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone is immortal, who lives in unapproachable light, to whom be glory and might forever. Amen. 

Colin Smith is the senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near - So Far. Colin is the president and teacher for Unlocking the Bible. Follow him on Twitter.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/05/three-marks-every-man-woman-god/