Days of Praise

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July 26, 2016
Creating Life
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” (Genesis 1:20)

 

The two most fundamental laws of science state that matter can neither be created nor destroyed and that all processes tend to lose order, wear out, and eventually stop functioning. This is particularly significant when considering the origin of life.

 

Creation is an act of omnipotence and omniscience. Creation requires the bringing into existence of something that did not exist before. Creation even requires a unique word to define it! God had created (something from nothing) on Day One. God had then used the material of Day One to make everything else, including the stars, the sun, and the moon.

 

On Day Five, God created life. First were the water creatures and then the air creatures—“abundantly” throughout the planet. These living things were created, not made. On Day Six, He continued creating the “cattle,” “beasts of the earth,” and “creeping things” that would live on the dry land. They were very different from the air and water creatures, but they shared the created life that set them apart from the food that had the ability to reproduce “after its kind.”

 

After a close friend of the Lord Jesus had sickened and died, Jesus went to visit with the remaining sisters. As they were all grieving at the untimely loss, Christ revealed a core attribute of His diety: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). Herein lies the source of “livingness”! Furthermore, Jesus promised, “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 1:25-26). Do you believe this? HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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July 27, 2016 The Good Confession “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.” (1 Timothy 6:13)   Young Timothy also had “professed a good profession [same word as ‘confession’] before many witnesses” (v. 12), evidently of similar substance and quality to that in the witness of Christ before Pilate. When the Jews urged Pilate to condemn Jesus to death, their charge was that “he made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). Pilate gave Jesus opportunity to deny this charge and save His life, “but Jesus gave him no answer” (v. 9). Both by His silence, when a denial of the charge could have saved Him, and by His open testimony before Pilate that He was, in fact, a King from heaven itself—indeed “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15)—it becomes clear that our own “good confession” must be a confession of our faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God, our Savior and Lord, especially when that confession is made openly before hostile witnesses.   Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Paul said, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9); and John said, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).   Despite the great blessings awaiting all who make a courageous and good confession of saving faith in Christ, most people will refuse until it is too late. There is a time coming, however, when “every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). HMM

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July 28, 2016
What Is Life?
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

 

We often overlook the fact that the Bible text uses a unique word for “life” that is never applied to plants and vegetation. The word choice of the Holy Spirit is chay (and its derivatives) and occasionally the word chayah. Together, those words are used 763 times in the Old Testament—never applying that quality to plants or vegetation. Plants are food.

 

Another unique fact about living things is that they move. “God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth” (Genesis 1:21). The Hebrew word is ramas, used 17 times in the Old Testament. It is used to describe birds gliding through the atmosphere. It is used of insects “sneaking” around on the floor of the earth. It is used of large beasts “stalking” and moving freely through the wild lands of the earth. Living things have the ability to move independently. Plants do not.

 

“The life of the flesh is in the blood,” announces Leviticus 17:11. The concept is pretty simple. If a moving creature has blood, it is alive. Life also has nephesh—the Hebrew word for “soul”—perhaps best equated with the self-conscious awareness that “I” exist.

 

The other noncorporeal term used by the Holy Spirit to describe and define life is the Hebrew word ruwach. Of the 389 times that word appears, it is most often translated “spirit.” Lots of mystery here, but it is very clear that living things are not plants!

 

Humans have all of the above qualities and share them with other living things. But we were especially created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That makes an enormous difference. HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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July 29, 2016 Scripture Says/God Says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)   Among the many evidences for verbal inspiration, both within and without Scripture, is the frequent interchange of God recognized as the author of a particular passage with the human author who actually penned it. This can be true only if the very words recorded by the various authors are “God breathed” (the meaning of “inspiration”).   For example, the early Christians exclaimed, “Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?” (Acts 4:24-25), thereby recognizing that God spoke through David, who wrote God’s words in Psalm 2:1-2.   Likewise, Paul, in his masterful dissertation on God’s sovereignty, claimed “the scripture saith unto Pharaoh” (Romans 9:17) that which God Himself had spoken unto Moses (Exodus 9:13). In other words, what Scripture says, God says.   Even Christ Jesus, who Himself had written with His finger “honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12) on tables of stone, personally ascribed the authorship of the passage to Moses (Mark 7:10). Evidently to Christ, there was no difference. That which Moses had written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in this case what he had copied from the stone tablet, was fully the Word of God.   We can be sure that what Scripture says, God says. “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). We can trust our lives on Earth, our view of history, and our eternal destiny to what is written on the pages of Scripture. JDM

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July 30, 2016 I Am “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)   After His arrest, “the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none” (Mark 14:55). Then they got their sought-after witness from Jesus Himself when the high priest asked Him: “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (v. 61), and it only took two words from Him. “I Am!”   As a matter of fact, this was not the first time He had thus identified Himself as the self-existent, eternal God. On an earlier occasion in Jerusalem, He had told the Pharisees: “I am the light of the world,” and then, “I am from above: . . . I am not of this world. . . . If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:12, 23-24; the “he” in verse 24 is not in the Greek original).   He made this especially clear a few minutes later when He asserted: “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). But when He finally made this wonderfully truthful claim in the presence of the council, “they all condemned him to be guilty of death” (Mark 14:64). He had committed the capital crime of blasphemy in their opinion, by claiming to be God.   “I am” is, in fact, the very name of God. When Moses, at the burning bush, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery, God said His name was “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The name Jehovah (or Yahweh), the most frequently used name of the Lord in the Old Testament, is essentially this name.   One can count at least 196 “I am” claims of God in Christ (“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” for example—John 14:6) in the Bible. Truly, our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal, self-existent God, “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13). HMM

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July 31, 2016 God’s Image “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:27)   On Days Five and Six, God created living things. First were the water and air creatures throughout the planet. On Day Six, He created the “cattle,” “beasts of the earth,” and “creeping things” that would live on the dry land. They were very different from the air and water creatures but shared the “life” that was so different from plants, which were designed as food.   Then, God paused for a very specific purpose. He wanted to create a being that would bear His image and be in His likeness. You may recall that God took some of the dirt that was created on Day One and “sculpted” a body and breathed into this unique body (God made only one) the “breath of life.”   These special biblical terms—image, a representative form of another form, and likeness, a copy (stronger word)—are only used of humans. While that may not seem that significant, there are a lot of Bible passages that speak of animals. None of them ever speak of any animal having the image or likeness of God.   The shape and capabilities of man are unique. When we read that God formed the body of Adam from the dirt of the ground and later made the body of Eve (Genesis 2:7, 21-22), we are being told that these two living creatures were unique among all of the rest of creation. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). HMM III   Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 1, 2016
God’s Steward
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

 

There are many Bible passages that speak of animals, but none of them ever speak of any animal having the image or likeness of God. On the other hand, there are many references that insist that God intended for man to “take over” God’s creation and function as the steward of Earth in God’s place.

 

Please notice the authority. Man was to “have dominion” over all other life, to “fill” Earth, and “subdue” the planet. All authority is delegated authority—God the Creator is still the Owner. If we are to understand the uniqueness of human life, we must first grasp the significance of this authority.

For thou hast made [man] a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:5-8)

God’s authority is the basis for action (Matthew 28:18-19; Daniel 7:14). His Word is still the source of ultimate truth (John 14:6; 17:17). His steward (man) is still responsible to the Creator (Isaiah 45:18-22). As we “uncover” the processes of Earth, we are to exercise the delegated authority to “rule” so that we can “fill” the planet that the Creator has designed—“to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6). HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 2, 2016 The Fossils’ Tale “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” (2 Peter 3:6)   Billions of dead creatures are entombed in cubic miles of water-deposited rock layers. The story they tell is hotly debated in our educational institutions. But one thing is very clear—sometime in our planet’s past “all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died” (Genesis 7:21-22).   If life sprang into being from non-life, and if that life, once generated, changed over time into more and more complex systems, then those events must have happened outside of our current environment. Since we do not find evidence of such large biological changes happening in the present, we must look to find it among the fossils preserved for us in the planet’s sedimentary deposits.   At first glance, all would agree that these enormous deposits speak of a vast water catastrophe that inundated the entire planet. The Bible tells us that such a planet-covering water catastrophe did take place (Genesis 7:11-12, 19).   Those who refuse to accept the biblical record must deny that such a flood ever took place. They must also attempt to tell a story (without God in the story) of processes and conditions that could produce the worldwide deposits of sedimentary rock and the billions of fossils they contain. Job understood that we should “speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?” (Job 12:8-9). HMM III   Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 3, 2016 The Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge of God “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)   One of the most amazing of the divine attributes is God’s omniscience. He not only understands all the complexities of relativistic science and higher mathematics, He ordained them in the first place! The same applies to every other discipline of study and activity.   And He knows all about each of us! “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:1-2).   As far as human knowledge is concerned, it is vital to know that “the fear of the LORD” is the very foundation of “knowledge” and of “wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). All the greatest scientists of the past acknowledged that they were seeking merely to “think God’s thoughts after Him.”   How foolish it is to ignore or to oppose God! There are only four places in the Bible that speak of God laughing (Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26), and each of them describes His response to such folly.   Instead, we should marvel at all the wonders of His creation and providence. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).   Our text verse above (Colossians 2:3) is actually referring explicitly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten and eternal Son of God. It is He who has given us access to the Creator God and therefore access to the divine knowledge and understanding. Part of the still-effective dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28) is to learn what we can about God’s creation, always remembering that Jesus insisted that—no matter what unbelievers say—“the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). HMM

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August 4, 2016
The Lord God of Heaven
“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2)

 

It is noteworthy that the words of this verse are almost the same as in the last verse of 2 Chronicles. This is an indication that Ezra the scribe (who wrote the book of Ezra) was also the compiler and editor of the two books of Chronicles.

 

Even more noteworthy is the fact that the great emperor Cyrus seemed to acknowledge that the God of Israel was not just a tribal god, as many have claimed, but the Lord God of heaven—that is, Jehovah Elohim—recognizing Him as both Creator and Redeemer of the world. The Persians were largely followers of Zoroaster, but his religious system did bear some resemblance to the true monotheism of Israel.

 

But Cyrus had been called, and even named, by God, long before he was born (Isaiah 44:28–45:6). When he conquered Babylon, the prophet Daniel was there (Daniel 6:28). The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Daniel even became prime minister under Cyrus and was able to read Isaiah’s remarkable prophecy to him, thus influencing him to send the Jews back to Jerusalem.

 

There have also been other Gentile rulers who acknowledged God, even before Christ came. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, once hating God, finally was forced to confess that He was “the most High” and “King of heaven” (Daniel 4:34, 37). Another was the Queen of Sheba, who recognized “the LORD thy God” (again Jehovah Elohim, 1 Kings 10:9). Then there was the king of Nineveh and Assyria, who believed in God at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:6-10). In fact, in the ages to come “the kings of the earth” will all “bring their glory and honour” to the Lord in the holy city (Revelation 21:24). HMM

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August 5, 2016
Practicing What We Preach
“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15)

 

Christ’s life matched His teachings, and so must ours. Consider, for example, Christ’s teaching that we should “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is matched by His prayer for His tormentors while on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Elsewhere, He taught that our circle of influence should be greater than those of like thinking (Matthew 5:47), a fact that caused His detractors great consternation (Luke 15:2). He taught that our prayers should not be done so that “they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5). And the gospels record several times where He went “into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35; see also Mark 6:46). Christ placed great value on children, as we see in Matthew 18:6, and later He welcomed them (Matthew 19:14). He taught Peter to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) and later forgave Peter for his continued denials (Mark 16:7).

 

Christ advocated paying taxes (Mark 12:17) and later enabled Peter to pay tribute for both of them (Matthew 17:27). He taught that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15), and He Himself had “not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Likewise, He placed great store in aiding the poor (Luke 14:13), both in teaching and in practice (Matthew 14:13-21). Perhaps His teaching “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) is best illustrated by His tender prayer for those who would soon take His life as He hung on the cross for the very ones responsible for His death (today’s text), all the while dying for them.

 

May God grant us the strength to follow not only our own teachings, but His teachings as well. JDM

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August 6, 2016
Treasures of the Snow
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?” (Job 38:22)

 

It is interesting that this book, the oldest in the Bible, contains more references to snow, ice, and frost than any other book of the Bible. This is despite the fact that Job’s homeland was in what is now essentially a desert region. Possibly the effects of the post-Flood Ice Age were still strong in Job’s day.

 

In any case, the beautiful phrase “treasures of the snow” is both appropriate and prophetic. Its crystal structure, though mostly in the form of delicate six-pointed “stars,” is endlessly varied and always intricately symmetrical and incredibly beautiful.

 

The snow is a treasure in other ways as well. The winter’s snowpack in the mountains is often called “white gold” because of its indispensable water storage capacity, released in the melting season each spring to provide life to teeming cities and irrigation in the desert for needed food supplies. The snow also aids in maintaining the planet’s chemical cycles by returning various elements in the nuclei of its flakes back from the ocean to the lands from which they were leached and transported by rivers to the oceans. When the snowpack becomes a glacier, it can greatly assist in the breakup of rocks to form fertile soils.

 

In the Scriptures, its pure white color is often used to symbolize the cleansing of a sinful heart that trusts the Lord. “Wash me,” said David, “and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” the Lord promises those who come to Him for salvation (Isaiah 1:18).

 

As the snow comes down from heaven, so comes the Word of God to ask the soul as in today’s text: “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22). HMM

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August 7, 2016 He Knows Our Hearts “Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men).” (2 Chronicles 6:30)   Eight times in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple, he beseeches God to “hear from heaven” (vv. 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39) when His people confess their sins and pray for deliverance. It is marvelous that God, whose “dwelling place” is in heaven (vv. 21, 30, 33, 39) can actually hear the prayers of people here on Earth, but we remember that He is omnipresent through His Holy Spirit.   Even more marvelous, if possible, is the fact that He can hear prayers uttered only in our hearts. But He is also omniscient and thus knows the very thoughts of our hearts.   Then, as we read of Jesus’ wrath at the desecration of the temple by those who would commercialize their religion there, it was said that He “needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man” (John 2:25). This is direct confirmation that Jesus is God, for only God knows the thoughts of our hearts.   It is a wonderful day when we realize that God knows our hearts. It can be frightening, of course, if our hearts are not right with God, but it can also be of great comfort and exhilaration—it all depends on the thoughts and motivations of our hearts. As David wrote long ago: “Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2).   We need, therefore, to guard our thought life just as much as our social life, “for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21). May God help us to be “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is a good thing if our thoughts please Him. HMM

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August 8, 2016
Rejoice in the Lord
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

 

The Christian has a compelling duty to rejoice. Paul stresses the Christian need to rejoice by using the tense in the Greek that specifies a continuing and habitual action. This instruction follows his mention of otherwise faithful believers in the church who were unfortunately pursuing disharmony and dissension. Believers are reminded to restore broken relationships, follow after harmony, and rejoice.

 

Perhaps the best reason to rejoice is that all our names are written in the “book of life” (v. 3). This precious book was mentioned from old times as “a book of remembrance . . . written before him for them that feared the LORD” (Malachi 3:16). Christ mentioned this book as a cause to “rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Our rejoicing will continue throughout eternity, for only “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27) will be permitted into the Lamb’s presence. Our love for the brethren and our hope for eternity are reasons to rejoice, indeed.

 

Paul told the Philippian church they were among the reasons for his joy. “I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” (Philippians 1:7). Those who had a heart for the things of God were important to him. Therefore, “fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (2:2). “For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me” (2:18).

 

Their joy of fellowship was rooted in the love and service of Christ, as well as His sufferings, “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (3:10). So, rejoice! JDM

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August 9, 2016
The Global Flood
“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:13)

 

Among those who insist that the Flood described in Genesis cannot be actual history, two reasons stand out more than all others. First, naturalism demands a gradual development of everything over “deep time” from simple to complex. Thus, the worldwide deposit of billions of fossils could not have been rapidly buried by a global cataclysm as described in the Bible.

 

Second, those who might otherwise accept the message of the Bible are appalled by the sudden and horrific destruction of the planet by a “loving” God. Thus, the Flood must be a localized or tranquil event rather than the wrathful judgment described in Genesis. Many who embrace this kind of thinking insist that “my kind of God” could never do such a thing.

 

The first rationalization insists that “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4) and that the Bible must be understood in the light of evolutionary naturalism. The second rationalization ignores the holiness of God (Isaiah 5:16) and would also ignore the clear biblical teaching that godless rebellion brings the “wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).

 

The first deny the evidence in the earth. The second deny the evidence in the Word. The first group rejects the facts of science. The second group distorts the facts of Scripture. Both change “the truth of God into a lie” (Romans 1:25) and fall into the “way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 10, 2016 The Hand of the Lord “This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.” (Ezra 7:6)   Neither Ezra, who was a scribe, nor Nehemiah, who was apparently a butler, had been prepared by either study or experience to supervise a great construction project, rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem and the wall of the city, both of which had been destroyed many years before by the armies of Babylon. Yet God called them to these ministries and led them and protected them as they carried them out.   They were both careful, then, to give God the credit for what they had accomplished. No less than six times in Ezra and twice in Nehemiah they reminded their readers that God’s hand had been upon them as they supervised the work (see Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18-22, 31; Nehemiah 2:8, 18).   There had been many difficulties and much opposition, but as Paul would later say: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).   We also need to be careful to give God the credit for anything He enables us to accomplish in His service. Even such a great and useful Christian as the apostle Paul had to say: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).   We remember, however, that the hand of the Lord can be a chastening hand as well as a guiding and providing hand. When a certain false prophet tried “to pervert the right ways of the Lord,” Paul said: “The hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind” (Acts 13:10-11). And so it was. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). HMM

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August 11, 2016 The Behemoth “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. . . . He is the chief of the ways of God.” (Job 40:15, 19)   Whatever this animal was, it was not small! The Hebrew word has merely been transliterated rather than translated. Some Bible margins suggest that the writer of the book really meant elephant or that the Hebrew word is derived from the Egyptian term for hippopotamus.   But the description given by God Himself does not illustrate an animal that you and I would be familiar with. Look carefully at God’s narrative in Job 40:15-24. Behemoth is a land animal whose normal habitat is in wetlands. The creature is a vegetarian, with grazing habits similar to an ox. This animal is very large, with strong hips and power in the stomach muscles. When the tail moves, it is like a cedar tree. The bones are like “strong pieces of brass,” and the ribs are like “bars of iron.” Behemoth is so large and so placid a beast that a raging river or an attempt to pierce its nose does not rile it. God names behemoth the “chief of the ways of God.” This information is passed on to us by God Himself. Job needs to understand how small and insignificant he really is when compared to the majestic wild creatures on the one hand and the omniscient and omnipotent Creator on the other.   No wonder Job concludes: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). HMM III   Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 12, 2016
God Our Savior
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.” (Titus 3:4)

 

Six times in the pastoral epistles Paul refers to God (evidently meaning the Father) as our Savior (1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4). Usually, however, he and the other New Testament writers identify Jesus Christ as our Savior. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, for example). In the same fashion, Paul relates that his commission to preach the gospel came from “God our Saviour” (Titus 1:3), while elsewhere he says his commission came “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).

 

Is this a contradiction? No! In fact, references to God as our Savior should not surprise us, for it is found in numerous places in the Old Testament. (See, for example, Psalm 106:21.) Furthermore, our understanding of the Trinity insists that all three persons of the Godhead are One in God. Of course, Christ made many references to the fact that He was not acting on His own but came to do “the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). Paul himself seemed to be comfortable with this seeming overlap, for in one sentence he wrote, “God our Saviour; . . . Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 1:3-4). Such usages further confirm also that Jesus is God.

 

While Christ was the primary instrument of salvation as the perfect sacrifice for sin, God the Father is the source of all human salvation, and the application of the title Savior to Him is proper. Indeed, we derive great comfort as we see the role of all three Persons of the Godhead involved in our salvation.

 

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). JDM

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August 13, 2016 The Righteous Judge “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17)   When Abraham was interceding with God to spare Sodom if even ten “righteous” people were there, he asked: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). The Hebrew word (mishpat) refers to a formal judgment about right and wrong and is more commonly translated “judgment.”   Indeed, the divine Judge will do right and give right judgments in all things, for He “is righteous in all his ways” and “canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13).   Ever since Adam disobeyed the Word of God, however, all his descendants have been unrighteous in their ways. God’s righteous judgment has been that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).   Thus, a truly righteous Judge would not only have to consign Sodom to destructive “brimstone and fire from the LORD” (Genesis 19:24) but every one of us as well “into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15) forever.   But God, being not only the righteous Judge but also “a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19), had a plan whereby He could “declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past” and both “be just, and the justifier” of those who had been lost sinners (Romans 3:25-26). “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (8:3). Those who believe on the Son of God as their substitute and Savior are now “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:24).   So, Christ has been “made unto us . . . righteousness” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Furthermore, our loving Savior has now Himself become our righteous Judge, for “the Father . . . hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). HMM

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August 14, 2016
Questioning God
"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20)

 

Whenever one begins a question with “why,” he should realize that the answer must necessarily be theological, not scientific. Science can deal with the questions of “what” and “how,” sometimes even with “where” and “when,” but never with “why”! The “why” questions have to do with motives and purposes, even when dealing with natural phenomena. (“Why does the earth rotate on its axis?” “Why do we have mosquitoes?”) Even though we can partially explain such things by secondary causes, we finally encounter a “first cause,” and then the “why?” can be answered only by God.

 

The wise thing to do is simply to believe that He has good reasons for everything, whether we can discern them now or not. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). God the Creator “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11), and it is our high privilege simply to trust Him, not to question Him.

 

On the other hand, He often asks us: “Why?” “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Jesus asked His disciples when they thought they were in great peril (Matthew 8:26). “If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” (John 8:46), He would say to those who question His Word.

 

Then, to those who doubt His deity, the apostle Paul, speaking in His name, asks: “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8). As the popular chorus goes: “God specializes in things thought impossible!” Our God is omniscient and knows what’s best; He is omnipotent, so He can do it. He is all-loving and will surely do what's best for those who trust Him. HMM

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August 15, 2016
Bewitched
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Galatians 3:1)

 

The Greek word for “bewitched” is used only this once in the New Testament and does not necessarily refer to witchcraft as such. The connotation is “fascinated” or “deceived.” Unlike most of his other epistles, the book of Galatians includes no commendations from Paul, nor even any prayer requests. Paul evidently was very disappointed in this church and its ministry.

 

He had clearly preached the gospel to them, setting forth “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2) among them, and they had apparently believed and started out well. They seemed to understand the great doctrines of salvation by grace and of liberty in Christ, and it was hard for Paul to understand how they had been so quickly led astray.

 

If anything, this is even a greater problem today than in Paul’s day. Professing Christians are being “tossed to and fro . . . with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14)—not only with legalism (as in Galatia) but also with evolutionism, hedonism, emotionalism, materialism, and many other unscriptural heresies. Many who profess to be Christians have, like the Galatians, been “bewitched” by clever persuasion and peer pressure into such deceptions.

 

They may consider themselves especially enlightened in some way, or intellectual, or just up-to-date, but Paul would call them “foolish” just as he did the Galatians. In Christ alone—our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord—are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). As Paul concluded his letter to the Galatians: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). HMM

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August 16, 2016
The Leviathan
“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? . . . None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?” (Job 41:1, 10)

 

Leviathan was a large and fierce marine animal and may be the source for the dragon stories. God uses a whole chapter to describe this creature! It had limbs, power, and graceful proportions. It also had teeth in the “doors of his face” that were “terrible round about.” The leviathan had scales fitted so close together “that no air can come between them.”

 

We might compare the leviathan to an ichthyosaur or a mosasaur, or maybe a pliosaur. It is also possible that this enormous animal could have been a Spinosaurus. But when God speaks of “neesings” that cause “sparks of fire [to] leap out,” with smoke coming out of its nose like “a seething pot or caldron,” we get the impression that this creature was something very unusual!

 

There are, of course, many legends and stories about fire-breathing dragons of the sea and land—all of which contain references to fire that comes from the mouth or nostrils of these ancient animals. Whatever this creature may have been, God Himself uses it as an example of a real animal that Job would have known either from his own personal experience or from current accounts of active commerce that plied the waters of the ancient world.

 

It is interesting to note that Job understood the need to learn that “the beasts . . . and the fowls of the air . . . and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?” (Job 12:7-9). Perhaps God wanted him to understand something of His implacable justice and punishment. HMM III

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August 17, 2016
Ancient Civilizations
“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. . . . And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” (Genesis 10:8, 10)

 

The Bible is a book of history and has been remarkably corroborated by archaeology. There are other “bibles,” to be sure. One of the more famous is the Enuma Elish, a creation story from ancient Babylon written on seven tablets. In it the god Marduk battles the chaos goddess Tiamat and defeats her with super-weapons. Once Marduk becomes the leader of the gods, he makes heaven and Earth out of Tiamat’s body and humanity from Marduk’s blood and bone. Interestingly, Nimrod assumes the name Marduk in his own self-aggrandizing records.

 

Little wonder God identifies this place and time in history as “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5). Little wonder that God confounded the language at Babel to prevent worldwide rebellion (Genesis 11:1-9).

 

God’s purpose in telling us this history is twofold: He has set all nations in motion and controls history for His purposes (Acts 17:26) and has allowed humanity to continue, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

 

The hope of mankind lies in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:17-19). One day, all history from this cursed world will be wrapped up, and everything will function under the perfect holiness and flawless design of the Creator (Zechariah 14:9). HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.

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August 18, 2016
The Triune Universe
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)

 

The “things” God made are nothing more or less than our universe. That created reality is the only valid illustration of the triunity that expresses the nature of our Creator. Space is both invisible and at the same time the matrix in which all of our reality exists. “No man hath seen God at any time” (1 John 4:12). “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

 

Matter is the visible and tangible revelation of the existence of space. We “see” space by means of the visible phenomena of energy arranged in molecular structures that are functioning, predictably, over time as matter that we can see, feel, and use. God the Son is the Word (John 1:14) who makes it possible for us to “see” God.

 

The Holy Spirit is the “time” of the triune Godhead. It is He who brings about a relationship with God. It is the Holy Spirit who actually executes the creation of the new birth (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24). The Holy Spirit is the One who imparts the spiritual gifts of God to the believers (1 Corinthians 12:8). And just like time, all we ever “see” or “sense” about the Holy Spirit is the result of what has been done.

 

The physical universe is, in a very real sense, a trinity of trinities. In fact, tri-unity in various ways is often seen in the creation. Although no man could ever model the Godhead, God has “clearly” done this in His creation (Romans 1:20). HMM III

 

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III

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August 19, 2016
Jeremiah and Inspiration
“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jeremiah 20:9)

 

Contained within the books of the Old Testament are nearly three thousand claims to its precise trustworthiness. Over and over again, the various authors claim to be communicating the very words of God.

 

A number of such claims were recorded by Jeremiah in his book. As we see in our text, Jeremiah was somewhat discouraged with the lack of response to his ministry. But, just as he decided to refrain from passing on God’s Word to the people, he felt an inner burning, recognizing that these words were much too important to ignore. These words had come from God Himself!

 

On other occasions, he heard the words of God directly and was commanded to pass them on with precision. “Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not [literally ‘to shave,’ or ‘to lessen in effect’] a word” (Jeremiah 26:2). This straightforward teaching of verbal inspiration is applied to the written accounts, as well: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book” (Jeremiah 30:1-2).

 

This book, which throughout contains such strong condemnation of falsehood, and which was written over a period of more than two thousand years by numerous authors, yet without any contradiction between these writers, surely is the Word of the eternal, holy God. It is the information our Creator knows we need. JDM