Meditate on God’s Word
Grounded
Bread
“He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isaiah 33:16
Buried within the body of the Lord’s Prayer is the first petition to God. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). On the surface, it represents a tangible, practical need. As one looks at the context of this request, however, it shows a dependence on God. It is an acknowledgment not only of His beneficence, but of His sovereignty. How often we run through this prayer, reciting the various phrases, as it has become so well known. How underappreciated its core is. If we would parse out each segment, it would be richer and more meaningful.
The Bible has allusions to bread. Bread-like matter appeared during the Hebrew sojourn in the wilderness. Upon request for something to eat, God, in His mercy, dispensed manna, referred to as the bread from heaven. It related this latter reference in the New Testament as an attribute of Jesus Christ.
Later in the biblical exploits of Christ, two stories related to the dispensing of bread. At first glance, one may think that it was the same story retold twice in different versions. However, Christ’s query to the disciples was a rebuff to their lack of faith. He clarified that indeed there was a miracle where there were 5,000+ individuals fed from 5 loaves of bread and 4,000+ individuals from 7 loaves of bread (Matthew 16:7-12), besides the small fish made available and likewise compounded for fair distribution.
Food plays a major role in day-to-day life. It also can be a source of potential conflict and misunderstanding. Case in point is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings chapters 6 and 7. The Syrian army laid siege to Samaria, the capital of Israel. A siege placed a hard stop on the influx and egress of all traffic, whether commercial or personal, including the supply of food. After an extended period, the inhabitants of the city were at an expected breaking point, starving and quite vulnerable. Through divine intercession and intervention, enemy soldiers fled the scene in the twilight, but unbeknownst to the city’s occupants.
However, a group of lepers, banned from contact with city and village occupants, also found themselves to be starving. They reasoned food was not in the city, but amongst the opposing force. They chanced that in their dire condition, approaching and requesting from the hostile foe would be a risk worth taking. As they approached the encampment, they found the initial soldiers dead. As they surveyed, they not only found them gone, but food abounded! They relished in their discovery and ate until reason overtook them. If discovered, their ultimate state might be worse than when first presented.
So it was when our team arrived in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We first stayed in a recreation center, as it was convenient to settle and regroup after the military transport flight. As we had left our home state in a rush, we had packed the basics, including clothes and toiletries. Most of us packed enough food for 48 hours, expecting it to be provided once we arrived. I assume others, like me, had forgotten that this was a disaster that we were reporting to, not an annual training exercise.
Sure enough, our meager provisions ran out as we “checked into” our new quarters, an abandoned hospital. At first glance, it appeared to be a typical hospital with one caveat. Because of the impending hurricane, staff abandoned the facility with some floors still having blood and excrement on them. Our priority was to find food after we settled in. We chose several for the latter duty and dispatched throughout the hospital in search of sustenance. We found a treasure trove of snacks that various employees had stashed away, including in the administrative suite. Despite our personal hunger, we, as the lepers, realized that our find was for the greater good of our team. Our collective effort stocked a room, which we henceforth designated as our pantry. There was so much food; any teammate could find what they needed.
Days later, our leaders established a cafeteria complete with a cook. Though we appreciated it, the bottomless pantry was one highlight of our stay.
God cares about our spiritual and our physical needs. He will provide in amazing ways when necessary. I trust Him to do that and invite you to trust Him as well.
Blocked
I missed it! They said this lunar eclipse would be the first of its type in 600 years and would not occur again in 600 years, and I missed it! I had all intentions of waking up and viewing it, perhaps even get a photo, but I missed it. Early morning, cold temperature, and fatigue did not make for a good viewing combination, at least for me. Along with colleagues some years ago, I witnessed a solar eclipse. A lunar eclipse is a flipped view of the same phenomenon in which the Earth casts a shadow or obscures the sun shining on the moon, blocked if you would. Both events involve the two great lights as described in Genesis 1:14-18.
That was only one disappointing highlight for the week, however.
They warned me, so I should have known better. While working on Facebook, I clicked on a link from a “trusted” friend. My “friend” later claimed someone hacked her account. In short, I ended up being blocked out of Facebook despite following their instructions for regaining access.
There was good news during that week for which I am grateful. A dear sister penned a wonderful discourse on the Holy Spirit. In it, she described the personal dwelling in the lives of believers, which occurred after Christ’s ascension (Acts 2:32,33). She used one of my favorite scriptures, “…when He the Spirit is come, He will guide you into all truth….” (John 16:13). This shows the active involvement in each of our lives that the third Person of the Godhead would relish–if we would allow Him to have the opportunity.
Indeed, the work of the Holy Spirit has been present before the beginning of time as portrayed in the Genesis creation account (Genesis 1:2), as well as vividly displayed throughout both the Old and New Testaments. There are also the unfortunate occurrences where individuals did not allow the Holy Spirit to be involved in their personal affairs and refused His counsel. A case in point is Pharaoh, the same Pharaoh mentioned in the Exodus account. The Bible points him out as having his heart hardened by God. We know, however, that God does not force the will, though He wants every individual to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3, 4). So what happened in Pharaoh’s case?
Pharaoh, as each of us, had the power of choice or free will, as ordained by God. However, he refused the truth as they presented it to him. Perhaps initially it was because of disbelief, pride, or incredulity. As the saying goes, one turn begets another. The result was a hardened heart. He had grieved the Holy Spirit; the work of the Holy Spirit was blocked.
We still have opportunities to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Recognize and respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. The Bible admonishes us not to harden our hearts and block the working of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7,8).
I would like to say that my Facebook account has been restored, but it remains blocked. A word to the wise, delete or ignore, but certainly do not click on suspicious links.
For the next major lunar eclipse, let’s catch it together next time! (Revelation 22:5).
Blood
There are memories from childhood that stay with you forever. Examples are your first pet, first school day, first kiss, pet’s death, or loved one’s death. You may even have remembrance of a particular event, whether good or bad. You may relate them to the seasons and relive the moments each year. For me, that season was summer.
As a boy growing up in the South, things triggered summer. School was out—hooray! Summer church meetings took place. The fireflies appeared at night—first, an occasional flicker that I chased to predetermine its next signal. I gathered as many as I could into the glass jar I carried. To my dismay, I never achieved the lantern effect I expected in my room later that night.
The primary indicator that summer arrived was that it got hot! It became hot enough to drain every drop of liquid from every pore of my body. This required incessant, often futile hydration with water or any available drink, popsicles, and other frozen treats. One drank from the garden hose and did not worry. Those days were carefree, at least for kids. Helmets or pads for riding bicycles or any other wheeled objects were unheard of, as bumps, bruises, cuts, and sometimes breaks became the unfortunate “normal” parts of growing older.
One such summer day, my most memorable event occurred. My family lived in Nashville for the summer, as my parents attended school. As we drove on our usual route, we stopped at the traffic light. A man walking on the sidewalk teetered and fell straight backwards and we watched with disbelief as the back of his skull burst on the sidewalk! Blood splattered, and he shook uncontrollably. Bystanders rushed to him, one cradling his head while applying pressure with a white handkerchief, which became saturated.
Why did that man fall? Was he sick, drunk, or overheated? I did not have any medical science to even parlay a guess. A man fell and broke his head, which was abnormal. Even now, I remember the scene and the aroma of the restaurant nearby. Every time we drove past the site, being our usual route, I saw the blood-soaked sidewalk; a vivid reminder of what took place, which then triggered an instant multisensory recall.
One day, as we drove past, the scene changed. I could not see the blood stain on the sidewalk! The site was unmistakable, but the blood was not there, gone—clean! As I reflected on this in the recent past, it reminded me of the spiritual correlation of blood.
The theme of blood as a redemptive source ripples through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The story is told in the Old Testament book of Leviticus that blood served as the symbolic means of cleansing the Israelites from their sins. In the sanctuary service, each station represented an attribute of Christ as Redeemer. This included blood transferred from the sinner’s animal sacrifice in progressive steps to the veil that shielded God’s presence after confession of sins. Each year on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, the sanctuary became cleansed of accumulated sins after being transferred to a scapegoat. The blood no longer remained as a silent witness of one’s sins, but gone! The sinner, the guilty sinner, stood guiltless—he was clean!
Jesus Christ today offers each one of us pardon, not based on symbolic animal blood, but on the merits of His shed blood over two thousand years ago (Hebrews 9:28; I John 4:10). The Bible says that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserve to die (Romans 6:23). But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and make us clean (1 John 1:9).
Hope
The apostle Paul uses a seamless theme throughout his discourses. Hope, he describes, is not an abstract, groundless concept based in fanciful dreams and wishes. It has grit. It has substance. It is rooted in basic Christian tenets beginning with the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord, God the Son. It is based further that Jesus has creative power and created the worlds and all their inhabitants via the spoken word.
It is based on the fact that Christ came as a baby and a lived a sinless life demonstrating our way of overcoming sin. By conquering our innate tendencies, it demonstrates the power of God in our lives. It is rooted in the fact that Christ died and rose again.
Paul culminates this concept of hope in Titus 2:13 as he further qualifies it as the blessed hope. This reference pertains to the soon return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hope is listed as one of the three anchors in 1 Corinthians 13:13 along with faith and charity. Are we looking for a new home and to be reunited with our loved ones?
This theme of hope was proclaimed even in the Old Testament by the patriarchs and prophets of that period. The psalmist admonished us in Psalm 42:8. “Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God”. Do our lives exemplify a daily connection with Christ as we experience the trials of each day?
Hope is heralded in the 1861 patriotic hymn by Julia Ward Howe “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”. How can we allow each day to resonate with this theme? How can our lives better reflect that we look expectantly for that day? Deep down we possess the knowledge of the coming of Christ. As we have entered this autumn season and look towards the weekend, pray that God will not only give you blessings for today, but ask Him also to fill your life with expectancy.
In the midst of a world falling apart there is still hope, there is still God. There is hope in God.
Testimony: Humanity’s Greatest Sermon
“Hark! The herald angels sing, Jesus the Light of the world; Glory to the newborn King, Jesus, the Light of the world. We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light, Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright, Shine all around us by day and by night, Jesus, the Light of the world.” (Elderkin, 1890)
Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 1:5).
Jesus, the Light of the world.
We’ve read this sentiment expressed in song; we’ve read it again as originally expressed in Scripture. When we read and study the Bible, there are at least three things that should occur:
• We should prayerfully read or hear the Word;
• We should understand its meaning then and now;
• We should apply that meaning to our own lives.
Let’s give particular attention to the third point—application. In fact, there are at least three applications from this story to bring out.
Jesus. The Light of the world.
The context of this beautiful phrase comes from a mixed setting of conflicting circumstances on the Sabbath day. The drama actually begins in John 8 with scene one, a woman caught in adultery and dragged before Jesus during a Bible study. After Jesus dispersed the congregants, He forgave the woman and proclaimed of Himself in verse twelve, “I am the light of the world”. He then exited one scene and immediately entered the next, beginning in chapter nine.
Here we find a man—blind from birth. He had never seen, whether it was the face of his parents or any other of God’s handiwork. He could only hear the birds sing, but could not even imagine, perhaps, their kaleidoscopic array, shapes and sizes. He could feel and hear the cool wind blow through the leaves of majestic sycamore trees and smell the beautiful fragrance of the cedars of Lebanon, but could not visualize the verdure of the green deciduous leaves in springtime or the multicolored hues in autumn. Neither could he fathom the splendid expanse of the mountains that they grew on, nor the cattle upon their thousand hills. He could bask in the warm embrace of the sun at noonday; however, he could not relish its cascading course through the skies as it showed a spectrum of colors before it finally set for the evening. He could not even see the lovely face of Jesus. To make it quite clear—the man was blind and could not see.
Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus—who sinned, this man or his parents, to which Jesus replied—neither. But then He continued and explained the purpose of the man’s lack of sight. Jesus, God the Son, had work to do.
Application 1
We often experience challenges in our lives that at first blush can be quite confusing and pointedly discouraging. We go to a multitude of people and receive a multitude of solutions. We even plead with God to reveal Himself in our period of stress.
• Sometimes our life’s situation results from sin, whether commission—doing what we ought not to do or omission—not doing what we ought to do.
• Sometimes we find ourselves in situation because of poor choices we have made or even because of presumption.
• Other times, we experience a Job-like scenario in which God didn’t bring the trial, but allowed it for our good. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
• In this man’s case and ultimately in ours, it is for the glory of God “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4).
After Jesus applied the clay to his eyes, He instructed the man to go and wash. He went, washed and came back seeing. He didn’t go seeing, thus he could not recognize who had healed him!
There are many miracles shown in the Bible; all involved an element of faith in someone present, either the one being healed or the intercessor. Some involved an action by the recipient:
• Naaman;
• The lepers of Luke 17 (v. 14, “as they went”);
• This man—came back seeing. Again, he did not go seeing; he had to be obedient in order to accomplish the task.
Application 2
• We have to cooperate with God.
• We pray for deliverance, but sometimes we have not been fully obedient.
• We suffer from many ailments, but do not follow health counsel.
• We pray for souls, but do not work.
• We pray, but do not study the Word.
• We study the Word, but do not pray.
“Character building is the work, not of a day, nor of a year, but of a lifetime. The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a lifelong struggle. Without continual effort and constant activity, there can be no advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s crown. The Christian life is a battle and a march. In this warfare there is no release; the effort must be continuous and persevering. It is by unceasing endeavor that we maintain the victory over the temptations of Satan. Christian integrity must be sought with resistless energy and maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose. No one will be borne upward without stern, persevering effort in his own behalf. All must engage in this warfare for themselves; no one else can fight our battles….”1
Jesus told His Father, “I have glorified Thee on earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4).
This brings us to our next sub-plot.
As one of Jesus’ customs was, He taught on the Sabbath day in the temple.
As their custom was, there were leaders and members of the church that came not only to listen, but were present with the intent of hindering His message and His ministry.
Application 3
As members of the body of Christ, each of us has a ministry—certain talents and personalities in order to share the message of Christ, to edify the body of Christ, and in turn to become more like Him. We read about these Holy Spirit-endowed gifts in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.
There are many people that you will encounter in life whose sole purpose appears to be to hinder your ministry. These people are even within the church. Paul speaks of wolves among the flock (Acts 20:29; Philippians 3:2). Do not get caught up in these distractions; stay in the Word! God has called each of us to present a message to a starving, dying, and sin-laden world. Don’t get sidetracked! Can’t you see the signs of the times?! The coming King is at the door! (Belden, 1886)
Jesus said in Luke 19:40, “If these keep silent, the rocks would immediately cry out!”. I am determined that I don’t want a rock crying out for me. Jesus is coming soon—stay faithful to His calling! There are souls to be saved.
Immediately after his healing, the man in the story went to work to save souls. In verse 25 he states “… one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see”.
This was a testimony!
He then turned the table on his interrogators in verse 27, “… will you also be His disciples?”
This was an invitation!
This is one of the shortest and most potent sermons in the Bible.
As Christians, we are here for many reasons, one of which is to share Jesus, the Light of the world. Shout like the Samaritan woman — “Come see a Man!” (John 4:29)
So I extend a multifaceted invitation:
• Accept the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23);
• Prayerfully study and explore Bible truths for yourself, which include the seventh-day Sabbath, as well as the visible and literal second return of Jesus Christ;
• If you previously believed and wandered off course, it is time to come home from the far country (Luke 15:13);
• Remain faithful to His calling and keep the rocks silent.
1 White, E.G. (1905) The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, pp. 451, 452.
And He Took the Cup
Recently, many around the world celebrated Easter Weekend. Some, in the week leading up to Easter, recounted the Passover, a millennia-old tradition commemorating God’s miraculous deliverance. Many Christians have recognized the Passover rituals as prefiguring and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Churches observe the Lord’s (Last) Supper regularly, during which oft-repeated Scriptures are used to signify Christ’s broken body and spilt blood.
This was Jesus’ understanding as well, as He made a final statement for the service signifying His death, though clearly missed by those in attendance. Many of us recite these references and recognize their contextual significance, but miss the second and equally important message stated.
It was a Thursday evening. Matthew 26:26-30 portrayed the fundamental elements of this period which are mirrored and expanded in Mark 14, as well as Luke 22. The gospel of John alludes to it in chapter 13 of his discourse, but makes no reference to the supper and the wine. Earlier that day, Jesus and HIs disciples gathered together in an upper room. First, the disciples took part in the foot washing service, commonly known as the ordinance of humility. Took part in is a grossly inaccurate description, as their Master served them, though they were reluctant.
There followed the actual meal in which they took bread representing Christ’s body. Verse 27 of Matthew 26 opens in quite dramatic fashion — “and He took the cup”. There is symbolism in this phrase, one that hints beyond the primary portrayal of the juice representing Christ’s spilled blood.
After they had sung a hymn, John in chapters 14-16 transcribes a powerful vesper devotional during which He built on the eternal theme of the vine, as the group meandered to the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ, then retired to a section of the garden for a season of intercessory prayer, as recorded in John 17, which not only included those present, but all of His followers to the end time.
However, as the night deepened, HIs prayer became more agonal even to the point of what some have termed hematohidrosis—the sweating of drops of blood, as He pled with his Father. John and James would have been more reticent to offer their brash, self-serving request. Matthew 26:39 describes the climactic moment of His prayer, which immediately preceded the rapid sequence of events culminating in what we know now as Good Friday. “O My Father, it it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt”. He accepted His Father’s will—He took the cup for you and for me!
September 11, 2001 changed life forever as we once knew it. For those older than 20 years old, that day lives on in infamy and the memories are myriad of that day and subsequent events. Since then, Americans commemorate that day, as they anticipate a “more perfect union” and “domestic Tranquility”. Besides this memorial, Christians worldwide have a unique and dual experience each time we take the cup and take part in the Lord’s supper. We commemorate the death of Christ and simultaneously anticipate His second coming.
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come.” 1 Corinthians 11: 16
