Jude 1:5-6 – Delayed Judgment

Jude 1:5-6
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

-Wickedness abounds more every day and many times it seems as though the wicked are receiving the Lord’s favor.  But Jude would be quick to remind us that even though God spared all of the Jews from Egyptian bondage, He still destroyed those who refused to believe in the wilderness.  At first, they appeared to slip by, but they reaped what they had sown. (Galatians 6:7)  Likewise, the rebellious angels who turned on God in Heaven await final judgment and although they have yet to be fully punished for their unbelief, they will certainly reap what they have sown.  These examples serve to frighten us, but only so that we may be motivated not to follow after them.  For any of us who still breathe, it’s not too late to turn to the Lord and put our full confidence in Him to lead our present life and to ultimately bless us with the fullness of eternal life.  Don’t follow after the flesh as the wicked have done throughout the centuries, follow after the Spirit and reap life. (Galatians 6:8)

Isaiah 28:16 – A Sure Foundation

Isaiah 28:16
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

 -A foundation is defined as “the lowest load-bearing part of a structure.”  Jesus is the “Sure Foundation” laid by God the Father upon which everything depends.  Think about that.  Moral surety is not the foundation of Christianity.  Philosophy is not the foundation of Christianity.  Religious precept is not the foundation of Christianity.  Our whole religion rises and falls on one thing- Jesus Christ.  The Bible teaches that we “can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13), but Jesus Himself warns us that “without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  To have Jesus is to have absolute certainty that your past, present, and eternity is secure; but not having Jesus means you have nothing.

Zechariah 14:3-4 – The Lord’s 2nd Coming

Zechariah 14:3-4
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

-The Lord is coming back.  He will return in power and glory and will bring judgment on everything and everyone that has not confessed Him as Savior and King (Revelation 20:11-15).  Jesus limited the expression of His Godhood during His time spent previously on Earth (Philippians 2:7), but that will not be the case in His 2nd coming.  The mountains will split at the touch of His feet (v.4).  People in the world both great and small will beg the rocks to hide them from His face (Revelation 6:16).  The wicked and unbelieving will perish from the sword which proceeds out of His mouth.  (Revelation 9:21).  The Bible teaches that “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2) because a day quickly approaches when mercy will no longer be available, and salvation will no longer be an option.  Repent now and place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late; for while it is peace and joy unspeakable to be sheltered in the hands of the loving Savior, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Romans 9:20 – Questioning vs. Asking God

Romans 9:20
20 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?

Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

-Life’s many trials bring with them hard questions; questions that can be difficult to even speak much less demand an answer. While I would strongly advise against questioning God, at the same time I would highly encourage you to take your questions to God.  God alone possesses the answers to all our questions and even in cases where He doesn’t share the answers for which we are looking, He is also the only one who can provide peace in the face of uncertainty.  The line between asking God and questioning God is small but infinitely important.  To question God is to doubt His power and ability; to ask God is to have faith that He is God, but at the same time recognize that our meager faith needs His special attention. “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

Mark 8:22-25 -Looking Unto Jesus

Mark 8:22-25
22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

-What a puzzling section of scripture.  After all of the miracles which Jesus performed in the Gospels (to say nothing of His work as Creator of everything), Jesus takes two efforts in order to fully heal this blind man.  Why?  I think the key lies in verse 25 where, after putting His hands on the blind man’s eyes, Jesus “made him look up.”  In the Greek, “made him look up” is the word “diablepó” and is similar to our modern expression “looking at something like you’ll burn a hole through it.”  We would say that to someone who was staring very intently at something and that’s exactly what Jesus expected of the blind man before He would heal him completely.  It’s not necessarily a lesson to the blind man himself, but rather a lesson to Jesus’ disciples who were standing by as well as any of us who have chosen to follow Jesus down through the ages.  Jesus’ encounter with the blind man started in verse 23 when Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of town.  That shows that the blind man made a choice to follow Jesus.  But it wasn’t until he looked at Jesus intently, that he could be granted complete clarity of vision.  So, what’s the lesson for us?  You may have heard of Jesus, you may have even made a choice to follow Jesus, but if you ever really take a good look at Jesus, it’ll change the way you see everything.

Luke 21:34 – Readiness for the Lord’s Coming

Luke 21:34
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

-In the context of Luke 21, Jesus is telling His disciples of signs that will mark the end of days.  After laying out the various future occurrences and giving analogies to which the disciples could relate, Jesus gives this very clear warning of our heart condition and where it can lead us.  This tells us a lot about who we are and how ready we will be at Jesus’ coming.  Beware, or else your heart will be weighed down with the anxieties that you face in this world and the need to drown those anxieties out.  Just as a person’s stomach feels heavy after overeating, Jesus tells us that our hearts will feel similarly heavy with anxiety and surfeiting (indulgence).  That is already a bad place to be, but the worst part is that Jesus warns that giving in to a heavy heart will cause us to not be ready for His coming.  “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching.” (Luke 12:37a)

1 Peter 3:15 – Meekness and Fear

1 Peter 3:15
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

-Be ready to tell everyone about the Lord is what this verse is saying in a nutshell.  It makes sense that we should do that with meekness, but with fear also?  The world often has trouble understanding why a loving God would need to be met with fear.  Think about the people you have the most respect for in life; a father, a grandmother, a coach.  Isn’t there often some fear wrapped up in your relationship with that person?  You fear their authority and even more than that, you fear the idea of disappointing that person who has earned your love and respect.  The fear doesn’t contradict the love, it enhances it.  When we realize that the person we fear is also the person who is looking out for us and wants us to succeed, that’s love.  When we inevitably do disappoint that person and they still care for us afterward, that’s love.  So it is with God Almighty; we should fear His power and we should fear disappointing Him, but when we realize that He’s the One who is looking out for us (Psalm 32:8) and wants us to succeed (Jeremiah 29:11), that’s love.

John 1:48-50 – You Will See Greater Things

John 1:48-50
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

-The lesson here is simple, God’s simplest actions can instill great faith, but He can always do much more. Don’t ever, even for a moment, limit God by settling for what He has already done.  Always be thankful He did it, but always look with eyes of faith for what He’ll do next.

Psalms 56:3-4 – In God We Trust

Psalms 56:3-4
3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

-Are you familiar with the expression “E pluribus unum”?  It means “one from many”, and was one of several phrases adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782 and was accepted as the unofficial motto of the United States.  Why didn’t it ever become our official motto?  With the growing fear of Communism in the 1950’s, the idea of “one from many” was seen as uncomfortably reminiscent of Communist ideals.  In 1956, Congress adopted a new official motto that stood in direct opposition to the Soviet Union’s policy of state Atheism- “In God We Trust.”  Now this phrase is officially placed on everything from license plates to money.  My point?  People may proclaim that we are no longer a Christian nation, but that choice is not ours to make; “the earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1) and “all the nations are [His] inheritance” (Psalm 82:8).  We may forget the Lord, but He has shown time and again that He is very able to make us remember.

Mark 9:23-25 – Is Anything Impossible?

Mark 9:23-25
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

-Is anything impossible with God?  Notice how the Lord refers to this devil; dumb and DEAF!  So necessary is it to obey the Lord’s command that this demon was compelled to obey His voice even though he was deaf.  This is the authority that Jesus exercises when He claims that “all things are possible to [those] that believe.”  Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can impede that authority.