06/25/2019
Do you trust in the Word of God? Do you believe in it as the rock that you can stand atop forever? From your perch there are you able to see all that He has created, and marvel in amazement at His magnificence, truth, goodness, and love? Do you feel the conviction, dread the wrath, hear the hammer fall on Calvary, and thrill in the grace flowing forth from the risen Christ? This is what the Bible declares to us, and this is our taste of relationship... of God Himself.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Isaiah 40:8 ESV
There are scant few things in life that can stand the test of time, but those that do have all been given us by God. His Word is the ultimate example of what can stand this test, and in doing so it reassures us, comforts us, and provides for us as we travel our way towards eternity with Him. Listen as Peter quotes again for us this lasting power of God’s Word; our Bible verse selected today from Isaiah...
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
1 Peter 1:22-25 ESV
In today’s society we tend to turn to computers whenever we have questions. If we wonder about how far it is from where we are to a particular street in a distant city we pull out our smart phone and ask it, and if we need to know how to get there, or how long it will take us, we ask our phone as well. We seem to think that these devices are infallible, but they are not... this is merely an encyclopedia of the knowledge and wisdom of man. On the other hand, God speaks to us in a much different, and perfect way...
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 ESV
Man has been trying to catalog his wisdom for centuries. Every time we think we have a truth we write it down, memorize it, or in some other way attempt to preserve it, but try as we might we always fall short of God’s wisdom, His knowledge, and what is conveyed to us through His Holy Word. We think that if we understand the world about us then we will either understand God Himself, disprove Him, or become gods ourselves. In this way we are attempting to make a name for ourselves.
“Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."”
Genesis 11:4 ESV
Yet in truth, if we read the Bible, and trust in the Holy Word of God, then we will have come to the realization that the world is not God, but simply His creation, and that what His Word is speaking to us of goes way beyond how to live in his creation... God’s Word is meant to teach us how to be in relationship with Him. The Bible is not a catalog of life’s facts, although it helps us in this regard, it is much more than that; it is a description of how to know and love God Himself.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 ESV
So where do we turn for truth? Do we look to our own devices, like the smart phone, which is ever changing, constantly being updated, and simply contains an accumulation of what man has come to know, or do we take hold of the Holy and unchanging Word of God? Do we seek to become gods ourselves, or to worship the one true God?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Word that does much more than simply tell us of you, but is you. The Words we read are of your substance, and the space between them is the binding love of your Spirit. Thank you Father for revealing yourself to us as we study this, your Word, and for teaching us that you are not just in the Word, but are the Word, and that your Love is woven between every letter and syllable. Help us to keep our eyes focused on you, and to allow your Holy Word to come alive within us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who reveals Yourself in Love and Word. Great are you who does more than just tell us of yourself, but who brings yourself by Word and Love alive in us, and who abides within us with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Merciful are you Father, and your glory abounds forevermore by your unwarranted mercy and grace.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8 ESV
Rich Forbes