Whisper Of God Ministries

Did you know that Revelation 19 is the only chapter in the New Testament that contains the word “hallelujah”? “Hallelujah” means “Praise the Lord” and is the basis for the great hymn of the church, the Hallelujah Chorus. Chapter 19 contains the word four times. The first section of this chapter is about the great wedding feast between the Bridegroom and his bride - the church. Everyone is praising God in the glorious scene. Verse 9 reads, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.” This is the fourth beatitude in the book of Revelation. Perhaps there is no greater one in the entire Bible because those who are blessed to be at this feast will spend eternity with God.

It will truly be a blessed day when the church is united to the Christ in the new creation. Matthew 5:11 says that the reward for those who endure persecution on earth for the cause of Christ will be great. Here we see that great reward. At the sight of this glorious feast John is called to “Worship God”. What follows is an interesting passage in which we have a description of Christ as he comes to bring judgment on the world. Notice in verse 13 that his name is “the Word of God”. Then in verse 16 we have another name, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. As we finish up the Bible reading for this year, I hope that you will make special note of these names for Christ. You have been reading the Word of God this year. You have been reading the God-breathed word that he has given to you. Within that Word is all you need for life, both here and for eternity. Christ is God in the flesh.

Secondly, we get the name of “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Having come through the Bible, I pray that you have seen this title in all that you have read. Even as kingdoms come and go, as years turn to decades, as men and women are born and die, the one constant has been our sovereign God. He has never changed. His promises are sure and steadfast. He can be trusted even with our very souls. The thread of his providence runs from Genesis to Revelation.

This week marks a milestone in the lives of many of you. Many who signed up to read through the Bible in a year had never done it before. I appreciate the many comments I have gotten from you about what a blessing this has been. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard – “I didn’t know that was in the Bible.” We are children of the Living God; we should be in his Word every day. For some of you, this has been an opportunity that you could not complete; however, if you read any at all, I am so proud of you. I pray that anytime you can be in the Bible, you are giving yourself an opportunity to grow in your faith. Prayer and Bible reading are the keys to becoming more Christ-like. That should be the goal of every Christian. I personally thank you for partnering with Whisper of God in 2007.

In 2008 we will again offer plans for Bible reading. I hope many of you will choose to start again and read the entire book through in 2008. I know the reward that you receive will be worth the effort. For those who felt like the pace was more than you could commit to, we are offering another plan for 2008 that will cover only 14 books – 8 Old Testament ones and 6 New Testament ones. Some days have as many as 2 chapters with other days only having 2 verses. While the pace is slower, the call in this plan is to spend more time allowing God to use his Word to invade your life, to pray and meditate on each passage. Whichever plan you choose, or if you work on another kind of reading plan, my prayer and hope for you is that you will be in God’s Word everyday. May your time spent with Him bring you joy and a newness of life. May God richly bless you all. If I do not greet you before then, I will see you at the wedding feast!

Chapter 11 in Hebrews will always be a favorite chapter for many Christians. Some have referred to it as the “Hall of Faith.” Starting with Abel, the author of Hebrews recounts a sweeping overview of the history of God’s people and those who have been faithful to him even in the face of torture and death. It is a “who’s who” of the history of the Jewish nation. It contains the names of those whom the church calls great. Who among us does not look forward to the opportunity of perhaps conversing with Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, or Isaiah? The list is so amazing to me every time I read it. It contains a murder, a prostitute, and an adulterer. Yet, even with the lives of such dysfunctional families and individuals, we still consider them heroes of the faith. Verses 39 and 40 blow me away every time I read this chapter.

Even with an Old Testament VIP list, the writer says this, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only with us would they be made perfect.”(Emphasis mine) Now I have to stop and think when I read this. Abraham talked with God, Moses met him face to face, David was a man after God’s own heart and yet I have something better? What could I have better than what these folks had? The answer is Jesus Christ. It is a true blessing to live on this side of the cross event. These warriors of the faith labored for a future hope. We can labor for a realized hope. The Holy Spirit lives in us, God dwells, not only in our midst as in the days of the Old Testament, but also in our hearts and minds. Peter puts it like this in 2 Peter 2:19, “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain.”

Are you living with more certainty than these heroes of the Old Testament? Does the fact that the Messiah came, lived, died, and rose again embolden your faith? It should. We don’t have to hope for the Messiah for he has come and sits at the right hand of the Father. In a new sense, however, we do labor for a future hope – the hope of the return of Christ to judge the earth and to bring with him the new Heaven and the new Earth. This passage teaches us that God gave to us a blessing far beyond that which he gave to the “Hall of Faith”. We have Christ. May we work for the Kingdom in light of that glorious fact that the Messiah did come. May we labor also in the knowledge that he will come again. As the early church often prayed, “Come Lord Jesus, Come.”

In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth we have in verse 5:21 the double exchange in the Christian life. This exchange is not something we earn or deserve but is a gift given to us. This verse spells out in very clear terms the gift of grace given to all who God calls through the cross. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

So what is this double exchange we read about. There are special theological terms for all this but simply put the verse teaches us that Christ took our sin upon himself at the cross. He freely and willingly accepted all the sin and punishment that was ours. Christ was sinless. He was the eternal only-begotten Son of God, the perfect God-man – wholly God and wholly man. He lived a perfect life and knew no sin. Yet, because of his great love for the elect, he willing accepted the blackness from our lives and paid the price on the cross. The eternality of the Trinity was broken apart as Christ hung on the cross and paid for every single sin I have or will commit and for your sins as well. if you are a child of God. So, we have one part of the transfer – as believers, our sins to Christ.

Yet this is only half the battle. As I heard someone once say, Christ taking our sins and paying the price for them only makes us neutral. It does not make us righteous. The other part of the transaction is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to believers. Paul calls it the “righteousness of God”. Did you ever wonder why Christ had to live all those years in perfect obedience to God? Why couldn’t he simply show up on earth, die and pay the price for our sins? You see, Christ was born and lived on this earth to show us perfect obedience, perfect righteousness. He lived in accordance with God’s will. It is his righteousness that is given to us so that we stand both blameless and righteous before our Holy God.

This is the double exchange in the Christian life. Christ takes our sin and the death that it causes and gives us his righteousness. In one sense we are saved completely by works – but it is not our work but the work of Christ in both living and dying in accordance with God’s perfect plan. The double exchange is the work of Christ as our Savior. Make sure he is your Savior today, make sure he and he alone rules and reigns in your heart. The gift of taking and the gift of giving – the double exchange – allows us to receive the ultimate gift of all, we will see God, face to face in Heaven.

I want to take you back just a couple of chapters to the reading from the other day. We are closing in on the end of the year. I hope that these teachings and the reading plan have been a blessing to you. I want you to encourage you to finish well in the hectic days of the busy season ahead of us all.

Chapter 12 contains the miraculous escape of Peter from prison. He has been jailed because of the Gospel. Herod had arrested James and had him beheaded to please the Jews. He then arrested Peter. Peter was placed in jail and handcuffed to two guards while two more stood watch outside the cell. These guards rotated about every six hours or so. Verse 5 tells us that while Peter was in jail, the early church was “earnestly praying to God for him.” The night before his public trial, and angel appeared in the cell where Peter was bound to the guards. The angel wakes up Peter and tells him to get dressed and follow him. Peter does this and they walk out right past the guards. When they come to the iron gate, it opens by itself and they walk out of the prison. Peter then finds himself alone and heads for the house of John Mark because he knew that Christians would probably be there praying for him. Peter knocks on the door and a servant girl answers and hears Peter’s voice. In her excitement, she runs back to the group praying and tells them Peter is at the door. Unfortunately, in her haste, she forgot to actually open the door and let him in. She leaves him standing in the street.

The purpose of the teaching is what follows. The response of the people who have gathered to pray for Peter is that the girl is crazy. They believed that it couldn’t be Peter; it might be an angel but not Peter. Finally, Peter is let inside after he continued to knock on the door. Verse 16 tells us that this group, who had earnestly prayed for Peter, was “astonished” when they saw him. They could not believe that he was standing in their midst.

Is your prayer life like that of this early church group? Do you pray really not believing that God will answer your prayers? This group who prayed “earnestly” prayed without expecting results. Now I will admit that this answer to prayer is a real miracle but these folks saw miracles often. I have to admit that I sometimes pray as this group did. I pray and “hope” that God will answer my prayers rather than “believe” he will do so. Now, God does not always answer our prayers in the manner we want him to answer them but his answer is always perfect and for our best interest in his plan. In the week ahead, pray expectantly. God sometimes tell us “no”, “not yet”, or sometimes he says “yes”. However, we must pray earnestly and expectantly. We should pray expectantly that he would answer in accordance with his will. Don’t be surprised when God answers your prayers.

One of the most famous Bible trivia questions has always been, “what is the shortest verse in the Bible” with the answer – John 11:35 – “Jesus wept.” The verse is part of the Lazarus story when Christ finally shows up to bring his friend back from the grave. It is a scene filled with emotion and drama. He has just told Martha that he was “the resurrection and the life.”

This story from Mark touches me in several ways. One of the most important is the fact that Jesus can identify with me when times are difficult, painful, and sorrowful. He was fully human and carried the emotional side of humanity in perfection. He was capable of being moved by circumstances. He is capable of relating to me in my times of need. He has been there. What a Savior we serve! He is not only above us so that he transcends our situations but he is also immanent with us in our times of trouble. This relationship that we can have with Jesus separates the Christian from all the other faiths. Our Savior was willing to leave his throne and toil with us in everyday life. Even more than that, he was willing to suffer and die for our sins. He freely paid the price on the cross for your sins and mine.

In the days ahead, as we all suffer with heartbreaks and pain in our lives, remember that you have a Suffering Savior. He wants to be with you in the midst of every situation you experience. Christ alone is able to not only feel our pain but also to minister to us in the midst of our suffering. Depend on him, lean on him, and trust in him. He will walk with you and indeed carry you through difficult times. But remember, the relationship must be built during the calmer times so that the foundation of faith is strong when the winds of the storms of life blow in. Lazarus, Mary and Martha had spent time building their relationship with Jesus. They knew they could turn to him in their time of need. Grow with him now so that when difficult events arise, you are already comfortable in holding the Savior’s hand.

Mark 13, Signs of the End of the Age

Be encouraged if you are up to date on your Bible reading. You have completed almost 10 months of hard work of which I am sure you see, feel and know the rewards. If you are behind, jump into the New Testament. The familiarity of the waters will be soothing to your soul. Finish well.

In Chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel, we read Jesus’ words on the signs of the end of the age. Notice several times he tells us to “watch,” “be on your guard” about the end of the age. Why? In verse 32, he says that no one but God knows when Christ will return to judge the world. Why does this chapter contain only a few signs for this monumental event? Couldn’t God just tell us when it will all end so we can better prepare for that time? After all, if we know the future, would we not be better able to prepare for it? In our individual lives, if we could see the future, we would be ready.

I don’t like surprises. My family and those I work with all know this fact about me. They have learned through the years not to “surprise” me. Yet each day in our Christian walk, God has surprises for us. Sometimes they thrill us and other times they break our heart and cause us much pain. As long as I live, I will never forget a dear friend of mine who was about to graduate from dental school. He was like a brother to me in many ways. While studying for his final exams, he went running on the beach one day. While running, he died. No one knew who he was and it was 3 days before his family could be notified. Had everyone known the future, we could have better prepared for this loss to his many friends.

God does not run his universe like that. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We could not handle knowing the future. F.W. Boreham, in one of his famous essays, tells us that God only shows us to the next curve on the windy path of life. God never shows us the long straight path where we can see the future of our way. Boreham says that God asks us go just that far with him – to the next curve, and then to the next one, and then the next one. Never do we see out too far. Why? I believe that the reason is faith. If we could know the future, we would depend on our own strength and intelligence and preparation and, we would not live by faith, depending wholly on him. That is why Christ tells us to “watch” and “be on our guard.” We should ever be prepared to walk by faith with him.

In the days ahead, don’t depend on what you believe the future to be. God holds the future in his hand and he will bring to pass whatsoever is his will. If we know that, then we can live in confidence – confidence in him and not in ourselves. King George VI said these words in a New Year’s Eve address to the British nation and it speaks to us even today. In the midst of uncertainty in his own country he said, “I said to the man at the gate of the year, ‘give me a light so that I might walk safely into the unknown.’ And he said to me, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God for it shall be to you better than the light and safer than the known.’” Living in complete trust in God is better than even a certain knowledge of the future.

The Cost of Worship
Malachi 1:7-9

As we close out our Old Testament reading for this year, we come to the book of Malachi. In this book we find some very helpful insights into worship. Worship is an interesting component of the Christian life. So often we make worship about ourselves – what type of service do we like, what type of music do we like, does the preacher make me feel good. Worship is about God. It is coming before a holy God and praising him, learning from him, giving back to him what he has allowed you to hold for a period of time. We come to worship to be in God’s presence and to be washed in his glory and grace. Worship is never about us and should always be about God. Worship varies all over the world. I remember being in the country of Jordan earlier in the year and being in a worship service. I could not understand any of the words but I could worship because it was about God and not me.

In these verses from Malachi, God rebukes the Israelites and their priest who have returned from exile because they have shown contempt for God. They have brought defiled animals into the temple for sacrifice. What God is saying is that rather than bringing the very best to him in worship, they have brought animals that have no value – blind, lame, diseased animals. They show contempt for God in how they worship and what they bring to worship.

I am reminded of this lesson often in church. You cannot worship without sacrifice. You must give God your very best. I am not just speaking of tithing or giving. I mean all of what you are and have. When you give someone a gift that has no value to you, there is no true value in the gift. God wants your very best. He wants you to offer to him something that means something to you personally. Not only is it a question of giving sacrificially in terms of money, it is a question of your heart and mind. Do you give God valuable mental time? Does your prayer life and Bible reading get relegated to the end of the day when you are simply too tired to concentrate on anything else. Do you pray when you get into bed and hope you don’t fall asleep before you finish? In church, do you worship with your heart and mind or do you spend that time planning your afternoon schedule? I ask the question of you and myself, do I give God my best or simply try to give him something to get by?

This week, look at your personal life. What part of your life do you give God? Is that part the very best you have to offer or simply what is left? Does he get the first fruits of the harvest of your life or the leftovers? Are we not glad that God has given us his very best – his only begotten son – Jesus Christ? Your salvation and mine are totally dependent of the finest of what Christ could do for us. Doesn’t God deserve for us to give back to him our very best?

God’s Care in the Face of Trials
Daniel 3
The first half of Daniel is a historic narrative of Daniel’s life and the lives of his three friends. You will remember that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken to Babylon to be trained for service in the court. In chapter 3 we have the familiar story of the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had made an image of gold and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not, the king commanded that they be thrown into the furnace that was heated seven times hotter than usual. As you know, Christ appears within the furnace with them and when they come out, their clothes don’t even smell like smoke!

The important verses I want us to look at are 3:16-18. They replied to the king that they did not need to defend themselves because God would take care of them. But notice exactly what they say – “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” What I want us to understand from this passage is what these men are saying to the king. In essence they are saying that no matter what happens to us, we serve a living God and not dead idols. They don’t know if God will spare their lives in the furnace or if they will die there. What they do know is that God will ultimately take care of them in this trial – no matter what the earthly outcome.

In life we all face many trials and difficult situations. It can involve our family, jobs, other relationships, even persecution for our faith. My prayer is that I will always have a faith in Christ that will lead me through any situation – no matter what the earthly outcome. If I can keep my eyes on Jesus, I know all will be well by his standard, not necessarily my standard. If I can keep my faith in the Living God, then I know the result of any situation is in his perfect hands. My confidence is not in the results but in the one who providentially brings the results. This week, if you are in the midst of tough times, commit your situation to God. Keep your eyes on Jesus and follow him and his Word. Then, no matter what the outcome, you know that God is in control.

Holy and Common

In Ezekiel 22:26, we have an interesting and telling verse. It says, “Her priest do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common.” As I reread that verse this week, I was caught up in the idea that this verse could certainly be talking to all of us today. We have lost the ability to distinguish between the holy and the common as well. In Biblical times, this was part of the responsibility of the priest to assist the people in knowing what was considered holy and what was not under the law. Today, pastors and teachers help us with this same problem, but we as Christians have God’s complete Word, which we are to use as a guide to help us make this distinction in our own lives.

What distinguishes holy and common? In the Old Testament we have a couple of examples of what we might consider common but are really holy. First, when Moses sees the burning bush he is told that the ground on which he is standing is “holy” ground. The other example is from David’s time. David sinfully tries to transport the ark to Jerusalem on a cart rather than having it carried by hand as commanded by God. When the oxen stumble and the cart starts to tip over, Uzzah simply puts out his hand to help steady the ark to keep it from falling onto the ground. God strikes him dead for touching the ark. What I see here are two stories telling us the same thing. Things are holy when God shows up. He is holy and he makes anywhere he is holy by his presence. Was the dirt Moses stood on holy in and of itself? No, I don’t think so. Would the ark, as the throne of God, been defiled if it had touched the ground? Again, I don’t think so. In this case it was Uzzah who was defiled in his own sinfulness.

How does all this correlate with our verse today? I believe that we loose sight of what is holy by forgetting what God has set up and the arenas in which he works. Our homes are holy because the family is an institution of God. Yet, we treat it very common in our divorce rate and crumbling relationships. The home is just one example as to where we are to train our children up in the Lord. Yet even as Christians, parents pass this responsibility on to the Sunday school or a Christian school. We treat our marriages as common. Couples just say they will divorce if they get tired or bored with their spouse. We treat sexuality as common when God created it for the marriage.

I could go on and on. What I want you to think about this week is: What in your life is holy but you treat as common? Conversely, what is common in your life but you have treated as holy? In Ezekiel, the prophet calls out the Jews about idols in their hearts. Have you elevated an idol to a holy place in your life? Repent and reprioritize your life around what the Bible tells you is holy.

Psalm 73:23-24

Yet I am always with you;
You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
And afterward you will take me into glory.

In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the sphinx’s riddle asks, “What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?” The answer of course was man. The riddle covers the span of a man’s life from crawling on all fours as a baby to walking upright as a man to old age and the assistance of a cane to walk.

As I reflect on these two verses from Psalm 73, I am reminded of this all encompassing riddle. God is with us our entire life. He is there in our infancy, when we first come to know Him. As babes in Christ, we need Him to hold our hands as we move in our new being. As the old nature has passed away and the new nature is formed, we must get used to this new walk and life in Christ. If we move too fast, we are bound to fall. We walk unsteady into life’s issues, depending on Him to steer us in the right direction by taking our hands into His hand.

As we grow in Christ, we find ourselves better able to stand but still dependent on Him. We seek His counsel; we need His wisdom as the Christian faith interacts with the culture of life. As we move from milk to solid food, we seek guidance from the Bible. Through prayer we quiet our hearts to listen to Him. He is our ever present help.

As old age over takes us, those who continue to grow in Him strive to become more Christ-like. There are few things more comforting than to watch a saint grow old in God’s ever expanding grace. The assurance of Heaven begins to cut the strings that hold us to this life. The concerns for family and friends fade in the beginning dawn of the glory to come. Old age should bring rest in God’s providential care. Glory is approaching.

God is our guide throughout all our lives. He meets us where we are. He knows what we need. He promises to take us from this alien world to His home. He is always there with you. In the week ahead, reflect on the level of your dependence on Christ. Are you trying to live that life alone? Do you come to Him only in time of need or are you daily in touch with your Saviour. If you trust completely in Him, it must be a daily walk.