service genset jogja
Joshua 7:19

Confession Glorifies God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 19, 2013

We give glory, make God a heavyweight, in our lives by, first of all, trusting Him in all aspects of life. We not only trust Him for our destiny after death, we also glorify God when we trust Him with the choreography of our day to 19 bring glory to godday lives on earth. His sovereignty knows no bounds. He orchestrates the planets and the ants as well as every detail of our lives. Abraham trusted God and Paul says it was his faith that gave glory to God. Romans 4:20 says, “He (Abraham) did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what He (God) had promised He was also able to perform.” Confidence in God’s omnipotence and in His good intentions towards us regardless of the struggles we may be experiencing in life, gives Glory to God. He is the “heavyweight,” the important person in our lives.

There is another way to give Glory to God. The Greek word for confession is homologeo, and it means to say the same thing. Confessing means admitting that God is right about a certain behavior, conduct, or attitude that we have indulged ourselves in. We have to admit that God is right about it and that we are wrong about it. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which means to change one’s mind. So we can see that the two ideas are connected. When we change our minds about our sins, and when we admit that God is right (say the same thing) about our sins, we give glory to God.

Philip Ryken explains this very well. Let me give you his explanation. He says you can “…glorify God by confessing your sins. There was a man in the Bible who glorified God by confessing his sin. His name was Achan. He committed a sin that involved deceit, treachery, theft, and in a way, murder. When Achan’s sin was discovered, he was brought before Joshua, the leader of God’s people. What Joshua said to Achan is significant: “‘My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me’ ” (Josh. 7:19). Achan confessed his sin, and then he was taken out and executed for his crime.” Now, I realize that the story of Achan does not seem to inspire confession and repentance, but we don’t know if he and his household were granted “eternal life” after the confession and repentance. Maybe he was! Regardless, we must not miss the fact that Joshua argued that confession and repentance gives glory to God.

Tags:
Permalink
Matthew 6:34

One Day at a Time!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 16, 2013

I quoted John MacArthur yesterday who said, “We live in a day when people worry about how long they will live. That’s a harmful practice because you can worry yourself to death, but not to life.” Kathy and I was sitting on our 16 one dayswing in the front yard worrying about how long we were going to live this morning. We were talking about healthy living and how it could impact our life span. Worrying, however does nothing. Of course, it’s Jesus who gives us the truly authoritative teaching on the uselessness of worry. The translations differ on their rendering of Jesus’ question in Matthew 6:27. Some argue that the question should be “who can add one cubit to his height” (See KJV, HCSV, AV, and ASV). Some translations say it refers to the adding a minute to one’s life span. The ESV translates this questions as “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” The point is worry won’t accomplish anything of any value. Either translation makes the same point: worry won’t make you taller nor will it make you live longer!

The fountain of youth, or eternal life, is something we have all thought about and there have been times when we’ve searched for it. Back in the 16th Century, the Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon, set out to find the fountain of youth. I think he landed in Florida. If you would visit Florida today, you’d know there is no fountain of youth there! (Think about it!). But the wisest man in the world, Solomon, informs us that although there is no fountain of youth, there is something that’s really much more important. Proverbs 14:27 says, “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.” But my favorite verse talking about our longevity is in Proverbs 9:10-11. It leaves nothing to the imagination when it says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by Wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.”

One way to view “the fear of the Lord” is to understand it as faith; trusting God to do what God does best, handle all the things that our outside of our control. We know that God is sovereign when it comes to the years of our lives. No one knows when our day will come, but we do know it will come. But we also know that God has good plans for us and He has blessed us with life and truly wants us to enjoy it. The only way to do that is “one day at a time.” Jesus concludes His dissertation on worry in Matthew 6:34. There He says, “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Tags:
Permalink
Isaiah 42:12, Romans 4:20

Give God Glory?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 15, 2013

15 give gloryThe scriptures often exhort us to “give glory to God.” Isaiah 42:12 cries out for the mountains, rivers, and all inhabitants of villages, cities and everywhere else to “give glory to the Lord!” As I mentioned before, the Hebrew word for Glory is “weighty.” It means heavy or important. Is it possible for mankind to add any weight to God? Can we make Him any more important than He already is? No, of course not! But we can bring attention to His Glory to the world around us. This is, perhaps, what is meant by “give glory to God.”

There are many ways one can call attention to God’s glory, but what seems to do it best is faith. Philip Ryken says, “How can you reflect God’s glory? First, by putting your faith in him. Until you trust God, it is doubtful whether you can glorify him at all. You have to begin by admitting that you cannot save yourself, that only Jesus can save you. Once you do that, then all the glory for your salvation will return to God.” Actually, Ryken is correct, and we see that in Romans 4:20, where Paul explains how Abraham gave glory to God. This passage says that Abraham “was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Faith is not subscribing to a particular set of doctrinal beliefs. It is confidence in, trust in a personal being. In this case that being is God. We must trust God through all the joys and trials of life. That’s one way we “give Him glory.” Trusting God acknowledges His greatness and sovereignty and everyone can see that when we do it.

When a believer worries he takes glory from God. Well, at least he withholds attributing glory to God. Worry is such a worthless practice. Charles Mayo wrote, “Worry effects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I’ve never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.” MacArthur adds to this thought when he says, “We live in a day when people worry about how long they will live. That’s a harmful practice because you can worry yourself to death, but not to life.” Finally, John Piper concludes my thoughts when he says, “sometimes we just have to get tough with ourselves and say, “Soul, this fretting is absolutely useless. You are not only messing up your own day, but a lot of other people’s as well. Leave it with God and get on with your work.” We magnify the Lord; we give Glory to God, like Abraham did, when we trust Him. When we’re strong in our faith, God is glorified.

Tags: ,
Permalink
Exodus 33:20-22, Isaiah 26:3-4

The Everlasting Rock

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 14, 2013

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after having seen only the back parts of God, his face was so brilliant that Aaron and all the Israelites fled from his presence. When Paul talked about the shining face of Moses, he made it 14 cleft for meclear that the “glory” that was reflected by Moses was really the Glory of God’s standards of the Law. In 2 Corinthians 3:7, Paul writes, “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face…” It’s the failure of man to live up to God’s standard that brings such fear. That’s exactly as it is explained in Genesis. Just as Aaron and all Israel was afraid of God’s glory so too were Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:8 tells us, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

We sometimes think that Moses was the exception. After all, he was the one who God allowed to see a glimpse of His Glory. The glimpse was preceded by a solemn warning. In Exodus 33:20, God said to Moses, “… for man shall not see me and live.” Furthermore, we can’t miss the fact that it was only a glimpse and that it was preceded by God’s own protection. Verses 21 and 22 go on to described God’s provision, God’s protection from the unbearable standards of Glory that God was about to give to Moses to present to the people of Israel and to us. They tell us, “And the LORD said, ‘Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.’”

Moses life was at stake! Do you think he was afraid? I don’t! I think he was at perfect peace because he had God’s Word. God put Moses on a rock, an immovable object, that would be “cleft” in a way to protect him from the consequences that must befall every sinful man who stands in the presence of a gloriously righteous God. The scriptures make it perfectly clear that after death all of will stand before a Holy God. We need not tremble. We must stand on the Rock, rest in the cleft of it that God provides, and trust Him to cover us with His hand. This passage is the basis for our old Gospel Hymn, “The Rock of Ages.” Isaiah wrote about Him (the Rock) in Isaiah 26:3-4. He said, speaking directly to God the Rock, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” The Hebrew phrase translated in this passage as “everlasting rock,” is more literally rendered as “the Rock of Ages.” Christ is the Rock of Ages.

Tags: ,
Permalink
Exodus 34:30, Genesis 3:8, Psalms 8:5-9

Too Heavy for Me!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 13, 2013

Moses once asked to see God. God allowed him to see His “back” part only. From that vision of the back part of God, Moses face shone out with God’s glory. When Moses returned from his mountaintop encounter with God and 13 glory of godaddressed the people with God’s new given laws for life (the 10 commandments), the people could not bear to look at him. Exodus 34:30 says, “When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” This must have been a dim reminder of what Adam and Eve must have looked like while living in the Garden of Eden before the fall. They enjoyed the fellowship with God and even walked with him in the Garden. Now I understand what happened to Adam and Eve when they sinned. Just as Aaron and all Israel was afraid of God’s glory so too were they. Genesis 3:8 tells us, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

But God had always intended to share His own “heaviness” (or Glory, see yesterday’s devotion at www.chucklarsen.com) with all mankind. This was such an important truth that David wrote a song about it. The Psalmist, in Psalm 8:5-9, is talking about man in general when he sings, “Yet you (God) have made him (man) a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” If Moses reflected the glory of God from simply being exposed to the back parts of God, can you imagine with Adam and Eve must have looked like before they sinned?

What Moses looked like when he came down from God’s mountain is simply a preview of what human beings were supposed to look like all along. Remember that Moses was carrying the 10 commandments when he came down. When Aaron and the people, (they had just built two golden calves) saw Moses and the Law they saw something that was only a reflection yet was so glorious that they could not even look upon it. They ran and hid! It was too magnificent, too glorious, and too heavy.” Truly, the Law as it reflects the perfect character and nature of God makes us all run and hide, but Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He was referring to the heaviness of the Law.

Tags: , ,
Permalink
Psalms 19:1, 57:11

Is God Losing Weight?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 12, 2013

In his book, “God in the Wasteland,” David wells coins an interesting phrase describing a current condition in society with reference to the importance of God. He calls this condition, “the weightlessness of God.” This is what he 12 the glory of godsays, “It is one of the defining marks of Our Time that God is now weightless. I do not mean by this that he is ethereal but rather that he has become unimportant. He rests upon the world so inconsequentially as not to be noticeable. He has lost his saliency for human life. Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God’s existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, his commands less authoritative than their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgment no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, and his truth less compelling than the advertisers’ sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness.”

Commenting on this phrase, Philip Ryken says, “We have become children of a lightweight God.” Reading this about the “weight” of God reminded me of my Hebrew vocabulary. The word for “glory” comes from the same root as the word for “heavy.” Sometimes the word appears referring to something that’s physically heavy (Eli the priest in 1 Samuel 4:18) and sometimes it was used referring to someone who was “heavy” with material possessions. Genesis 13:2 says, “Abram had become very wealthy (actually “heavy”) in livestock and in silver and gold.” But primarily the word referred to those who deserved honor and was used for warriors, princes, merchants, priests, and of course the kings. In our vernacular today, we might call such people “heavyweights.”

The true “heavyweight” should be God. To glorify God is to recognize His grandeur, his majesty, His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, His Omnipresence. Ryken goes on to say “The Creator God is so heavy that he has left his imprint on the universe like a work boot in wet cement.” When we read the Psalms we get a glimpse of the “heaviness” of God. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 57:11 says, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” Take a moment this week and notice how great God truly must be and let’s have God get “heavier” in our lives.

Tags:
Permalink
Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30

Signed, Sealed & Delivered!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 9, 2013

The Holy Spirit plays a large role with respect to our eternal security. Paul teaches us this truth in Ephesians 1:13-14. He writes, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in 09 signed sealed deliveredhim, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Yes, through the Holy Spirit, we are signed, sealed and delivered into our inheritance and we’re just waiting for the acquisition. Eugene Peterson, in The Message, translates these two verses like this: “It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.”

As the third person of the God Head, one primary function of the Holy Spirit is our sealing. Fruchtenbaum says, “The Holy Spirit does seal, and the purpose of the sealing is to seal up the believer in Christ so that he can never fall out. The clear emphasis is that the believer has been sealed, not just temporarily, not just until he no longer believes, but has been sealed unto the day of redemption. Having been sealed, the final redemption is guaranteed. Perhaps the sealing ministry of the Spirit is the most vital one, emphasizing eternal security.” Later in Ephesians 4:30, Paul exhorts us to be responsive to the Holy Spirit in our lives, “… by whom (The Holy Spirit) you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

A. W. Tozer writes, “Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honored. Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come.” Knofel Staton adds to Tozer’s thinking. He writes, “Our future rests upon God’s faithfulness. God is always dependable, while we may not be at times. While the Corinthians were not being trustworthy, God kept His trustworthiness. When we face setbacks, God is faithful. When we face guilt, God is faithful. When the bank account goes, God is faithful. When a loved one dies, God is faithful. When we know we have been faithless, God is faithful.”

Tags:
Permalink
Matthew 12:41-42

Jesus is the Greatest!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 31, 2013

Those of my generation remember Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) being frequently quoted as saying “I am the greatest.” It makes me think of a joke about him. He boarded a plane to the Philippines to the “thriller in manila” 31 jesuswhere he fought Smokin’ Joe Frazer for the third and last time. The stewardess came through the first class section and told all passengers to fasten their seat belts to which Ali responded, “Superman don’t need no seat belt!” To which the stewardess answered “Superman don’t need no airplane!” Ali fastened his seat belt.

The scriptures are absolutely clear about who is the greatest. In Matthew 12:41-42, Jesus referred to himself as being “a superior thing” to Jonah and Solomon. Morey says, “One reason why the Jews became so enraged with Jesus is that He claimed to be greater than the most important people and places in Judaism. Jesus was greater than the Patriarchs, such as Abraham and Jacob (John 8:53; 4:12). He was greater than the prophets, such as Jonah (Matt. 12:41). He was greater than the Kings, such as Solomon (Matt. 12:42). He was greater than Moses (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). He was even greater than the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28).” The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was even greater than all the angels. But the greatest claim Jesus made might be the one recorded in Matthew 12:6. After being accused of violating the law of the Sabbath and desecrating the temple, Jesus said, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.” The Jews clearly saw the logical implications of such claims. The only One who was “greater” than all these things was God Himself. Therefore, Jesus was claiming to be God. That is why they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy (John 8:52–59).

I love to be greeted by smiling people! People who don’t smile have a negative effect on everyone around them. Decker says, “Your smile even affects you. It lifts your spirits. It generates more energy. You feel the smile throughout your whole body…You will find that good gestures and a smile will free you to share your thoughts fully. You will find a ready audience, because when you smile, the world smiles with you. Your gestures show openness that people find inviting…A warm smile and kinetic gestures go a long way to demonstrating the bold assurance God has given you through his Word. Please smile and say “Jesus is the Greatest.” It makes little sense to tell people that Jesus is the greatest man who ever lived, that he offers the greatest gift ever given, and that this is the best news they have ever heard and to do it without a smile.

Tags:
Permalink
sewa motor jogja
© Chuck Larsen 2019. Powered by WordPress.