His Faithfulness

Beginning to read through Deuteronomy, I noticed the frequent verses and examples of God's

faithfulness to the Israelites and His covenants with them. His promise was spoken in verses such as this one: 

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them (Deuteronomy 4:31, ESV).

And Yahweh demonstrated His faithfulness in these ways, places, times, and manners:

The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen ho wthe Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you ame to this place (Deuteronomy 1:30-31, ESV).

For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing (Deut.2:7, ESV).

...the Lord your God...went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you what way you should go (Deut.1:33, ESV).

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? (Deut.4:7, ESV).

But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day (Deut.4:20, ESV).

His faithfulness was proven to His people over and over again. Yet, when they went astray and worshiped false idols, it was because they did not keep His promises in the forefront of their minds. Forgetting God's covenants leads to false worship.

Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another tation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. (Deut.4:33-35, ESV)

January Quotes

To surrender a precious dream is a fearful thing, but to pursue anything but the full measure of the glory of God’s love is a wasted life.

-Joshua Eddy

Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because He holds tightly to us.

-R.C. Sproul

Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.

-C.S. Lewis

It is not the mouth that is the main thing to be looked at in prayer, but whether the heart is so full of affection and earnestness in prayer with God, that it is impossible to express their sense and desire; for then a man desires indeed, when his desires are so strong, many, and mighty, that all the words, tears, and groans that can come from the heart, cannot utter them.

-John Bunyan

The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. 

-Francis Chan

There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.

-Hudson Taylor

Don’t you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought and spring and summer follow winter? Then have hope! Hope forever, for God will not fail you!

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Too often we pay so much attention to what we need to do that we totally neglect the extent to which we are entirely dependent on the Spirit to do what we cannot do. 

-Jerry Bridges

Right now if this preacher died he would go to heaven. Not because I spent years in the jungles and the Andes Mountains of Peru. Not because of piety, devotion or Bible study. Not because of denominational affiliation, baptism, or participation in the Lord’s supper. If I died right now, I would go to heaven because two thousand years ago the Son of God shed His blood for this wretched man. And that is my hope.

-Paul Washer

Pondering Words

In beginning a six-month plan through the Bible, I once again read through Genesis. As we're
introduced to Joseph, his brothers, and his father, we begin to understand the family dynamics a bit more as the chapters progress. Brothers are jealous, father has favorites, and Joseph is considered "strange" by his family. Genesis 37 is the chapter in which Joseph is introduced and he reveals the dreams that he's been having to his family. Whether or not this was a good course of action is somewhat debated, though I tend to think it was rather unwise. However, we note the responses of his father and brothers. His brothers are indignant and angry that he would have dreams that demonstrate him ruling over them, and his father follows in a similar response in rebuking his son. But afterwards, one verse is given to us:

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. (Genesis 37:11)

While Joseph's brothers were immediately angry and judgmental of their younger brother, Joseph's father initially rebukes him, and yet he seems to ponder the words of his son. We don't know whether or not Joseph knew his father was thinking about his dreams or not, but the Bible tells us that he was. Jacob himself had had many encounters with God; perhaps the most memorable being that he wrestled with God himself and the Lord put his hip out of joint in the end. With Jacob's past history of visions and meetings with God, perhaps he had more reverence for such things in his son.

This verse reminded me of another person who pondered things in her mind, as well. Mary, the mother of Jesus, also initially rebuked her Son when He remained behind at the temple in Jerusalem after the Passover. Searching for three days, His parents grew anxious, and finally found Him questioning and listening to the Jewish rulers. Jesus responds by questioning them as to why they were looking for Him, seeing as He was doing His Father's business in His Father's house. They did not understand His words at the time, but we're told that...

...his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)

Again, another parent hears the words of their child and ponders the meaning. While Jacob and Mary may seem to have little in common, they both come to realize the profound impact of their children's words later on in life. Perhaps they both regretted rebuking them, or perhaps they simply came to a greater knowledge of God through their life story. But I am certain that later on, they understood the bigger picture of a boy with dreams and another boy who followed an unseen Father's commands. Perhaps it's meant as a lesson for us, too. Don't rebuke another hastily when you don't understand. A good lesson for us as humans are naturally quick to speak and slow to listen.