Thursday 28 February 2019

Idolatry: What has taken the place of the Lord in our lives?

Ezekiel 8:3-18
"3 ... In these visions from God, the Spirit carried me between heaven and earth. He took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the temple. That was where an idol that stirs up God’s anger was located. There I saw the glory of Israel’s God as I did in the vision that I saw in the valley.
God said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and there in the entrance to the north gate beside the altar, I saw the idol that stirs up God’s anger.
He asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the people of Israel are doing? The people of Israel are doing very disgusting things here, things that will force me to go far away from my holy place. But you will see even more disgusting things.” ...
He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked, disgusting things that the people of Israel are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. I saw that the walls were covered with drawings of every kind of crawling creature, every kind of disgusting animal, and all the idols in the nation of Israel. 11 In front of these drawings stood 70 of Israel’s leaders. Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, was standing with the leaders. Each of them was holding an incense burner in his hand, and a cloud of incense went up.
12God asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the nation of Israel are doing in secret? Each of them is in the room where his god is, and each one of them is thinking, ‘ The Lord has abandoned this land.’13 Then he said to me, “You will see even more disgusting things that they are doing.”
14 He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s temple. Women were sitting there and crying for the god Tammuz. 15 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? You will see even more disgusting things than these.”
16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple. There at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the entrance and the altar, were about 25 men who had their backs turned to the Lord’s temple. They were facing east and worshiping the rising sun. 17 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? Isn’t it bad enough that the people of Judah have done these disgusting things that you have seen here? Yet, they also fill the land with violence and continue to provoke me even more. Look how they insult me in the worst possible way. 18 So I will take action because I’m angry, and I won’t have compassion for them or feel sorry for them. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.”
Disgusting! What we have here is idolatry - false gods taking the place of the true God, dead idols taking the place of the living God. Is this just ancient history? What about today? What has taken the place of the Lord in our lives? Idolatry was a big problem - "70 of Israel's leaders" (Ezekiel 8:11)! These men were "the leaders of the nation of Israel" (Ezekiel 8:12). We may say, "They should have known better." They did know better! Why were they were worshipping false gods "in secret" (Ezekiel 8:12)? - They knew that they were doing wrong. They were trying to hide from the Lord. They were saying to themselves - "The Lord doesn’t see me" (Ezekiel 8:12). They were telling themselves, "The Lord has abandoned this land" (Ezekiel 8:12). They were thinking, "Now, we can do whatever we like." The situation was going from bad to worse - "25 men ... had the backs turned to the Lord's temple. They were facing east and worshipping the rising sun" (Ezekiel 8:16). Going from bad to worse - Is this just the story of ancient Israel? No! It's more than that. It's the story of today's world. Are the terrifying words of Ezekiel 8:17-18 only for the idolaters of Ezekiel's day? We would be very foolish if we imagined that we could do whatever we like and still expect God to look on us with favour. This is a solemn word of judgment. We must, however, ask, "Does God have anything else to say to us?"  In Ezekiel 8:3, we read about the place "where an idol that stirs up God’s anger was located." In Ezekiel 8:4, we read something else - "There I saw the glory of Israel’s God as I did in the vision that I saw in the valley." In our day, surrounded by so much that brings dishonour to the Name of the Lord, may we, like Ezekiel, catch a glimpse of the glory of God. May God help us to keep looking to Him while many others are turning their backs on Him. May He reveal His glory to us. May we be "changed into His image with ever-increasing glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In Christ, we have the victory ...

In Christ, we have the victory: “they have conquered Satan by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:7-12).
God is calling us beyond the conflict. He is calling us on to victory.
We don’t live in a perfect world. We’re not perfect people. We wish things could be different – but they’re not! Not yet! We pray, “Your Kingdom come” – but we’re still waiting for God’s complete answer to this prayer. The Book of Revelation provides us with a vision of God’s coming Kingdom. As we await His Kingdom, the words of Habakkuk 2:3 are very helpful to us: “the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
* There is conflict with the world.
We commit ourselves to living for Jesus Christ. There are plenty of other people who don’t want to have anything to do with Him. This is something we must live with. “We do not lose heart” when we face opposition. We give thanks that “God’s mercy” has reached us, bringing to us the forgiveness of all our sins and giving to us the great privilege of being Christ’s witnesses in this sinful world (2 Corinthians 4:1).
* There is conflict within ourselves.
Though we have committed ourselves to Christ, we are deeply conscious that we do not serve Him as well as we should. Our problems do not always come from the world around us. Often, we create problems for ourselves. There is too much of self and not enough of Christ in our lives. He has given Himself for us. How much have we given ourselves to Him?
* God is calling us beyond the conflict.
“Just as I am, though tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come.”
The conflict, the doubt, the fightings, the fears – these things don’t just disappear. Satan makes sure of that! As we look to the Lord, we receive His strength. He enables to say from the heart, “I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1-2). These words take us to a ‘high’ place – but we are quickly reminded that there is also a ‘low’ place. Psalm 9:3 begins with the ominous words, “My enemies”!
Beyond those whom the Psalmist describes as “my enemies, there is another enemy – Satan! As we read Psalm 9:3-6, we must catch a glimpse of the final defeat of Satan. Here on earth, we face conflict. Our life in Christ isn’t an easy life. Satan sees to that!
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This is something we must never forget.
Revelation 12:9-10 tells us while Satan may be very powerful, he is less powerful than Christ. The victory does not belong with Satan. It belongs with Christ.
“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
How does this victory become ours? – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11).
The victory is not easily won. It was very costly for Christ. He went to the Cross to win for us the victory over Satan. Revelation 12:12 reminds us that it will be very costly for us – “the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Whatever the devil may be doing – in the world and in his attacks upon ourselves, may us learn to say from the heart, “I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1-2).

Wednesday 27 February 2019

Lord, we come to You in weakness. You come to us in power.

Lord, we come to You in weakness. You come to us in power. Our faith is weak. Your power is great. What is our faith? It is faith in Your power – the power of Your love. It’s not faith in ourselves. It’s faith in You. You are our God. We put our trust in You. May we know, in our hearts, that You are absolutely trustworthy – the God who will never fail us.

Friday 22 February 2019

There was a problem ...

"Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls ... Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words ... Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord" (Acts 15:24,32,35).
There was a problem. There needed to be a response. Whenever God's people are being "troubled" and "unsettled" by those who speak their own "words" rather than the Word of the Lord, what are we to do? We must pray that God will raise up "prophets" who will preach the Gospel and teach the Word of God, strengthening the faith of God's people and leading them into a closer walk with God.

Thursday 21 February 2019

Great things can happen ...

Great things can happen when ‘earnest prayer’ is ‘made to God by the church’ - God ‘is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think’ (Acts 12:5-7; Ephesians 3:20). Give all the glory to God.
Herod ‘did not give God the glory’. He accepted the praise of the people - ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man’. Herod’s sudden death - ‘an angel of the Lord struck him down’ - is a warning (Acts 12:22-23; Proverbs 29:1).
‘Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows that he will also reap’. ‘Walk humbly with your God’ (Galatians 6:7; Micah 6:8).

Tuesday 12 February 2019

A Welcome And A Challenge

Numbers 16:1-50
In this chapter, we read about the judgment of God upon those who sinned against Him. God is perfectly holy. He calls us to be holy. This is not to be a pretence. It is to be real. Those who came under God’s judgment claimed to be holy (Numbers 16:3). God saw what they were really like. This very challenging. It’s a reminder that we must not take God lightly: “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Alongside this, we should also remember that Christ’s hands were pierced for us. He waits to welcome all who return to Him, fleeing from “the wrath to come.”

"Theophilus" (Luke 1:3)

This name means 'lover of God.' As we read God's Word, may our love for Him grow stronger and stronger.

Tuesday 5 February 2019

Forgiveness, Instruction and Joy

"Blessed is the person whose disobedience is forgiven and whose sin is pardoned. ...

The Lord says,  “I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my eyes watch over you. ... Be glad and find joy in the Lord, you righteous people.
Sing with joy, all whose motives are decent." (Psalm 32:1,8,11).

Forgiveness, Instruction and Joy
Our joy comes from the forgiveness of our sins. Our joy grows as we feed upon the Word of the Lord and discover more of the riches of God's salvation.

How do we keep on walking in the way of the Lord?


"His feet do not slip ... They will be kept safe forever" (Psalm 37:31,28).
Our  feet are slipping. Things are getting out of control. Out of whose control? - Out of our control. Not out of God's control. He keeps us safe. He keeps our feet from slipping. 

"Wait on the Lord, and keep His way" (Psalm 37:34).
How do we keep on walking in the way of the Lord? It is the Lord who keeps us walking in His way. Before we can "keep His way", we must "wait on Him." If we are to keep on walking with the Lord, we must keep on waiting on Him. "Wait on the Lord" - This is faith. It is looking away from ourselves to the Lord. Left to our own devices, we will wander away from the way of the Lord. We are not left to our own devices. We can "wait on the Lord and renew our strength" (Isaiah 40:31). As we keep our eyes on Him, looking beyond our present situation to His eternal salvation, He will keep us walking in His way -"kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).
What an encouragement it is to know that we do not stand against our enemies on our own. The Lord is standing with us. We do not stand in our own weakness. We stand in the strength of the Lord. He is with us. Many times, we will fail Him. He will never fail us. Often, we will let Him down. He will never let us down. What does God say to us, in our weakness? – He assures us that He holds on to us with a love which is much stronger than our weak love for Him – “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). When, in our battle against strong and determined enemies, we like giving up, let’s remember this: God is faithful – and He is much stronger than Satan. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Notes on the Psalms