Unsearchable

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! Romans 11:33

We hardly understand the term unsearchable in our time with so much knowledge available to us via the search engines of the Internet. Yet the depths Paul writes of here to the Romans remain quite unsearchable to us. A few clicks can bring to us sermons upon sermons and books almost beyond counting, but those depths are beyond our reach still. Then, each of us naturally wants to compare such infinite wisdom or knowledge with our own. It will not take long to come up against the limits of these things we possess! We have a wonderful capability to learn, and have also come to those times when we did not learn a lesson the first time and stumbled into the same failure. However, this Being of such a wealth of wisdom and knowledge, loves you and me so much that He died to save us from our sin.

His ways are a mystery to me and you, but we love Him too!

Bucky

My Opinion Won't Save Me?

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

God had told Adam that in the day that he eats of one special tree, he would certainly die. Later Adam and Eve would say, "Other than that, what's wrong with it?" And then a serpent would give a contrary opinion. It is ironic that since the fall in the garden, we tend to fall for the first thing we hear about something and give less weight to the second. Adam and Eve went more for the second one because in their opinion what God had said of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil just didn't seem like such a big thing. Their opinion did quite the opposite of saving them. 

My opinion of a sin will not save me either. If I look at one particular form of sin and give the excuse that it doesn't hurt anyone and therefore it should not be a condemning sort of thing, that does not make it so. When I stand before the Judge at the end with my little sin in hand, the angels will likely not send a representative to speak in my defense. "He didn't think that one was so bad, your Honor, it should be okay, right?" Nope, not gonna happen. Salvation it seems is not dependent upon my opinion of a sin. However, the Lord gave to us a strange sort of gift: Salvation comes by way of Jesus the Christ, who paid for all those sins we may take rather lightly. 

Therefore, in place of holding up a chart of the Law and offering our opinions on each one, we simply come to the Savior, say that we are sorry for our sin, and ask to be saved by Him! 

Love to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

The Word Of The Lord

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Genesis 15:1

Your name and mine may not be Abram, but the Lord gives to you and me promises like unto this one in our verse for today. The Word of the Lord came to this man in a vision. No reason is given for why Abram was afraid, and yet the message begins with the same command as most meetings with the Word seem to start with: do not be afraid. Apparently it was the strangeness and awesomeness of this sudden meeting that beget the fear in Abram. And so, the first thing this Word must get past is the fear in Abram. We can relate to that, for like Abram we live in a time when fear comes easily to us. And then that promise, protection and reward. "I am," the Word states, "your shield , your exceedingly great reward." Not just any reward, but an exceedingly great reward!

One might wonder why I have capitalized what the Bible does not in this verse. The Word of the Lord gives to Abram a promise that begins with 'I am', telling me that this word was a person speaking to Abram in a vision, and since only One can make a promise such as this and keep it for all time, then this must be the Lord Himself. The same one John said in his gospel was the Word made flesh, Jesus.

You and I are under the protection of the Lord, He is our shield!

Bucky

Who Is God? #3

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”  Genesis 1:6

We have already noted that God is the Creator, but here we take just one example of God being the One whose word makes astounding things happen. How did God create the heavens and the earth? He said it. It sounds more musical to our ears when we say, God gave the word, but God's creating things into existence came by His word and He said it! The account of the Creation appears so simplified when we look around at what works together and study the intricate parts of what is. And yet there is the One who gives His word and causes mighty things to happen. It is a comfort to know that God, with His powerful word, loves us! 

Have a blessed day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

The Earth To The Rescue

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Revelation 12:16

It's a water attack from the mouth of that old serpent, but it's the earth to the rescue in our passage for today. In the famous Left Behind series published a few years ago, the flood is an army and the earth opens up as we fear in nightmares to swallow the armored columns of the evil one. That would be a figurative interpretation. A more literal reading would say this is a flood of water that comes forth to drown this woman, who we believe represents Israel. Perhaps the serpent spews the water literally too, or maybe he blows up a dam upstream from the woman's refuge in the wilderness. In either case, the earth helps the woman and the flood does not hit the target. Does a literal giant crack open in the earth, or is it simply so dry that the flood is soaked up? It will be something to behold either way. 

The Lord's revelation brings a lot of questions with it. What a great opportunity to ask Him for understanding! 

Bucky

What Comes Out Of

And suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you! Job 1:19

After three days of triple digit temps, we have enjoyed the cool mornings of the last two days. Should we then thank God more for these two cooler days than the former? Did Job thank the Lord for the house blown down and the killing of his children? Probably not. Unless... maybe the man later thanked God for what lessons the Lord brought out of the tribulation he endured. While we may not yet be in a place to thank God for the tribulation itself, we do see a purpose in our tribulations by the example of what is called the great tribulation. In Revelation 7 we see John meeting the multitude which no one could number from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. The elder tells John that these are ones who came out of the great tribulation, meaning they had to endure it before coming to their time before God in Heaven and giving the Lord their gratitude.

Rejoicing with you in what comes out of our tribulations. Praise God our Father!

Bucky

God Had Made A Promise

And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Genesis 21:17

Fear not, the angel told Hagar as she lay despairing in the wilderness, far enough away to not hear the cries of her child. For her part, Hagar thought that the empty water skin was a sign of the end of her life. The despair was likely fed by the rejection of her former mistress, Sarah, and her loneliness, and as she thought, her imminent demise far from any help. It is a bit humorous to note the angel's first words, "What ails you, Hagar?" As in nothing but her perception of the circumstance was the woman's only ailment. We too often look at the circumstance, multiply it by an imaginary future anxiety, and come up with an answer of despair. In but a moment or two in the scriptures, God opened Hagar's eyes and she was laying quite close to a well. We too often despair when our salvation is but a moment or two away. And yes, our Lord Jesus has made a promise to come back and get us.

Trust in Him!

Bucky

Who Is God? #2

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

Friday has come once more, and the question remains before us. Who is God? His word being a great place to start and the beginning of His word appearing logical to one such as me, we continue in Genesis 1. Today, God has already seen that His work is good six times, now we come to the end of the one chapter of the Creation and God sees that His work is very good. What can we learn from this? Looking up the Hebrew word used as 'good' here shows a word used in several English translations. Good is by far the most, but goodly, goodness, fair, well, better, best, and even merry are all used at places in the word of God. We use the context to see a person we know as God being happy with His work by His evaluation of it along the way. We can see that God enjoyed the process of creating and that it was a merry time, six times better and at the end the best. When was it the best? Just after man was in this new creation and given dominion.

And a very good time was had by all!

Bucky

One Slap, One Answer

Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” John 18:23

At some places during His trial, the Lord Jesus was silent before His accusers. John recalls some times that Jesus spoke though, and one such was in response to the officer of the Jews during the trial before Annas. After our Lord's response to a question, the officer struck Jesus with the palm of his hand. Much worse would be done to Jesus as we know from the gospels, but as a believer in the Son of God we might well gasp in surprise that anyone would do such a thing. Jesus, always ready to teach, took this moment to ask the officer our verse for today.

The first part of our Lord's response is a challenge to the officer. If I have spoken evil - tell the court, tell everyone - bear witness. Of course Jesus did not speak evil, and so the second part ended in the question, why did you do that? Though on trial for His life, Jesus took the time to instruct this man. It comes again in the life of the sinner even today. One of the more powerful incentives to repent is to be asked by the Lord's Spirit just after the committing of the sin, "Why did you do that?" Like the officer, we probably don't have a good answer, and then confession and repentance follow for those who will believe. I like to think the officer did that and came to follow Jesus, but scripture is silent on that.

Great is the teaching of our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Today Is His Day, And That Is Good Enough For Me

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

Jesus said it, but do we do it? Obedience of our Lord's words is of paramount importance to us. The key in obedience here comes in worry; that simple word with the big feet stomping through the garden of our peace. Reminding oneself of an appointment tomorrow is not worrying, but imagining a dire conversation with an imaginary doctor...best to confess that to the Lord and rest in Him. Worry, anxiety, dread, and many other words come rooted in fear. All of them cause bad things to happen in the body and can be contagious to our neighbors. And as we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we need to bring our worries (yes, often plural) to the Lord and receive His peace. A good confession to the Lord our Savior is, "Lord Jesus, I am scared of this thing." Bring that burden to Him!

Tomorrow is a frightening place. Today is His day, and that is good enough for me!

Bucky

Unloved

When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. Genesis 29:31

Not unloved by God of course, but unloved by her husband, who as we know from the famous tale, wanted her sister for his wife. It is not uncommon to this day that a marriage might have some underlying stress involved. Jacob, we read in our verse for today, was doing his duty to Leah as husband, but his heart was still cold toward her. The Lord had a different plan though and for all Jacob's efforts with the sister, Rachel, nothing was going on after the fact if you will. Leah, with the Lord's favor going on in her inner parts, brought forth the first four of the twelve tribes of Israel, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

For us today, our heart may be cold toward someone near us, and the Lord our God may have a marvelous plan at work in that very person. So, love your neighbor as yourself, as our Lord said.

Bucky

Who Is God?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Moses is thought to have written the Pentateuch, and obviously he was not around when that first verse happened. Moses came along well down the line after Adam and Abraham and Joseph. Reading down a little bit in that first chapter, the Bible itself shows that humans were not created until the sixth day. So from the very beginning, the Word of the Lord God requires faith. No ultimate ancestor was there to record that first day. God even asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?" (Job 38:4). We know that Job has no answer, and neither do we. However, we by faith learn one important thing in this verse. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth.

Right at the first, the test of faith is upon us. Believe in Him!

Bucky

A Certain Wedding Garment

So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. Matthew 22:10

A king held a wedding and many were not willing to come. However, at the end there is this gathering of apparently homeless people, both bad and good, from the highways. The wedding hall is filled with guests and the king comes in, only to find one not in wedding clothes. Though the parable does not specifically say it, we understand that these vagrants must have been given a certain wedding garment. This other one, with no wedding garment must therefore have snuck in somehow; he crashed the party. However, without that certain garment, he stands out to the king in the worst way and is tossed out to a place none would want to go. It has this weeping and teeth gnashing thing going on, and it is dark. So, the moral of the story, other than not refusing the invitation of the king of course, is that at this wedding we must have the right clothing? Yes, it seems that in the story this garment is something special...and it is given, not earned.

It sounds like the sort of garment only our Lord can give. Be the guest, wear the garment, rejoice in Christ Jesus the bridegroom.

Bucky

The Sheer Impossibility Of It

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  John 3:3

Nicodemus, the Teacher of Israel, met with a question he could not answer. How can a man be born a second time? Imagine a little historical perspective to get where Nicodemus had to go. The Pilgrims arrive at Cape Cod in the New World and try to step ashore, only to be met a little early by Squanto who tells them,

"No, you cannot become Americans that way, you must be born again."

The Pilgrims would have known the reference, but they would have no more idea than you or I how to be physically reborn in this world.

"Surely the gentleman of the Americas doth not mean for us to becometh infants again, doth he, Mister Bradford?" 

The challenge of rebirth in order to see the kingdom of God hath, whoops, has not in about 2,000 years become possible for man alone to overcome. Jesus, thankfully, went on to comfort Nicodemus with His plan for salvation involving rebirth in the Spirit. And just as we were kind of along for the ride in the first birth, so we are also beneficiaries of the second birth by no effort of our own. 

Love again in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

The Way For Us

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Many of you will have this verse for today memorized, and it is a good one to have ready to encourage each other at all times. 

On our final journey, we have a promise from the Lord and it does not involve a hole in the ground. How sad it would be to dig a hole in the earth of a certain depth and then stand by it and remark, "Well, there's my final destination." We count on the promises of Christ to be far better than that! While those left behind may store my remains in such a hole, I plan on being with my Lord Jesus in a far better place. And I'm sure that you do also. We are not looking for up or down, west or east, but for a way to come to the Father, our Father in Heaven. And a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief has presented Himself as the way to our Father. We go through Him!

It just seems too simple sometimes,

Bucky

Giving Way To Morning

Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD.
  -- Psalm 31:24

As the night gives way to morning, so our fears in the darkness melt away and give rise to a new hope. Many, perhaps all, of us have felt the discomfort of an anxious bed. Sleep seems overwhelmed by fears that threaten but never come to pass. If you recognize the voice of experience there, I'm with you, friend. Last night was a good night's sleep for me, but I have known the anxious bed too. At all times we need the courage brought to us by hope in the Lord. It is often thus that we must take that first step of faith; placing our hope in the Lord, and then the strengthening comes from Him. 

Be of good courage!

Bucky

The Rejoicing Encouragement Brings

When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. Acts 15:31

I know that it is tough for you in your suffering. Know that you are not alone in this and that the saints pray for you at all hours of the day.

Encouragement, such a difficult thing to quantify and yet we know when our courage tank is a bit low. Imagine awaiting a letter from the home church in Jerusalem and expecting a literary whipping, but, lo and behold, the letter comes with words that refresh your soul and ease the pain of your struggles. And so the people of the church in Antioch in Syria felt the encouragement from their fellow saints.

Encouragement is one of our most important jobs in the church as communicators. Minister from the pulpit, sing on the stage, or write in a less visible place, each of us who have taken up the mantle of communication in the church must send encouragement. You may have grown up in a church where there was no doubt that you were a sinner, but the saint part of salvation did not get quite the same airtime. I am glad to call you brother and sister in Christ! I have struggled with the same sense of guilt and shame from those days. Beware though! For on the other hand we have ministries today that call no one sinner. Better to understand that all of us are born sinners and all have the opportunity to become born-again saints. When repentance is made, and the salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus has come, for the love of our Lord, stop calling yourself sinner! Welcome to the kingdom, saint, be baptized in the Spirit of our Lord Jesus!

Love and grace to you in the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

A Time Of Suffering

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.  Hebrews 10:32

Sufferings, a great struggle, I don't have to ask whether you want another with this one. We all want the rich times, the peaceful times, struggle even sounds bad when we say it. This past week or so, I am gaining some wisdom in a time of struggle. Yesterday I tried to force the time to end by going to work, and it was not long before I was sent back home again. It seems that this struggle may be more protracted than I would like.  What I like in this verse is of course the order of things. These people were illuminated, made free of their former darkness, a time to rejoice a bit, but not before a great struggle with sufferings. And the suffering is plural too! After all, whoever said that the enemy would assault us with just one thing? It wasn't so for Job, and we too may endure a multi-pronged assault. In Christ though we have this: we will come out the other side of this time. 

Comfort and joy to your heart from our Lord Jesus Christ,

Bucky