Terror Of The Lord

They shall go into the holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the earth,
From the terror of the LORD
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
  --Isaiah 2:19

The fulfillment of this verse for today is found in the Revelation when the Sixth Seal is opened, or what we know as the Wrath of the Lamb. Anyone who has seen a lamb likely thinks this is some sort of opposite joke. For a lamb on its own, much like human babies, is not capable of terrorizing anything in its cute little wrath. (In a short span of time human babies will develop the terror of the cry, but that is a story for another writing.) The wrath of the Lamb might appear to be nothing to worry over except for the prophecies in Isaiah and the Revelation. It amazes us that so great is the terror of the Lord in this that people will seek the shelter of holes in the rock and the caves of the earth during a terrible earthquake.

Do not be afraid, there is no condemnation for those who believe in Jesus the Christ.

Bucky

We Need Our Redeemer

Where then is my hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Shall we have rest together in the dust?”
  -- Job 17:15-16

Job was in a bad way, having lost his children, many servants, all of his livestock, and his health. However, Job was not looking forward to some final party at the gates of Hell. In a few minutes of Job time, the man would find his hope when speaking of his living Redeemer. (Job 19:25) In the Psalms the people sang of their Redeemer:

Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.  (78:35)

Indeed when we feel down it is to the Lord our Redeemer we must turn our thoughts. We will of course need good help in this as a downward path tends to continue down without some of that assistance in turning around. A maelstrom of the mind does not reverse course except some mighty power work on it. Yes, we need our Redeemer, and as He Himself said, we can do nothing without Him. 

Praise the Lord God, the Almighty One for His Redeemer! 

Bucky

Our Guardian

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you.  2 Peter 1:12

It rumbles up from the depths of time, looking familiar, a repetition of something heard before. You could tell them the next part before they have finished the introduction. Is it the dreaded old man story? No, it is actually that lesson from the scriptures that you and I have heard many times. Peter addressed this in the beginning of his second letter in the verse we read for today. Always ready to remind us speaks to something repeated that, as Peter writes, we know already. So why do it? Of course it isn't for the moments of quiet Bible study or those times of meditation wherein it is easier to recall what we have learned already in the Word. It is for those moments when we need to be reminded most strongly that God is our guardian and watches over us constantly. 

Now, as you have a few moments to read this message, you already know that God watches over you. But then comes the time when the enemies surround you, the call to speak before the public has come, the unfamiliarity of court has you in its grasp, or maybe it is just that next doctor's appointment. Yes, it is that time of fear and trembling when all that you already know seems lost in the hairy, scary moment. That is when we need to be so familiar with that message of guardianship of our Lord God that it comes to us by the many repetitions as our faith falters before the fear. 

Did His Holy Spirit have to shout it to you that last time due to the great fear? All is well, that happens too; rejoice in His shouting ability to get that message of comfort through your fear. 

Bucky

Two For Love

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Mark 12:28

Was this scribe a peacemaker, or did he want a summary of the law? A dispute can be a noisy thing, maybe this scribe knew the quickest way to quiet them all down was to ask the wisest one there a question that had bothered him for some time. The Law is large and disputes are many. That may be one reason why we are called brothers and sisters in Christ since disputes over scripture may resemble the casual squabbling of a family. Oh, look, now we're drawn into the dispute too! Jesus quickly cut through the dispute though with two answers for one most important commandment: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. It seems so oversimple at times that we are left quiet. 

Two commandments for love, please!

Bucky

It's All About Him

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3

So, it's Friday and that means another 'Who is God?' portion from the word? No worries, it's all about Him anyway, whether I title it that way or not. Many do not want to confess their sin, others do not want to admit there is a God to receive that confession. There exist even some who would admit to sin and believe there is God, but want to be judged on their works. The longer I walk this Earth, the less I want to be judged on my works. After all, how many good works does it take to make up for those briefest of lusting thoughts? Of course we believe in Jesus and it took only the one work. But it was His work, not any of mine. So once more it is all about Him... and you and me, and all of our brothers and sisters who believe in Him. Yes, the Good Shepherd will shepherd a mighty large flock one day and forevermore!

Praise the Lord for His atoning work, and His continuing work in you and me! 

Bucky

Asking God For Wisdom This Day

He who walks with wise men will be wise,
​​But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
  -- Proverbs 13:20

Troubleshooting the power grid in town on a rainy day at 5:30 in the morning must be difficult. I see three trucks meeting down the block, so I know they are having some of that difficulty. However, it would be far more difficult if the meeting took place between a half dozen people who knew nothing about power lines, transformers, utility columns, and other necessary equipment. In a similar vein, if one wants to be wise or increase in wisdom, we first ask of the Lord and then we walk with wise persons. While hanging out with fools might provide one with some examples of what not to do, it will in time make the one less wise and even indistinguishable from the fools.

You may have read the story of the two psychologists who experimented on their son by raising him with a chimp of about the same age. They expected the chimp to become more human-like, but terminated the experiment when instead their son became more like the chimp. It is of course always a risk to pass along a story such as this one since these can turn out to be urban legends. However, it does demonstrate well that knowledge is no barrier to foolishness.

Asking God for wisdom seems like a good first step for us today!

Bucky

We Are All Like

But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
  -- Isaiah 64:6

An often used scripture, but dare we call it popular? The message of the Lord through Isaiah lays out the worst of us as a confession. And this sort of exposure of what rests like a filthy rag in all of us may not become the next popular hit song. Flattery would seem the quicker way to gain popularity. However, for all of the exposure of what we are, Isaiah also bears from the Lord great messages of hope and restoration. One might even gather from the book of Isaiah that we are the problem and the Lord has the answer for us. Wait, that could be said of the entire Bible. God has the answer, and God is the answer in Jesus the Christ.

Great is the saving grace of our Lord!

Bucky

What I Hate, That I Do

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.  Romans 7:15

Paul does not write his exact sin in this passage, nor do we need to enumerate the list when it comes around again in us. The sin was all of them in Paul, and he hated it. When I feel the need to review this passage of Paul's letter to the Romans, you can be sure that I too have gone and done what I hate. It is almost a dark comedy in which we are reborn in Christ, and then come over the years to realize more and more of the sin that lurks within us. Often that sin comes blurting out of the mouth and hurts others, and we hate that more. When will it stop? Let us ask the One in charge of our redemption! We are a work in progress, and there is no hope in us. Our great hope is in our Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ. 

Dear Lord Jesus, please cleanse us from all unrighteousness!

Bucky

Who Is God? Part 15

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:34

A two-fer this morning as we read this verse from the prophet, God wants to be known and will forgive them. This we read as not just forgiving some group of folks who lived long ago, but those of us who live right now believing in His Son. Notice how effective God's forgiveness is in that He remembers the sin no more. Have you ever forgiven and then tried to forget entirely the incident and memory of it? I have not been entirely successful in this. We do well to work on the seventy times seven times of forgiveness for this reason. Also we read today that the agnostic system which holds that God cannot be known will be abolished from the least of them to the greatest of them, by the Lord's command.

We love this day our Lord and rejoice that He wants to be known by us and forgives our every sin.

Bucky

A Private Moment of Disobedience

And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.  Genesis 11:4

So, I lift my leg up onto a chair to remove my boot and... Aaugh! Great, horrible, giant bug, black lagoon-like, alien creature, God save the Queen, Help! As my older eyes do not focus closely very well anymore, I could not at first tell that it was two grasshoppers having a private moment on my pant leg. Why they should think that was the place for their little date night, I do not know. That was last night, on to more important matters.

We often read the Tower of Babel story and think that the Lord did not want tall towers popping up everywhere, but there is a measure of disobedience in the verse for today. God had twice by this time told His humans to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. This gang of builders built to avoid being scattered over the face of the earth, which was going against exactly what God wanted to happen. A few verses later, God scatters the reluctant ones over the face of the earth and gives them some language confusion to keep them apart. A tall tower wasn't the problem, it was the purpose of the tower and their desire to not do what God had told them to do. Many years later, an apostle of our Lord Jesus would say a similar thing in telling us that to know what to do but avoid doing it, to us it is a sin. A good effort in prayer and Bible study for us is to find out just what the Lord God would have us to do!

Have a great day in the love of the Lord!

Bucky

Sent Specifically

Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.  Matthew 21:2

Did not the donkey and colt belong to someone? Will our Lord's disciples soon be arrested for theft? Apparently, the donkey and colt belonged to our Lord, and were tied there for the purpose of carrying the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem that day. The mystery of where this donkey and her colt came from will remain to us an unknown until we can ask the One who gave the orders that day. Transportation according to ancient prophecy was provided, and Jesus knew it as He made His way to Jerusalem. A couple of questions may come to mind from this. What mission will we be sent on with specific instructions that from our view may seem risky according to the Law? And what preparation for that mission was made long before we were born? 

As the disciples saw that day and we can read in our Bible, the way of the Lord Jesus has been prepared. Everything we need will be in place at just the right time. Has a mission come your way from the Lord? All that you need has been put in place for you. 

Great is the name of our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

A Constant As We Go

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.
   -- Daniel 6:26

Steadfast forever, the words about our God from a monarch of Medo-Persia, who had just observed the salvation of Daniel from a den of hungry lions. Darius was impressed, and we are as well. Comforted also are those who believe in Jesus and have the presence of our God a constant as we go in this world. Steadfast forever is the love of God our Father as we struggle against the challenges of this life. Steadfast forever is the promise of our Lord Jesus of His return and reign. Steadfast forever is God.

Love and hope to you in Christ on this Monday morning!

Bucky

Who Is God? Pt 14

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
​​For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
  -- Daniel 2:20-21

Daniel gives a wealth of characteristics of God for me to choose from today, but I think we must pay respect to God and one of the longest serving monarchs of His choosing, Queen Elizabeth II. Yesterday, one of the commentators on the news media called upon us to recall all the years of her reign. While this was likely meant to make us think of the events or the length, I found that I could not think of all the years as I had not been alive for several of those years. When I was born in what to me seems many years ago, the queen had already reigned for more than a decade. The length of her reign imparts a bit of stability to the world, I think, and we are grateful to God that it was so long. Yesterday, God gave the queen rest from her long labors. And on the same day God raised up a king.

September 8, 2022 was one of those days when history seems to pass by a bit more than usual. The ending of the reign of a queen who sat for seventy years on the throne gives one pause to consider what comes next. Of course the new king, important though he is, must come second to what God has coming for us.

Respect to our Lord God today, as He raises up kings and gives rest to Queen Elizabeth II,

Bucky

A Call For Repentance

And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts
Called for weeping and for mourning,
For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine:
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
  -- Isaiah 22:12-13

Israel was called to repent before the Lord with weeping and mourning, but from Isaiah we see that they decided to have a final feast. Would a nation really decide one and all to go to their doom with one last party? It's a disingenuous question since we know that it has happened from God's word and that it will happen again. That great army gathered at Megiddo at the end will do it the day before their destruction. The kingdom of the Antichrist will do it as the people of God leave it at God's command. We don't have to be prophets like Isaiah to know how some people will act even to that last day before their doom comes upon them. 

We thank God for one another that we have answered the call to repent from our Lord! And we pray all the more for those who have not yet let the Lord Jesus save them. 

Bucky

Wonders To Deceive

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,  and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them'.  Deuteronomy 13:1-2

It does happen and we are warned to watch for the signs and lying wonders of the enemy. Many predict the future in various ways. Those who observe weather patterns predict what it will be like in a few days. Those who write science fiction extrapolate into the future the trends they see around them, and some have remarkable accuracy. However, there comes a type we are warned of much like the Israelites were in our scripture for today, that type who would lure the believer away from the Christ. Jesus said, "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." The elect are not so discerning in their own strength of course but are saved from this deception by the Spirit of God in them. 

We are safe in the hands of the Almighty! 

Bucky

Who Is God? Part 13

"To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him."  Daniel 9:9

Daniel lived during the exile, that time of punishment forewarned many times by the prophets for Judah's sin against the Lord. And yet Daniel here emphasizes qualities of our Lord that do not always go with our view of God in the Old Testament. Daniel had every opportunity to complain of the Lord's heavy hand of justice, and yet he chose to confess the rebellion of his people. Daniel might have asked, "Why me? I've been a righteous boy." And yet he took this opportunity to proclaim that mercy and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God. Today we still get much finger shaking at us from the pulpit, but there is this good news that mercy and forgiveness belong to our Lord God! We deserve the finger shaking, but we live because of God's mercy and forgiveness that came by way of Jesus His Son. 

Thank You, Lord God, for your gift of mercy and forgiveness,

Bucky

Belief In Christ Jesus

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

It seems too simple for us in this advanced age and we yearn in the flesh for solid evidence to touch and see. Believe in Jesus? Don't we need a large rule book with a planned journey up an increasingly difficult set of tasks? What about believing those stories from that one book? Shouldn't the science of digging in the dirt have found one or more articles showing that this thing actually happened? Of course, when it comes to faith and belief, it does not necessarily change unbelief when a science such as archeology does find the ruins of a city right where the Bible says it was when a story happened there. When Jesus returns in His glory at the end, it is likely that many will still be heard to say, "I don't believe it!" For those who believe in Jesus though, we say along with John as the Revelation comes to a close: Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Great is His faithfulness! He comes soon!

Bucky