Sayre Woods Bible Church

Read and meditate on Romans 11:33-36 today:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
      How unsearchable his judgments,
      and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
      Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
      that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
      To him be the glory forever! Amen.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” God is the source, means, and goal of all things. In other words, my life is from Him. He is my creator and designer. From my fingerprints to my personality, God has uniquely crafted me for His purposes.

My life is through Him. He is sustainer of my life. In Him, I live and move and have my very being (Acts 17:28). Every breath is a gift from Him. He is also the guide and overseer of my life. Every event that happens to me passes through His hands first.

My life is to Him. My life is to be lived for God’s glory. The goal of my life should be to shine forth the character of God. To praise Him verbally. To thank Him daily. To obey Him voluntarily. To live for Him joyfully.

I do not do this so that God will “owe” me…as if to say, ”God, I’ll acknowledge and serve You if You in turn give me happiness, good health, prosperity, comfort, and eternal life.” This passage reminds us, Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? God never owes me anything. Everything I have is a gift of His grace. We don’t live for God to get things from Him, we live for God because it is our purpose and our privilege to do so. As the Westminster catechism once taught us, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Lord, may my life be a reflection of You today. Fill me with Your joy, Your strength and Your peace for my life is “from You, through You, and to You” and without You I can do nothing.

Read and meditate upon the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 today:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

These are “centering” verses for me. They get me back on track. Life gets out of control at times, confusing, overwhelming, stressful. Matthew 11 reminds me who Jesus is, what His purpose is for me, what His promise is to me.

Come to Me. Stop doing things on your own and run into My arms.

All you who are weary and burdened (heavy-laden). The invitation is open to all…all who find themselves wearied and burdened with life. Weariness comes from pursuing things that ultimately do not satisfy. Burdened-ness come from carrying things that we were never meant to carry. Our stresses in life come from running after the wrong things or carrying too much on our shoulders.

And I will give you rest. The promise of Jesus is rest. Peace. Shalom. Wholeness. Contentedness. Accepting who you are. Knowing who Jesus is. Giving up your pride. Being willing to yield. Being open to love. Receiving rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. The decision to receive Jesus must be lived out every day. The decision to yield to Jesus must be practiced in daily choices and activities. Following Jesus is a one-time decision (salvation) and a daily practice (discipleship).

For I am gentle and humble in heart. The secret to discipleship is imitating Jesus, taking on His character. Two primary character qualities of Jesus are dependence and humility. I don’t think “gentle” is the best translation of the Greek word, praus. It is more a spirit of dependence, reliance on God rather than on self (see the definition below from Vines). Jesus lived a life of rest because every moment of every day was lived in dependence on God’s strength and submission to God’s will.

And you will find rest for your souls. Rest is a gift at salvation and a daily experience in life. We receive it but must also find it by growing in our relationship to Jesus.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If the Christian life has become unbearable, then it is not the Christian life…it is the Steve-ian life. It is me trying to force Christ’s life into my agenda. Christ’s purpose for me fits well. It does not over-burden me. It does not weary me. It does not bring stress, worry, or despair. If I am experiencing these things, then I am running after the wrong thing or carrying something that God never intended me to carry. It is time to come back to Jesus and give things back over to Him.

Lord, thank You for this promise. Help me to live it out today. I want Your rest not my stress.

Here is the definition from Vine’s of the Greek word translated “gentle” or “meekness”:

Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. Thus, meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time (Isa 41:17, Luk 18:1-8). Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will (Gal 5:23).

Meditate upon Psalm 113:3-6 today:

From the rising of the sun to its going down
         The LORD’s name is to be praised. 
The LORD is high above all nations,
         His glory above the heavens.
Who is like the LORD our God,
         Who dwells on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold
         The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

Verses 5-6 have really impacted me this Christmas season. Who is like the LORD our God? He is highly exalted…far above the creation and all mankind. He holds the whole universe in the span of His hand. Yet He humbles himself. Consider that thought. God humbles Himself. He lowers Himself. He does what is necessary to take an interest in our lives, to enter our world, to know our names, to see our hearts, to count the number of hairs on our head. God cannot enter our world without lowering Himself.

I am reminded of playing games with my 3 year old, Joshua. To play a game with Joshua I have to “lower myself” to his level. I can’t expect him to play canasta or chess with me. I have to humble myself and interact with him on his level. I sacrifice my interests and desires and limit my knowledge and skill level in order to enter his world and convey value upon him.

The gap between God and us is infinitely greater than the gap between me and my son yet God humbles Himself to enter our world. How far is He willing to go? The psalmist couldn’t even imagine. God was willing to take on human flesh, take the form of a servant, be born as a helpless baby in a dung-filled stable in order to love us, convey value upon us, save us. Whoa. Who is like our God? He doesn’t expect us to reach His level (which we could never do) instead He reaches down to us. He humbles Himself…for us.

And He didn’t stop at the stable…He humbled himself further and died on the cross for us. The innocent for the guilty. The great God giving His life for the condemned sinner. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). We serve a great God. We serve a humble God. Who is like Him?

What is also amazing to me is the fact that Psalm 113 is the first psalm in the Hallel, a collection of six psalms sang every Passover. That means on the night before Jesus died He probably sang this psalm with His disciples. I am sure His disciples had no idea what they were witnessing when they sang this with Jesus. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself in order to behold the things in the heavens and in the earth? Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of these words. Immanuel. God with us.

Thank You, Lord, for humbling Yourself in order to love me!

Read and meditate on Deuteronomy 33:26-28 today.

26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.

27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’

28 So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob’s spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.

Deuteronomy 33 is Moses’ final blessing on the nation of Israel. Israel is about to enter the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership. Moses is about to die and meet God face to face. In his final words, Moses reminds the Israelites (called Jeshurun, “upright ones,” in these verses) that there is no one like God. He is majestic in power, protective of His people, and tender in His care.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. God shields us and upholds us, protects us and cares for us, uses His strength to fight for us and gives us strength so that we don’t give up the fight.

Verse 12 of this chapter gives a beautiful picture of God’s protective care for us (and is another good verse to memorize and meditate upon).

Let the beloved of the LORD rest in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between His shoulders. 

Lord, let me rest between Your shoulders today.

Read and meditate on these verses today:

The LORD said to Moses, ”Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘”The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.” ‘

“So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

This was a blessing to be pronounced on the Hebrew people. It is a prayer for God’s blessing and protection, favor and grace, special attention and peace. Basically the priests of Israel were asking God to shower His people with blessing upon blessing, grace upon grace. And God says that the speaking of this blessing on them would bring blessing from Him.

I wonder what the implications are today. We are called “priests” of God (1 Peter 2:9). By application, it would seem that we should be speaking forth blessings upon one another–verbally asking God to grant blessing, protection, favor, grace, peace upon our brothers and sisters.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up… (1 Thessalonians 5:11a). …Pray for each other that you may be healed (James 5:16b). Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29).

“That it may benefit those who listen.” Perhaps we do not speak enough blessing upon one another. It is wonderful to pray for one another in our prayer closets. But there is something powerful about verbally speaking blessing upon another person in their presence. Putting a hand on their shoulder and pronouncing God’s blessing over them. We speak it and serve as priests. They hear it and are encouraged. God hears it and promises to bless.

Lord, may I have the opportunity to bless and encourage another brother or sister in Your family today.

Read and meditate on these verses this morning:

Then the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7)

Moses asks to see God’s glory, to see the fullness of His character. God answers by passing before Moses and proclaiming His name. God’s name reveals the essence of His character. 

It is interesting that God does not proclaim His power to Moses but rather His love. He reveals who He is in relationship to mankind. In some strange way, God has tied His identity to His relationship with us.

So who is God? What is the essence of His character? He is the LORD, Yahweh, the self-existent One, the “I AM.” Gracious. Merciful. Ever patient. Abounding in goodness and faithfulness. Stretching His mercy over thousands of generations. Forgiving our sin, guilt, and rebellion against Him. But not ignoring sin or leaving it unpunished. Indeed the consequences of our sin impact not only ourselves but also in some way our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and sometimes even great great grandchildren.

In one statement God sums up His character. He is holy–hating sin and judging sin. And He is gracious–forgiving sin and pouring out mercy on us. It is actually quite a dilemma from a human standpoint. How do you simultaneously hate sin and forgive it at the same time? How do you fully judge sin but at the same time extend unlimited mercy to sinners? Only through the cross of Jesus Christ.

You will never understand the character of God unless you are willing to see the cross of Jesus Christ.

Memorize and meditate on this verse today:

“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?”  (Exodus 15:11)

This verse is from a song that the Israelites sang after God delivered them from Egypt, split the Red Sea, and destroyed the Egyptian army pursuing them.

No god created by the imagination of man can match the glorious splendor of the God who is. The best “god” that we can come up with is simply an extension of ourselves or an ambiguous “force” in the universe. But the true God is beyond our imaginations. He is “majestic in holiness”–absolutely pure in character and deed. He is “awesome in praises”–one who inspires us with His beauty, fills us with joy, and draws us in adoration. And He is a God who works wonders. He is active in the world. We can see His hand all around us–if our eyes are open.

Lord, help me to see You today. May Your wonders never cease.
 

Meditate on these verses today: 

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:13-15)

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” What is amazing is that God ties His identity to man. He is not ashamed to be linked to us. He is the God of Abraham, who showed great faith but also stumbled at times. He is the God of Isaac, who seemed to fall away later in life allowing his taste for meat (of all things) to blind him to his son Esau’s faults and put him at odds with his wife. And He is the God of Jacob, the deceiver, the supplanter, the one who manipulated his way through life until God finally crippled him.

I am reminded of Hebrews 11:16:

Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

God is not ashamed to be called our God. He knows our weaknesses and loves us despite them. He merely looks for a heart that seeks Him, that longs for Him, that recognizes its own weakness and receives His strength.

Lord, thank You that You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…and that, through Christ, You are not ashamed to be identified with me as well.