The Lord is a Jealous God

Then Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins. (Joshua 24:19)(NLT)


When we speak of jealousy among human beings, we normally consider it a vice. However, the Bible clearly describes God--who is perfectly good--as jealous. How can a good God be jealous? The answer is that God's jealousy stems from his covenant love. He has specially chosen his people and loves them so much that he is jealous when they are unfaithful to him. Unlike human jealousy, God's jealousy is not selfish. God created us to enjoy his fellowship, and he knows that our unfaithfulness will only hurt us in the end. Meditate on the ways God's jealous love keeps us from disaster.


HOLY GOD, we praise  you for your jealous love. Despite our unworthiness, you have chosen us as your people. Fill us with your Spirit so that we may serve you wholeheartedly. Help us to sever any loyalties that draw our attention away from you. Amen.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible--Tyndale House)

Ready in Season

"Be ready in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2)


Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to "be ready" only "out of season." The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, "Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season." In other words, we should "be ready" whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we fell inspired or not.

One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, "Now that I've experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God." No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has give you.

The Lord Alone is God

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (Deut. 6:4-5)(NLT)

Verse 4 describes the Lord as the only God of the Israelites. To know the one true God was essential for a people who were surrounded by a plethora of rival deities. We face similar challenges today as we hear the competing claims of false gods who bid for our loyalty. We may rejoice, however, that we have a personal relationship with the one true God through his Son, Jesus Christ.

O LORD, we humbly bow at your feet and worship you, for you alone are God. Although we have chosen to follow you, we confess that we are often lured away by many other gods of this world. Help us to remain faithful to you, Lord, refusing to bow before these other gods. For truly you alone are worthy of worship and praise. Amen.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible--Tyndale House)

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The writer of this hymn made it difficult to miss his confession of spiritual weakness. Robert Robinson (1735-1790) knew all too well the difficulty of faithfully walking with Christ and was quick to give the credit to the Lord alone for the times he remained "fixed in the name." As a young man, Robinson was converted to Christ by the passionate preaching of George Whitefield. Despite entering the ministry, however, Robinson eventually lapsed into sin and questionable doctrinal positions. Some contemporaries believe that he later regretted this separation from Christ and longed to return to the former closeness he had felt in his earlier days.

As you reflect on these lyrics, be reminded that it is Christ's work and not ours that draws us and keeps us near him. Thank God for his steadfast pursuit of us, though we are prone to wander away from him.

Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above;

Praise his name--I'm fixed upon it--name of God's redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I've come;

And I hope by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger, bought me with his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible published by Tyndale House)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Altars and memorials are mentioned frequently throughout the Old Testament. These objects were significant in Israelite worship, for they were tangible and often imposing reminders of what God had accomplished for his people. They served as a testimony to later generations, who would see the memorial and learn about God's everlasting covenant with his people.

"Great Is Thy Faithfulness" can rightly be called a memorial in song, for it too reminds us of God's greatness--the constancy of his character, his everlasting goodness, and his mastery over the universe. As you read Thomas Chisholm's words, reflect on God's faithfulness to us.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with thee;

Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not;

As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

(chorus)

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed thy hand hath provided--

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible by Tyndale House)

Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?

"Do you also want to go away?" (John 6:67)


What a penetrating question! Our Lord's words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, "Do you also want to go away?" We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In verse 70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: "Do you also want to go away?"

The Lord Stands By Us

No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. (Joshua 1:5)(NLT)

As Joshua stood at the threshold of the Promised Land, God spoke to him: "I will not fail you or abandon you" (Joshua 1:5). Like a steadfast friend and a faithful father, the Lord promised to stand by Joshua as he took on the leadership of Israel. Just prior to the dawning of the church, this scene was repeated. Jesus' disciples were gathered on a mountain in Galilee, probably largely unaware of what challenges lay ahead now that Jesus was going to return to his Father. But Jesus assured them, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Let us go forward with the great assurance that the Lord will always stand by us.

ALMIGHTY GOD, we praise you for the assurance that you are with us and will never fail us. We ask that the words you spoke to Joshua would be heard by all your people who feel lonely or fearful, including those in positions of leadership. Thank you, faithful Lord. Amen.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible-Tyndale House)

The Cost of Sanctification

"May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)


When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God's point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God's purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? "For their sakes I sanctify myself..." (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God's perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.


Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul's prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, "Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can"? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything that is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit's work in us?

Why Do You Go?

Some go to church to take a walk; some go there to laugh and talk.

Some go there to meet a friend; some go there their time to spend.

Some go there to meet a lover; some go there a fault to cover.

Some go there for speculation; some go there for observation.

Some go there to daze and nod; the wise go there to worship God.

---C. H. Spurgeon

God Transcends Understanding

Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay him back? For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.  (Romans 11:33-36)(NLT)

God made us in his image. We would be gravely mistaken, however, to assume that this allows us to understand the mysteries of his eternal being. God has infinitely more knowledge than the total sum of human learning. His decisions are more intelligent, more certain, more wise than those of any human being. Like Paul, we can only marvel at the greatness of our God and give thanks that he has chosen to reveal himself to us through his Word.

ETERNAL GOD, when we think about your attributes, we are filled with awe. Your infinite wisdom can never be fully understood. You have existed from the beginning of time, and you will remain when heaven and earth are no longer. We praise your name for you are great. Amen.

from the Praise and Worship Study Bible--Tyndale House