PICK UP THE PACE ~ Jack Graham

So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day…

-- Joshua 14:12

One of my favorite personalities in the Bible is Caleb. After Moses and a generation of Israelites had perished in the wilderness, it was Caleb, teamed with Joshua, who brought the children of Israel to the Promised Land.

When we find Caleb at the age of 85 years standing on the threshold of the Promised Land, he’s about to claim his inheritance. He probably could have had any piece of land that he had wanted, but Caleb pointed toward Hebron, a land inhabited by giants, and said, “I want that mountain!”

After 40 years in the wilderness, you and I might have been ready for the rocking chair, but not Caleb. You see, he was as strong as ever, and still running the race that the Lord set before him. He wasn’t about to slow down.

Caleb was ready to take a mountain for the great joy of possessing Hebron… that sacred land where Abraham had met God face to face!

So let me ask you something. Are you running your race like Caleb? Will you run as hard as you can all the way to the finish?

Now is the time to pick up the pace. Don’t slow down! Face down the giants that would hinder you, refuse to compromise with sin, and run for the great prize of fellowship with God.  

NOW IS THE TIME TO PICK UP THE PACE. DON’T SLOW DOWN!

Jesus is always seeing with the eyes of love. ~ Mark Balmer

 “Get Jesus to People” by Pastor Mark Balmer;

“Seeing with the Eyes of Love”

Preparing the Soil (Introduction): “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 7:21)  

Do you ever get up in the morning excited about the day, because you have been given the gift of one more day to share the love that fills your heart and soul? 

How wonderful when our love for the Lord is so big and so strong that there is no way to contain it within ourselves.  We are eager to run into someone—anyone—that needs to be touched by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  Do you expect that, if God has you cross paths today with someone that He has been calling to Himself, you will have the courage to step out in faith and share what the Lord gives you to share?  

Will you take time to read the Word and pray? 

Will you prepare yourself to do the will of the Father today?  

There is no time like the present to put on all of God’s armor and gear up (Ephesians 6:10-18) for a day that will make the angels rejoice. 

This is the will of the Father.

Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth):   

We can’t judge the heart of a person, but a life devoid of Jesus stands out like a neon sign.  

Behavior gives away the thoughts of the heart.  Jesus wants us seeing those around us with the eyes of love, His love.  When we do that, their behavior gets our attention, but our attention then needs to switch to the heart condition.  Misery shows in the eyes.  I have watched many a documentary of WW II, where one can see the hurting eyes in the wounded souls, with eyes so hollow and so riveted with pain that they cry out for kindness and relief.  Jesus sees this in people that appear to be living wonderful lives.  

They have all the world has to offer, but they are spiritually dead.  

We meet these people every day, but do we take notice of them?  

Do we pray for them and do what God gives us to do? 

A Christ follower will be a person of active faith, with courage enough to meet the challenges in the world today. 

We can do this because the Lord equips us for what He calls us to do (Hebrews 13:20-21).  We must carry out the will of the Father.  God will show us the way to lead these people to Him.  

Sometimes we will only pray silently, while at other times we will have the opportunity to speak of the forgiveness of God.  Sometimes we will give the gift of kindness. 

All that matters is that we are prayed up and ready to look a little deeper into the lives we touch.

Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): It is imperative that we allow God to work in our lives by submitting to His will.  We can’t do life right without following Him.  And when we get it right, there will be less of us and more of Him.  Soon we find we begin to see people through His eyes, and our hearts are touched, as His has always been for us.  When I see Jesus, I see light.  

The eyes of the world are filled with darkness.  May God help us this week to bring a measure of light, through Jesus, into a soul lost in darkness; God’s mission is,

“to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me”, (Acts 26:18).  

Jesus is always seeing with the eyes of love. 

Follow Him and do likewise.

Cultivate (Additional Reading): 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Living Beyond the Grind of Discouragement ~ Chuck Swindoll

Living Beyond the Grind of Discouragement
by Charles R. Swindoll
Psalm 5

The Book of Psalms is the oldest hymnal known to man. This ancient hymnal contains some of the most moving and meaningful expressions of the human heart. 

Songs are usually born out of surrounding circumstances that so affect the thinking of the composer, he cannot help but burst forth with a melody and an accompanying set of lyrics describing his plight. This is certainly the case with the blues and jazz of yesteryear as well as the old spirituals of days gone by and the romantic love songs of any era. 

The same has often been true of gospel songs and sacred hymns; their historical settings explain their message. 

Psalm 5 is no exception. As we read it, we can detect that it emerged out of an atmosphere of strife and oppression. David is down in the dumps . . . discouraged. Whatever his pressures were, they prompted him to compose an ancient hymn in the minor key. 

I seriously doubt that there is any subject more timely than discouragement. So many folks I meet are playing out their entire lives in a minor key. There is the grinding discouragement that follows an unachieved goal or a failed romance. Some are discouraged over their marriage which began with such promise but now seems hopeless. 

Lingering ill-health can discourage and demoralize its victim, especially when the pain won't go away. And who can't identify with the individual who gave it his best shot yet took it on the chin from a few self-appointed critics? The discouragement brought on by several back-to-back criticisms can scarcely be exaggerated. It could be that David was just picking himself up off the mat when another sharp-worded comment knocked him back to his knees . . . hence the birth of Psalm 5.

Many a discouraged soul has identified with this song down through the centuries. Frequently, the words just above the first verse (which comprise the superscription) set forth the historical backdrop of the song.

If you glance just above verse 1 in the King James Version of the Bible, you will see that David desired this song to be played "upon Nehiloth." 

A nehiloth was an ancient woodwind instrument, something like today's flute or oboe. An oboe is a double-reed instrument giving a sad-sounding whine as it is being played. Its penetrating tone causes it to be used frequently as a solo instrument. 

Interestingly, David did not play the nehiloth, but rather an ancient stringed instrument called the harp (see 1 Samuel 16:23, KJV). 

My point is simply this: David wrote this sad song of discouragement for someone else to play—not himself. Perhaps the surrounding circumstances were too overwhelming for him to participate in the playing of this piece. It could be rendered better by one who was skilled on the nehiloth. The sad tone of that instrument would enhance the feeling of discouragement which gave birth to this song. 

Consider your song today.

If you are discouraged, admit it. 

Spell it out in detail in your time with the Lord.

Take time to express the depth of your pain.

Don't deny the reality of your sorrow.

State your honest feelings. 

God can handle it! 

But don't stop there.

Now at least twice, 

tell someone why you are grateful to be alive . . . 

why you are more encouraged than you used to be. 

It will not only be therapy for you, it will lift that person's spirits as well. Wonderful changes can occur in us and others when we spread a few cheer germs around. 

"The one who looks for the Lord’s coming" ~ Jon Courson

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
	2 Peter 3:12
Are you tired of death, disease and depression? Have you had your fill of sadness and sickness and sin? If so, there are two ways you can hurry the day when righteousness will rule the earth. First, the day of God is hastened by our prayer. In teaching us to pray, Jesus taught us to ask that His Kingdom come (Matthew 6:10). This is precisely what one who heard Him teach that prayer did. At the end of the book of Revelation, Jesus said, ‘Behold, I come quickly’ — to which John responded in prayer, ‘Even so, Lord, come quickly.’ The same is still true. Prayer influences the timing of God — including the coming of the Kingdom. Secondly, the day of God is hastened as we share. According to Acts 2:47, the Lord adds daily to the Church such as should be saved. Thus, there is someone who is the last one to be added to the Church to complete the Bride of Christ. And when that last one gets saved, the Body of Christ will be complete, and we’ll go up. Consequently, as we witness, share, and invite people to be a part of the family and make a decision for Jesus Christ — we actually bring closer the day of His return. But the benefits of hastening the day are not limited to future times. Rather, this kind of living and thinking has benefits now, as it produces within us three important qualities ... Purity. I John 3:3 tells us that he who looks for Jesus’ coming purifies himself. It’s amazing how careful a person drives when he looks in his wallet and realizes his license has expired. So too, it’s amazing how purity will characterize the life of one who believes this could be the day, this could be the hour of Christ’s return. Peace. The one who looks for the Lord’s coming takes a whole lot more things a whole lot less seriously. In other words, the one who looks for the Lord’s coming is not uptight about the scratch in his car, the bruise to his ego, or the slight at the office because he sees the bigger picture of eternity. Purpose. The life of the one who looks for the Lord’s coming, who is involved in the work of the Kingdom, is neither boring, predictable, nor routine. If you feel that your life is simply going in circles, it could be because you’ve lost sight of your purpose. Hasten the day, gang, by your prayer and as you share. Live for eternity, and you’ll find unparalleled purity, purpose, and peace.

"Tell us, when will these things be? ~ Mike MacIntosh

"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" 

And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many."

Mark 13:4-6

Webster's Dictionary defines deception as a misleading falsehood with a view towards unlawful gain or advantage. Here, Jesus is telling His disciples that there will be many who come to deceive them away from the truth of God's Word for their own personal gain. People will use and distort the words of God to make money, or to lead people down the path of destruction. Jesus wants our eyes to be open, awake, and alert to the pitfalls and dangers around us. And the very first danger He tells us is deception.

Before Jesus talks about the "what's-going-to-happen-next" question, or about the earthquakes and famines, wars and nations rising up against other nations, Jesus commands us to not be misled by false teachers and people who distort God's Word. This is His priority!

Deception generally happens very slowly and very subtly. Today we live in a world where a group of people gathering together may call themselves a "church," but are far from it. Many places that have the word "church" in their name aren't really the same church that Jesus talks about. Many people will claim to have supernatural answers that seem good on the surface, but when one strips away the rhetoric and charisma, the content is blatantly contrary to the Scriptures.

Deception also comes by way of the movies or shows we watch. Most of that stuff isn't entertaining as much as it is implanting a Godless and humanistic message into your heart and mind. So we need to be alert to this deception in the things that we watch. This spiritual alertness will come by being in the Word of God every day. Let the Bible be your guide for spiritual direction. Rely on, and listen to, the Holy Spirit's prompting; He is with you to convict and to give you discernment as you go throughout your day.

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 5:6).

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." (Romans 16:17-18).

"The man believed the word that Jesus spoke ~ David McGee

John 4:50

So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,
NKJV

Life Lesson

We should believe the Bible.

How much trouble could we avoid if we simply did what the nobleman in John chapter 4 did? What if we stopped in the middle of crummy circumstances and sticky situations and chose to believe the Word that Jesus has spoken to us? We read the newspaper and believe it. We read stuff on the Internet and believe it. We read the Bible and sometimes we think, "Well, that doesn't apply to me or my situation."

Sometimes we believe our emotions, fickle though they are, over the Word of God. We listen to the skeptics and the naysayers. We listen to our experiences as well as our faulty interpretation of events. Of all the things that we can listen to and believe, the Word of God is the most reliable. It has proven its sturdiness many times through the centuries. It has outlasted all of its critics and still stands ever faithful and true. Many voices are calling out for your attention. Which one will you choose to act on and believe? I choose to believe Jesus and the Word He has spoken to me.

Dear Father,
Thank You for Your steadfast love. Thank You that Your Word has stood the test of time and remains the source of truth and light for every situation in our lives. Please continue this work of opening my heart up to the amazing faithfulness of your Bible. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

Daily Light, "These which hear the word of God, and do it."

MORNING

My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren: saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. - In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. - Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. - My meat is to do the will of him that sent me. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. - Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him.

LUKE 8:21. Heb. 2:11,12. Gal. 5:6. John 15:14. Luke. 11:28. Matt. 7:21. John 4:34. I John 1:6. I John 2:5.

EVENING

What doest thou here, Elijah?

He knoweth the way that I take. - O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting, and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. - The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. - Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. - A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. - The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. - Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

I KGS. 19:9. Job 23:10. Psa. 139:1 3,7,9,10. Jas. 5:17. Prov. 29:25. Psa. 37:24. Prov. 24:16. Gal. 6:9. Matt. 26:41. Psa. 103:13,14.

Reaching People Where They Live ~ Raul Ries

“…Go unto the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Mark 16:15

In a disastrous church fire, a beautiful painting of Christ was endangered. Two men went inside and rescued it. People came and watched the fire, but stayed long after to look at the painting. The church leaders were amazed because people had never before been interested in the painting, which had hung for years in the church. Finally one man explained, “When the church caught fire and moved Christ into the streets where people could see Him, they were interested.”

The Lord wants us to reach out to friends, family, co-workers, and everyone we meet with the Gospel!

Thought for the Day:

Have you taken Christ into the streets? Can people see the Lord in your life?

Has God shown you areas of character weakness in your leadership? (97-1) ~ Barry Werner

Has God shown you areas of character weakness in your leadership? (97-1)

November 23rd, 2009 in 1 Kings, Character, Learn from Mistakes, Old Testament, Personal Development, Power and Influence | leave a response

All leaders have character flaws; areas of weakness that tend to surface and resurface throughout our career. These negative elements of character, if not dealt with and replaced with God-honoring character traits, will continue to create problem situations, limit a leader’s influence or destroy their career completely. Read 1 Kings 1:1-10 focusing on verse 6.

David was God’s leader for Israel for 40 years. Even today, he is recognized as one of the great leaders of all time in world history. Under David’s leadership 12 independent sovereign tribes that could each trace their family lineage back to the 12 sons of Jacob, united and became a military and political force that changed the entire landscape of the Middle East. Today, thousands of years later, David’s influence can be seen in the nation of Israel and felt in world politics.

Not only does history and the Bible record the greatness of David but it also records the damage of a character weakness that plagued him throughout his leadership life. David did not apply the same leadership and guidance in his family that he applied for the nation. David didn’t deal with an incident of rape and incest which led to the death of two sons and a ruined life for one of his daughters. Even worse, David did not learn from his lack of leadership.

Without strong corrective action to this part of his character it was only a few years until David again faced a family crisis that affected the nation. David was old and his ability to lead the nation was in question. His son Adonijah seized the moment, made key alliances with the commander of the army and an influential priest and without consulting David or asking for his blessing established himself as king of Israel. According to verse 6, this act of rebellion was a direct result of David’s lack of leadership in his home.

Has God shown you areas of character weakness in your leadership? Has He given you time to make the corrective action and maybe even shown you a course of action that will allow you to correct this area of your character? Effective Christian leaders seek God’s wisdom to identify godly character and then do the work to develop and attain that character.

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« Are your projects and pressures more real to you than Jesus? (96-5)

Perfect Package ~ Bob Coy

Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" Acts 9:4 (NKJV)

It's easy for us to find fault with Saul of Tarsus, the man who would eventually become the Apostle Paul. We see him as the prime opponent of the Church, we see him as the killer of Christians, and we see him on the other side of the Cross.

Don't misunderstand. This isn't an attempt to justify any of Saul's crimes against the Church, Christians, or the Cross. But it does show that we can overlook Saul's sincerity in doing what he did. He truly and fully believed that he was doing God a service by capturing and killing Christians. Based on a lifetime of intensive training, he thought Jesus was another false teacher whose followers had to be silenced.

So imagine how he felt when the Lord finally revealed the truth to him-that all this time he had actually been persecuting the One he was trying to serve! That's an incredibly hard message to receive, and Jesus delivers it so perfectly by packaging it in the form of a question. "Why are you persecuting me?"

Jesus could have really blasted Saul on this one, "Guess what Saul? All those innocent men, women, and children...all those things you thought you were doing for me...well I have some bad news for you!"

He could have done that, but He didn't want to obliterate Saul. Instead, the Lord wanted to reveal the truth of his actions in a way that he could receive and recover from. A question was the perfect way of doing this because it gradually caused Saul to see that he'd been wrong all along.

What a wonderful reminder that even when we need to be corrected, the Lord does it in a way that's tender and considerate of our weaknesses.

Discuss with your group this miraculous moment of conversion. Why do you see salvation as a true miracle? Share with your group how you came to Jesus.

Dig into Acts 9:1–8. What was Saul’s purpose in heading to Damascus? How does Paul’s story inspire you? Why do you think Jesus blinded Paul?

Decide to pray for the persecuted church. Intercede for those whose lives are in danger because of their faith. For more information, check out www.voiceofthemartyrs.org.

It Is Good to Give Thanks to God ~ Charles Stanley

Psalm 92

Throughout the Psalms, we are reminded and even commanded to give thanks to the Lord. Thanksgiving Day should never become a substitute for the daily expression of gratitude to God for all that He has done.

Because our culture is largely characterized by ingratitude, we need to work at developing a grateful heart. Even in prayer, we can become self-centered and drift from one petition to another without a word of praise to God. Giving thanks refocuses our attention onto the Lord as we remember His love and faithfulness and praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Thanksgiving refreshes our souls as we spend time with God, concentrating on His goodness and grace. Anxiety is replaced with peace, and despondency with joy. If you wake up each morning and thank the Lord for deliverance from the power of sin, provision for all your needs, and guidance for the day ahead, what is left to cause worry or discouragement?

Gratitude to God for His faithfulness in the past increases faith and strengthens trust in Him for the future. Remember how He carried you in times of pain, helped you in periods of weakness, and supplied all your needs. You can trust Him with whatever lies ahead.

To establish a habit of thanksgiving, recall God’s lovingkindness in the morning, and recount His faithfulness at night. Thank Him for blessings—and also for the deep work He is doing in you through difficulties. As you start to see situations from His perspective, your gratitude and trust will grow.

Adaptability ~ Greg Laurie

Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

— Acts 17:17

The apostle Paul's heart was stirred for the people of Athens. He cared. But then he took action. The Bible tells us, "Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there" (Acts 17:17).

In the same way, if we want to reach our culture, then we must go to where people are. Paul went right to where people were gathered and brought the gospel to them. And not only were they ignorant of truth, but they were elitist and smug about it. They said, "What does this babbler want to say?" (Acts 17:18) and then invited one of the greatest communicators in church history to come and address them. Paul seized the moment, and he also adapted his approach to the situation.

Fishermen use different kinds of bait for different kinds of fish. And when you go fishing for men and women, so to speak, you also must use different kinds of bait. You want to offer something that people will understand, something they would relate to.

We find the classic example of this in John 3 and 4, as Jesus presented the gospel to two people: a very religious man and an immoral woman. With Nicodemus, Jesus cut to the chase and essentially said, "You need to be born from above. Your religious views and beliefs are not enough. You need a spiritual rebirth, Nicodemus, and you need to do it now."

But in speaking to a burned-out woman who had tried to find fulfillment in relationships with men, Jesus appealed to her inner thirst and spoke of a living water that would satisfy her deepest longings. He adapted to the situation. And that is what we need to do as well.

Once More on Exceedingly Abundant Grace for Transformation ~ Bob Hoekstra

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:12-14)

Before Paul believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, he spoke evil of Jesus, oppressed His followers, and exalted himself. "I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man." Yet, God called Paul from this ungodly religious life and made him a faithful, fruitful servant of the Lord. Once more we will see this can only happen by exceedingly abundant grace for transformation.

This magnificent transformation process began with mercy, the necessary companion of grace. God's mercyawful consequences that our ungodliness deserves. God's grace brings us the wonderful blessings of godliness that we could never deserve. God was merciful toward Paul's ignorant and unbelieving behavior. "But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." The ministry of grace that God would eventually give to Paul (as well as any ministry God has for us) was established upon mercy. "Therefore, since we have this ministry [new covenant grace—2 Corinthians 3:6], as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart" (2 Corinthians 4:1). God chose Paul to be a distinctive example of His rich mercy. "For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Timothy 1:16). holds back the

This grand project of transformation then proceeded with grace. "And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." This bountiful grace brought two spiritual blessings (faith and love) that would be essential for Paul's ministry. Paul had been a man of religious works and self-righteousness. God turned him into a man of faith. "The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:17). He had been a man of cruel hatred and religious prejudice. God turned him into a man of love. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).

O Lord of rich mercy and exceedingly abundant grace, I worship You. I thank You for mercifully holding back the judgment I deserved. I praise You for graciously bringing to me wonderful blessings that I could never deserve. Now, by Your bountiful grace, please work in my heart more faith and love, that I might serve and honor You more effectively. In Your mighty name I pray, Amen.

Familiarity Can Cause Disrespect ~ Joyce Meyer

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Familiarity can breed contempt or disrespect. Think of how a person treats a new car. He admires it, thinks it is beautiful, washes it all the time, and expects everyone to be very careful when inside it.

But what happens when the car has been around for a few years? It is now dirty all the time, dented, full of empty soda cans and hamburger wrappers. What happened? The owner became familiar with it, took it for granted, and no longer showed it the same respect he did when it was new. He could have kept it looking and running as if it was new had he given it the attention he had in the beginning.

We find a great example of the dangers of familiarity in the Bible concerning the ark of God. When David was attempting to bring it home, a man called Uzza put out his hand to steady the ark on the cart that was carrying it, and God struck him dead because no one was supposed to touch it (See 1 Chronicles 13).

Uzza knew the strict guidelines concerning the ark, so why did he touch it? I believe it was because it had been stored in his father's home for quite some time, and he had become familiar with it. His respect level had lowered without his even knowing it, simply due to his being around the ark too much. In this case, familiarity cost him his life.

It is the same thing that happens in a marriage, or a friendship, or with any privilege we are afforded. New things seem wonderful, but when we become familiar with them, we begin to have less respect for them, or even contempt. Don't let what is special become mundane. To keep from taking each other for granted, we can practice remembering how precious people are and focus on thankfulness for their presence in our lives.

Restoring Relationships: Cooperate ~ Rick Warren

“Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody" (Romans 12:18 TEV).

The sixth biblical step toward restoring a relationship is to cooperate as much as possible.

The Apostle Paul said, "Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody" (Rom. 12:18 TEV). Peace always has a price tag. Sometimes it costs our pride; it often costs our self-centeredness.

For the sake of fellowship, do your best to compromise, adjust to others, and show preference to what they need. A paraphrase of Jesus' seventh beatitude says, "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family."

Peacemaking is not avoiding conflict. Running from a problem, pretending it doesn't exist, or being afraid to talk about it is actually cowardice. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was never afraid of conflict.

Peacemaking is also not appeasement. Always giving in, acting like a doormat, and allowing others to always run over you is not what Jesus had in mind. He refused to back down on many issues, standing his ground in the face of evil opposition.

The Power Of God Unto Salvation ~ Kay Arthur

Romans (The Constitution Of Your Faith)

Program 2 – The Gospel – The Power Of God Unto Salvation

You turn on the news and you hear about another tragedy. What kind of a future are we facing? And is there anything that can turn our society around? Oh my friend, there is something that can turn our society around. There is something that can come along and divert us from all the iniquity, all the sin that we’re in and that something is what we’re going to talk about today. The capital of iniquity, the capital of crime, the capital of pornography, the capital of abortion, the capital of murder, where would you look? Where would you go? What part of the map would you point to? Well in our day, you know where you’d point? You would point to the United States of America. We are the exporters of sin. We are the exporters of sin. We are the exporters of pornography. We are the exporters of immorality. We are the exporters of every degrading thing that a person can get involved in. We’re the exporters of those things. You know when you look at the Bible you find out that we’re very much like Rome, the Rome that existed in the days of Jesus Christ, the Rome that went ahead and crucified Jesus Christ, the Rome that took the Christians and persecuted them. You saw the movie “Gladiator”. You saw other movies that have to do with the Roman Empire. You saw that famous old movie “Spartacus”. You saw all these, these that centered around the Christ of the ancient days and the Christians that followed Jesus Christ.

Paul sits down and he writes a letter to the church that is at Rome. This is the letter that you and I are studying. This is the letter that I want to become a part of you. This is the letter that I want you to understand for yourself. Why? Because this is the letter that talks about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, “… the power of God unto salvation, unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew and also to the Greek or to the Gentile.”

Now when Paul sits down to write this letter, he’s on his third missionary journey. The time is about 56, 57, some say 58 A.D. The exact year doesn’t make a difference. Rome is the power of the world. And Rome is the capital, the exporter of all the degradation that goes throughout the rest of the Roman world. And Rome was the supreme ruler at that time. There are about 60,000 Jews living in Rome at this time. Paul wants to come to Rome. There’s a church at Rome and Paul wants to get to that church because there are things that he wants to do. He’s on his third missionary journey. He’s going to go back to Jerusalem. He’s going to deliver some money that he has collected for the saints to help them and when he goes back to Jerusalem he is going to be arrested. He’s going to be arrested and he is going to be brought to Rome in chains. Now he doesn’t know that when he writes this epistle. All he knows is that he wants to go to Rome. And you know what? God sends him. He doesn’t think that he’s going to go this way in chains, but however he gets to Rome is fine with Paul because Paul has a passion. And you know what? That passion is fulfilled.

Are you passionate about anything? Let me ask you a question. Are you passionate about anything that is outside yourself? Are you passionate about anything that is good for you and not destructive to you? So many people are passionate and they’re driven and they’re compelled, but they’re driven and compelled towards what is evil. It’s almost like they are caught in chains and they’re slaves and they can’t get set free.

Well this book is about the gospel of Jesus Christ that sets us free, that sets us free, set us free from three things. It sets us free, first of all from the penalty of sin. It sets us free, second of all, from the power of sin, the power of sin that holds us like this. And third it tells about how someday you and I will be set free from the presence of sin.

You know when September 11th happened all of a sudden the world was awake. And what did they want to know? They went running to people that knew the Bible and they wanted to know is this the time of the end. What is happening? What is happening? Is it going to get better? Is it going to get worse? Is God judging us? That’s what they wanted to know. All of a sudden in one day in three acts of horrible terrorism our eyes were suddenly opened and we realized our own vulnerability and we wanted answers. And you know what? The statistics tell us that the churches were packed. They were absolutely packed after 9/11. That was a Tuesday and on Sunday and even before that, people were at the church. They wanted to know what was going on.

Paul’s writing to the church at Rome. And what I want us to do is remember I’m teaching you how to mark the Bible. I’m teaching you how to study it yourself. Why? Because, believe me, you’re going to hear so many messages. If you ever turn on a Christian television station and you listen from morning to night, you’re going to get conflicting messages. You’re going to get the opinions of some people. You’re going to get the revelations of others. You’re going to hear the prophecies that they feel that God has given them and how are you going to sort it all out?

Well I believe that the reason God laid this on my heart, to do this study with you, is because God wants you to learn how to sort out things so that you don’t have to run to somebody else for the answers, but you know how to run to the Word of God and find the answers.

So this is what we’re going to do. I hope you have the text of Romans in front of you. I hope that you’ve written us and that you’ve gotten the booklet on Romans. I hope that you have the colored pencils that you need to mark the text with. If not, listen carefully, whenever you read a book of the Bible you need to ask yourself the five W’s and an H. Those are questions of observation. You need to ask who: who is writing, to whom are they writing, who are they talking about? Who, what: what are they talking about, what is the subject, what is the event that is going on? Who, what, when: when is this taking place? Where is it taking place? Who, what, when, where: where is it occurring, where will it occur, where did it happen? All right, who, what, when, where, you got it. Why? I need to know the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and that H, the how.

When you read a book of the Bible, especially an epistle; an epistle is a letter and that’s what Romans is. Romans is a letter that the apostle Paul sat down and wrote to the church at Rome about 56, 57, or 58 A.D. Now he wrote it. We know that he wrote it, because he starts, which is traditional in their writing, he starts with his name. He starts with his name and description of him. He’s writing to a group of people.

So what you normally do when you read an epistle is you color every reference to the author in one color and every reference to the recipients of that letter in another color. When you do this, what you’re looking at and you’re concentrating on is okay, what do I learn about the author. What do I learn about the recipients?

So what I do is I have a color-code. All right and I got it out of the new Inductive Study Bible. That’s a Bible that tells you how to study every book of the Bible inductively, on your own. Inductively means that you miss the middleman and you go straight to the Word of God to discover truth for yourself. You say, I can’t do that. I ain’t educated. I want to tell you something. Education has nothing to do with it, absolutely nothing to do with it. In fact, sometimes our education can get in the way because we think we’re so smart. So education has nothing to do with it.

It’s simply; do you really want to know for yourself what God says? God desires for you to know Him and He will open the Word of God to you if you will just study, if you will just discipline yourself to get in this Book, God will reveal Himself to you. And this is a method that He uses. It’s just a method. So what I do is, I color every reference to the author in blue and every reference to the recipients in orange.

Romans, chapter 1, verse 1, “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” We marked the word “gospel.” And this is one that you want to mark. So what do you learn? This is Paul and he is a bondservant of Jesus Christ. That means that he is a love-slave of Jesus Christ. He has discovered who Jesus Christ is. He has bowed the knee. And he says, “I am yours and you can do anything you want with me.” That’s how committed Paul was. He’s also an apostle. An apostle was a person that was sent by somebody important or by somebody that wanted to deliver a message and that apostle was the one that was sent from the messenger to deliver the message to the recipients. And so that’s what he is. He’s an apostle. All right? And he’s an apostle and he’s set apart for the gospel of God.

In other words he has one purpose in life and that purpose is to get that gospel to get that good news to everybody that he can. Why, why? Because it’s the gospel that absolutely transforms us. It’s the gospel that can change our society. It’s the gospel that can shake up this world and cause people to come to their senses and wake up and see, hey, you don’t have to live this way. You don’t have to live this way. You don’t have to live the way the rest of the world is living. You can live in the grace of God, in that unmerited favor of God, no matter what kind of a pit you’ve come from and you can have peace, you can have the peace of God in your heart.

So Paul is writing to them and he’s speaking to you at the same time. And what does he want them and you to know? In verse 8, he says, “First I thank my God ….” So what are you going to mark? You’re going to mark the pronoun I. Why? Because it’s obviously the person that’s writing the letter. And the person that’s writing the letter is Paul. So you simply color it. “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all.” Now we’re not going to mark, at this point, we’re not going to mark the recipients, okay, because of time. But he says, “… I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all …,” If you were marking that, you would color it orange. “… because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”

In other words, whoa, whoa! Rome was known for its debauchery. I mean, Rome was in such deep deep sin and iniquity. Women remembered what year it was by the husband that they were married to. So he says, I thank God because of your faith that’s being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness how unceasingly I make mention of you …,” He says, “… always in my prayers, making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I …,” that’s right, color it blue, may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, in order that I and you color it again, “… may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established.”

Now why does Paul want to see them? Why does Paul want to come to them? He wants to come to them because he has something to share. Listen to me. Listen to me carefully. If you have Jesus Christ you have something to share you have a spiritual gift just like Paul has and Paul will talk about it later in Romans, chapter 12. But you have something to give to others.

Now in a society where we just want to get, get, get, get, we’ve got to know that we’ve got something to give if we know Jesus and that something that we’ve got to give is powerful, absolutely powerful. You’ll see that in just a minute.

He says, “I long to see you in order that I might impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is that I may be encouraged together with you while among you each one of us by one another’s faith, both yours and mine.” What is he saying? He’s saying it’s so important for us to get together. It’s so important for us to be able to talk. It’s so important for me to hear about you and you to hear about me. Why? Because when you get together with someone of a like passion, of a like mind, of a like purpose, then what you do is you find iron sharpening iron. You find yourself encouraged. And he says, that’s why I want to come to you. So one of the reasons that he’s writing this letter is to tell them, hey I want to come to you. And when I come to you this is what I want to do. And then he goes on to say, “And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you …,” I mean it’s been on my agenda. He says, “… but I’ve been prevented thus far.” I’ve tried to get to you and I’ve tried to get to you and I’ve been stopped. He says, “In order …,” the reason I wanted to come was in order …,” that I …,” mark I again, “might obtain some fruit among you also.”

Now what on earth is he talking about? I want to obtain some fruit. Does he want to buy some apples? Do you want to buy some oranges, whatever Rome is selling in those days? No. He’s talking about a fruit that comes from impacting a persons life and seeing that person changed, seeing that person grow, seeing that person find the answers to their problems and seeing them walk as more than a conqueror. That’s the kind of fruit that he wants.

He says, “Even as among the rest of the Gentiles.” He says, I’ve been around this world, I’ve been around this Roman Empire. He said, I’ve even been to Macedonia and you know what, when I got to that former Greek Empire, he said, lives were absolutely changed. I want to tell you something. If you will stick with me, if you will stick with me, if you’ll make me a habit, your life will be changed. Not because of me, but because you and I are going to be face to face with the Word of God and it is alive and it is powerful. You read it and it comes in and it takes the covers off and it lets you see what you’re like inside. And you know what? It never does it for any other purpose than to help you become everything that you ought to become.

All right now, let’s go back to the text. And I want you to see, he says, “I am under obligation.” So I want you to mark the I. He’s under obligation. It says in the King James Version which is another translation of the Bible, I am a debtor and that’s what it means. I owe you something. “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. He says, thus for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel …,” He says, “… to preach the gospel to you also who are …,” where? “… in Rome.”

All right, now let me tell you something. When you study the Bible and you’re looking for the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how, you want to know where. So this is how you pick up where you are. And if you go back to verse 7, it says, “To all who are beloved of God in Rome.” So you double underline it. Then you come back to verse 5, and he says, “I’m eager to preach the gospel to you who are …” where, “… in Rome.” So you double underline it. This helps you keep in context and see where you are.

Now watch what you find out about Paul. He says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Now why is he saying to the Jew first and also to the Greek? Why does he say to the Greeks and the barbarians? Well, when you went back in time, the Jews would look at the whole world as Jews and Gentiles. If you weren’t a Jew, you were a Gentile, even if you lived in the Middle East. If you weren’t a Jew, you were a Gentile.

All right, when you looked at Rome, Rome divided all the world as either citizens of Rome, which by the way Paul was, or strangers. They didn’t belong to the Roman Empire. And it was coveted to be a citizen in the Roman Empire. But when you looked at the Greeks, the Greeks looked at everybody, I mean they were the intellectuals. They were the philosophers and they looked at the whole world as either Greeks or barbarians. In other words, if you weren’t a Greek you were a barbarian. In other words, it would be like saying in the south, you’re just a redneck. You know, that’s all you are.

So when God looks at us though, whether we’re Greeks or barbarians, whether we’re Jews or whether we’re Gentiles, whether we’re citizens or whether we’re strangers, we’re important to God. And this was Paul’s passion. Watch what you learn just from these verses.

Look at verse 13, in verse 13, his last “I,” where you mark that, he says, “… I want to obtain some fruit among you also.” And then he goes on to say, ”For I am under obligation. I’m a debtor.” I want to obtain some fruit among you. I want to come to Rome because I want to see more people come to Christ and I want to help you reach more people for Jesus Christ. But also, I want you to know that I’m under obligation. It’s like there is a burden on me. And that burden puts me in obligation to other people. He says, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish.” And then he says, “I am eager….” Now listen, “I want to obtain some fruit. I’m under obligation. I am eager.” In other words, listen, my engine is already revved up and, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.” I’m eager to bring this message so the message has to be more than just the fact that Jesus died. He was buried. He was raised from the dead. The message has to be that the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ change your life. There’s power in this message. And it’s so powerful that it saves you and it guarantees you heaven.

Faith in God's Judgment ~ Bob Caldwell

Faith in God's Judgment Habakkuk 2:4 Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. The sins of Israel seem to have gone unchecked far too long. Violence, sin, and strife was running rampant, the Law of God was powerless to stop it and God (1:1-4). This left the prophet Habakkuk confounded by God's seeming indifference. However, God's answer troubles Habakkuk even more. God foretells of the complete destruction of Jerusalem. He is going to send Babylon to level Jerusalem and carry the Jews into captivity. To this, Habakkuk then asks God why He would use a pagan nation to punish Israel. It doesn't make sense. Why would He use idol worshippers to capture His people like mindless fish in a net? This would mean these pagans would worship their gods for the victory over Israel (1:12-17). God doesn't really answer this question. Instead, He asks Habakkuk and those who will see these prophecies unfold to walk by faith through this painful time in Israel's history. God strongly values this call to faith in the midst of judgment, so much so that He declares this faith is what causes a person to be just before Him apart from personal merit. In this statement God laid the groundwork for what would prepare for salvation by faith in and through Jesus Christ (Read Romans 1:17.). This principle of faith in God as the only thing that can justify us before Him cannot and should not be avoided by anyone. We are clearly told in the New Testament that whatever is not faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). The book of Hebrews declares that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Impossible means no possible. Without a simple and sincere faith in God, whatever we do is not acceptable to God. Although initially shocked, even to the point of trembling from head to toe, Habakkuk comes to a point of faith that is an example for us all. He affirms that although everything looks hopeless and bleak with no prospect of good he will stand in unwavering faith to God. He will joyfully praise God as the God of salvation no matter how badly things looked for Israel. In fact, he believes God will strengthen him to leap like a deer that bounds through the high hills of Israel (3:17-19). Although each situation varies, at times all of God's people will be overwhelmed by how little God seems to be acting for the good of His people. Or how fully His hand of chastisement can fall upon us in a moment of time. It is then that faith in God's own eternal counsel and judgment is vital. More than any self-righteous work of religion, this faith in God's character will be the only thing we will do to be justified in His sight.
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19 1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. The Prophet's Question 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save. 3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. The LORD's Reply 5 "Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. 6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. 9 "They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. 10 They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. 11 Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribingthis power to his god." The Prophet's Second Question 12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. 13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he? 14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity? Habakkuk 2 1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. The Just Live by Faith 2 Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Woe to the Wicked 5 "Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples. 6 "Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, 'Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges'? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men's blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it. 9 "Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster! 10 You give shameful counsel to your house, Cutting off many peoples, And sin against your soul. 11 For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the beam from the timbers will answer it. 12 "Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, Who establishes a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary themselves in vain? 14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. 15 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressinghim to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness! 16 You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also—drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD's right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory. 17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, Because of men's blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it. 18 "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols? 19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!' Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all. 20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him." Habakkuk 3The Prophet's Prayer 1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth. 2 O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. 3 God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. 4 His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden. 5 Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet. 6 He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian trembled. 8 O LORD, were You displeased with the rivers, Was Your anger against the rivers, Was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation? 9 Your bow was made quite ready; Oaths were sworn over Your arrows. Selah You divided the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains saw You and trembled; The overflowing of the water passed by. The deep uttered its voice, And lifted its hands on high. 11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; At the light of Your arrows they went, At the shining of Your glittering spear. 12 You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled the nations in anger. 13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah 14 You thrust through with his own arrows The head of his villages. They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me; Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret. 15 You walked through the sea with Your horses, Through the heap of great waters. 16 When I heard, my body trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered my bones; And I trembled in myself, That I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops. A Hymn of Faith 17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19 v. 1 burden – The idea here is that the vision and message on Habakkuk's heart felt like a heavy burden. prophet – a spokesman for the Lord Habakkuk – His name means "embrace." We really don't know much about this prophet. But as he foretold of the Babylonian invasion, it is likely that Habakkuk ministered during or just before the reign of King Jehoiakim. The Babylonians attacked Jerusalem in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, 605 BC. v. 2 how long – Israel was suffering under the cruel and corrupt hand of their evil and backslidden kings. And Habakkuk asked the age-old question of why God was not responding to his prayer for deliverance. v. 3 Why – Habakkuk couldn't understand why God is tolerating the cruel injustice being dealt to His people (v. 13) v. 4 the law is powerless – Because of the corruption which was in Israel at this time, justice has been perverted and the perfect law of God seemed powerless. v. 5 would not believe – Israel was refusing to believe the severity of judgment about to be sent their way. v. 6 I am raising up – Because of their sin, God Himself was raising up Israel's enemies against them. Chaldeans – the Babylonians v. 8 as the eagle – A picture of the great speed and precision with which the Chaldeans/Babylonians conquered their enemies. v. 9 gather captives like sand – It was the practice of the conquering Chaldean army to capture and bring home their defeated enemies like trophies. v. 10 deride every stronghold – No one and nothing could stand against the mighty Chaldean army. they heap up…seize – a description of building a seize ramp to infiltrate a resistant walled city v. 11 Ascribing…to his god – Unlike the backslidden Hebrews, the Chaldeans gave the credit of their victories to their god. v. 12 Are You not – Habakkuk is not questioning the nature and Character of YHWH. This is not a faithless verbal attack but rather a prayerful declaration of the Lord's might and power and faithfulness (v 13). v. 14 make men like fish – A phrase that is further explained in the next few verses. Habakkuk feels that the Lord has made his people as lower creatures to be caught and eaten by men. v. 16 sacrifice to their net – The Chaldeans worshiped their own military might. v. 17 Shall they…continue – Six of the 17 verses of this chapter are actually Habakkuk questioning God concerning the problem of evil. This is a query as old as man. Habakkuk 2 v. 1 stand my watch – Habakkuk uses symbolic language here of a military scenario. He waits and watches for the Lord's answer, as a lookout would stand guard on a watchtower. Rampart – a defensive wall to protect a city under attack v. 2 Write the vision – God's command here gives us clear illustration of one of the many ways we have received the inspired and trustworthy written word of God. tablets – This culture did not have paper as we know it; they wrote things down on tablets of stone, wood, or metal. Because of this, many ancient writings have survived to modern day. run who reads – The vision Habakkuk was about to receive was not to be for comfort but for dread. For this message is filled with warnings and woe. It was to be given in hopes that the reader might flee the wrath to come. v. 3 an appointed time – a yet future appointment the end – Not the end of time but rather the end of waiting for fulfillment. will not lie – Though it may take time to see this vision be fulfilled it will indeed be fulfilled. v. 4 the proud – All who suppose they can stand against the will of God. Also translated lifted up (KJV) or puffed up (NIV.) His soul – the center of a person's being; his heart just – one who is found right or "justified" before God faith – hnwma (Heb.) means firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness. This particular Hebrew word does not mean to merely believe in something. v. 5 transgresses by wine – an excessive drinker, a drunkard (Prov. 20:1) does not stay at home – a picture of a person who is not content with what he has; one who is never satisfied (v. 5) gathers to himself all nations…all peoples – This vision is painting a picture of the craving of Babylon. They were a seemingly unstoppable force defeating and capturing nations and peoples. v. 6 a proverb against him – The Lord is telling Habakkuk that there will come a day when the lessons learned from Babylon's prideful fall will be used as proverbs and a riddle. v. 7 booty – the spoils of war v. 9 Woe – A cry of serious affliction or misfortune. There are five "woes" in this chapter (2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19). v. 11 the stone…the beam – The stones and beams used to build the buildings in Babylon were taken from the plunders of war. These will soon testify against them. v. 12 bloodshed – the murder of the innocent iniquity – the sin of Babylon's greedy conquests v. 13 LORD of hosts – A phrase meaning, "YHWH, ruler over all" (This includes angels, sun, moon, stars, armies, and peoples of the earth, etc.). labor to feed the fire – All their work will be turned to ashes. v. 14 glory of the LORD – the splendid honor of His glorious reputation v. 16 uncircumcised – a person who has not entered into covenant relationship with the Lord v. 17 the plunder of beasts – The Babylonians conquered with brutal destruction and wiped out all forms of life, even needlessly killing off the wildlife of a nation by overly excessive bloodthirsty hunting for mere sport. v. 18 the image…idols – The Lord is pointing out the great folly of worshiping manmade gods. (2:19, compare with Jer. 10:3-5, 50:2; 1 Cor. 12:2). v. 20 His holy temple – A comparison between the foolish, manmade idols that the Babylonians would keep in their homes with the Lord of host who fills the whole earth and dwells in the heavens (Ps. 11:4). keep silence – holding tongue as an act of holy reverence to the One True God Habakkuk 3 v. 1 Shigionoth – Shigionoth (Heb.) means doubtful. A musical phrase descriptive of a wild passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm. v. 2 afraid – In context this means Habakkuk was full of reverence, awe, and astonishment. In wrath remember mercy – Habakkuk is petitioning the Lord here asking that He might, in the midst of punishing the guilty in His anger, remember to be merciful also. v. 3 Teman – a mountain in the south not far from Mount Sinai, where God appeared to Moses Mount Paran – The desert area where the Law was given to the Children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land (Num. 10:12, Deut. 33:2). Selah – a technical musical term used often in the psalms; it means to pause and meditate on what was just sung v. 4 His brightness – an expression to describe God's glory v. 5 pestilence – disease and plague; refers to the Lord's divine punishment v. 6 measured the earth – A picture of the Lord's omniscience and power. He is able to, in an instant, scrutinize the earth and fully comprehend its summation. v. 7 tents of Cushan – refers to the dwelling places of the Midianites curtains – the walls of their tents v. 8 chariots of salvation – More poetic language used by Habakkuk in this wild song. Here the prophet is specifically focusing upon the Lord's mighty power and wrath, which ultimately brought salvation to His people during the events of the exodus. v. 9 Oaths…Your arrows – The Lord's blows of wrath were backed up with His pledge of destruction. v. 12 indignation – righteous anger v. 13 Anointed – This word literally means "Messiah." But Moses and Joshua were used by God during the Exodus as messiahs of their time and saviors of the people. v. 14 like feasting on – More poetic language describing the circumstances of the Exodus. The Egyptians rejoiced as they chased after the fleeing Hebrews, thinking that they would eat up Children of Israel like a delicious meal. v. 17 fig tree…fruit…fail – Habakkuk paints a picture of economic doom and crop failure. His point will be shone in the next verse. No matter what evil may befall him he will "joy in the God of his salvation." v. 19 like deer's feet – Through the circumstances of Habakkuk's gloomy situation he has learned to have a sure-footed confidence in God. high hills – Meaning he is brought safely over the mountains. Chief Musician – This song was evidently delivered to a choir director to be sung in unison and accompanied by stringed instruments.
"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith." –Habakkuk 2:4 How wonderful it is, God, to see evidence of the New Covenant in the Old Testament. We pray today for faith—in the sacrifice Jesus made for us and in our assurance of eternal life when we accept that His death paid a debt that we owed to You.
New Beginnings Bistrita Sebi Covaci, who is ten years old and living with our family, writes, "This summer I went to the Black Sea with my sister, Cosmina and another Romanian family. It was very hot and there were lots of waves. I swam under the waves. I stayed at the Black Sea for six days. I also went camping and for the first time I got to sleep in a tent! Chris swam in the water with us kids and threw me over his head so that I could do flips. I jumped on the trampoline, played the drums for worship, and prayed during devotions. I was nervous, but I did it!" Prayer Points for Sebi's adjustment to living with the Andersons for suitable Romanian house parents for New Beginnings Bistrita for guidance raising these Romanian children alongside of our own