January 27: Proverbs 5:21; God Is Watching You

"For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths."

            What do you think about when you read this? I know a lot of people don’t like the idea of that someone is watching them. The “Big Brother” of government or an employer watching them rankles some people. They want their privacy. They don’t want anyone seeing what they do in the privacy of their own homes or other places they consider off limits. They don’t want anyone looking on their phone or computer to see who they’ve been talking to or what websites they’ve visited.

            Do you realize that not only does the Lord see everything you do, but he ponders the path you take? He doesn’t just see what you do, he thinks about it. The NIV says he examines his paths. There is the distinct idea that he judges or evaluates how you act and react to very one of life’s circumstances that you encounter. He knows the decision you make and he also knows the motivation of your heart. At the judgment, he will expose these (1 Cor 4:5).

            What kind of lives should we live in view of all this? One thing is clear, we should not become upset that he is doing this. He made us and it is his right to do so. We can either rebel against it (which will do no good) or we can accept and understand it to use it to help motivate us to live godly lives that are pleasing to him. His desire is not to catch us in sin and zap us. His desire is for us to become more and more like Jesus (Rom 8:29). He will help us do this. After all, Jesus died for our sins, not so that the Lord would zap us but receive us as his children. I for one, am glad he is watching my every move.

January 26: Exodus 3; I Am

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” (Ex 3:14-16 NKJV)

            Here is Moses, he was saved from death as child and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, grew up in one of the most pagan societies possible, and had to flee because he was a murderer. He spent 40 years with his adopted family (Acts 7:23) but must have kept some ties to his birth heritage because he went out to his people (Ex 2:11). He spent another 40 years living in the wilderness with his father-in-law, Jethro, before he encountered the Lordin the burning bush (Acts 7:30). It is possible that he learned more about God from Jethro than he did living in Egypt since Jethro was a priest of Midian. That he was a true priest to the Lord is evident when he brought a burnt offering and sacrifice to God (Ex 18:12).

            It is remarkable that the Lord chose Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. Though he may have learned much from Jethro, it would still seem primitive in comparison to what the Lord would teach him in person. That teaching began with establishing God’s name for the nation of Israel. God first identifies himself as “I AM.” A Hebrew translation of his name is “To be, to become, to come to pass, to exist, to happen, to fall out.”[1]But he also goes on to say that the Lordis his name to be remembered forever. This is the name we also know as Yahweh or Jehovah and means “the existing one.”[2]

            This is an amazing point in the history of the Bible. We’ve seen the Lord appear to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord is not a new name to the people of the Bible, but this is the first time that he specifically tells them that this is his name and how he should be addressed. He links Lord to I AM to ensure a very important point that separates the Lordfrom all other so-called gods. He is self-existent. He has no beginning and no ending. He sustains himself and exists because he is.

            This truth defies human logic because we are mortal and we always think in terms of cause and effect, i.e. if something exists, then something had to make it. This is the logical reason that many scientists deny the existence of the Lord. Of course, the real reason they deny his existence is that if they acknowledge that the Lord has no beginning, then all their theories of creation fall apart. They would have to acknowledge that the Lord is the creator and that means he has authority over them. He has the right to tell them what is right and wrong and hold them responsible for their actions. Instead, they claim the universe is actually self-existent and created itself. It is inanimate and doesn’t impose any moral restrictions on them so they can do what they want.

            There’s the choice for us. Do we admit that the Lordis who he has described himself to be or do we deny Him? If we believe him then we should do as Moses did, take off our sandals and bow before him in subjection and obedience. Since Jesus is his image and the exact representation of him (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3), then we should listen to Jesus (Matt 17:5) and we will know more about the Lord than even Moses knew. We can actually know God and have him living in us through faith in Jesus.

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[1] OT:1961, The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada.

[2]Ibid. OT:3068

January 25: Matthew 16 – 17; Listen to Jesus

            How many times do we open our mouths and start talking before we even start thinking? Peter seemed to have that problem. In today’s reading, he demonstrated it. Once he got it right and once he was totally wrong. The third time, well he didn’t know what to say so he just started talking.

            The first and most important thing he said was in Matthew 16:16 when he announced that he believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Wow! After all the confusion over loaves of bread and uncertainty about how to feed the crowds, Peter got it right. But we also have to note that it was because God revealed it to him.

            Within a few minutes, Peter completely blows it. When Jesus explains that the Messiah must suffer, die, and be resurrected, he looks at it strictly from a worldly viewpoint. He has the audacity to tell Jesus it won’t happen. Excuse me, Peter, here is the Messiah, the anointed one of God explaining what must take place and you are going to tell him what is right and wrong regarding prophecy?

            The third time is on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter is so far out of his element that he starts making plans for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He hasn’t put the suffering Messiah in context with what he is seeing so he just runs ahead of God suggesting his own plan. It doesn’t interrupt God at all. God covers them with a cloud and tells Peter, John, and James the most important thing that they need to do. They need to listen to Jesus.

            Our problem isn’t usually much different that Peter’s. We may be inspired by God on occasion and really understand what is going on. That is glorious. It is marvelous and we should always be in God’s word looking for these “Ah-ha” moments. But we need to do more than feel good about them, we need to apply them to our lives. Just as Jesus then informed the disciples what it meant to be the Messiah, we need to apply these inspirations to our lives or we will simply be looking at them from a human perspective. That is no better than listening to Satan because the human perspective most often opposes God’s purpose for our lives.

            Then there is the other problem of running ahead of God. We are impatient beings, but God wants us to be patient. Peter couldn’t wait to find out what was going on. He had to jump into the middle of a divine moment and open his mouth. The lesson here is that it didn’t faze God. He kept right on schedule and taught us an important lesson. Our plans don’t stop what God wants to happen. When we see the glory of Jesus, we can’t let the excitement of the moment distract us into doing some works from our own imagination. Instead, we need to make sure we are listening to Jesus.