Boast in the Lord

32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge
    and has made my way blameless.
34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your gentleness made me great.
37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
    they fell under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets. – 2 Samuel 22:32-43 ESV

Whether we want to admit it or not, we have other gods we worship, and it has always been that way. While some of our national currency still carries the phrase, “One Nation Under God,” it has never said, “One God Over the Nation.” Like every culture and generation before us, we Americans have always had a predisposition toward idolatry. The people of Israel were no different. That’s why God gave them the Ten Commandments, the first four of which deal with their relationship with Him.

God prefaced His list of commands with the statement, “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2 NLT). He was telling Moses and the people of Israel that He was to be their God, their one and only God. Then He clarified exactly what He meant.

“You must not have any other god but me.” – Exodus 20:3 NLT

In other words, unlike all the other cultures around them, they were to have only one god, not many. They were to worship one deity, not a plethora of gods as the Egyptians did. They were to give their allegiance to the one true God. It was not as if God admitted that He had real competition and demanded their undivided attention. God didn’t have to worry about competitors, but He did have to be concerned about man’s natural tendency to create false gods, man-made substitutes, or stand-ins for Him. That is why the psalmist wrote:

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and noses but cannot smell.
They have hands but cannot feel,
    and feet but cannot walk,
    and throats but cannot make a sound.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 115:4-8 NLT

But the fact that these gods are false has never stopped men from placing their hope in them. While the psalmist was obviously referring to actual 3-dimensional idols made to represent a false deity, we 21st-century human beings have moved to a much more sophisticated, yet sinister, form of idolatry. Our gods come in a variety of forms. They don’t sit on a shelf where we offer literal sacrifices to them but they demand our worship nonetheless.

We have made gods out of everything from work to entertainment, the television in our home to the money in our bank. There are so many things in our lives that demand our undivided attention or, to put it another way, our worship. We revere these things and sacrifice our time, attention, and even our money to them. We turn to them in times of trouble, hoping they will rescue us. We lean on them for a sense of contentment and happiness during the dark days of our lives. We seek satisfaction from them. We put our hope in them. But God would remind us:

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold
    and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
    Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders,
    and when they set it down, it stays there.
    It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
    It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.” – Isaiah 46:5-7 NLT

David understood that there was no reliable source of help and hope in his life, but God. This is why he rhetorically asks, “Who is God except the Lord?” The answer is obvious: No one. There is no god but God. He has no real competition. We may attempt to find help in someone or something else, but those substitutes will always come up short. They can’t deliver. That is why David said, “This God is my strong refuge” (2 Samuel 22:33 ESV). It was God alone to whom he turned for help, hope, safety, security, rescue, rest, strength, and victory. This God and no other.

In this passage, David weaves together an interesting mixture of pronouns, repeatedly referring to both himself and God. He was not putting himself on the same level as God but was simply trying to show that his life was totally dependent upon God.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer… – vs 34

He trains my hands for battle… – vs 35

You have given me your shield of victory… – vs 36

…your help has made me great… – vs 36

You have made a wide path for my feet… – vs 37

It was God who had done these things for David and, as a result, David was able to say:

I chased my enemies and destroyed them… – vs 38

I did not stop until they were conquered… – vs 38

I consumed them… – vs 39

I struck them down… – vs 39

I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth… – vs 43

David had done his part, but only because God had made it possible. David knew he was not a self-made man, so he could take no credit for his victories. He was in no place to brag about his exploits – apart from God’s help. Anything he had accomplished in his life was attributable to God. He gave God the glory because God deserved the credit. This is why David was able to say to God, “Your help has made me great” (2 Samuel 22:36 NLT).

He had no problem acknowledging God as the reason for all his victories and the source of his own self-worth. David knew that, without God, he was just another man. His reign would never have happened. No songs would have been sung about him. This lowly shepherd boy would have remained in the company of his father’s flocks with no aspirations of leaving the pasture for the palace. Apart from God, David would have accomplished nothing of lasting note or significance. It was as if David was saying, “This God has made this man who he is.”

How easy it is for us to take credit for what God has done. We boast about our accomplishments and well up with pride when we consider our own success. But we’re not completely selfish; sometimes we share the glory with others, freely admitting their support role in our lives. But, in doing so, we can easily end up giving unnecessary credit to someone or something else for what is clearly the work of God in our lives.

For some of us, luck plays a more dominant role in our lives than God Almighty. We explain our good fortune as a product of fate when we should be giving God the praise He deserves. But God warns us about the danger of misdirecting our affections or misapplying the credit for our success.

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:5 NLT

God will not share His glory with anyone or anything else. He will not tolerate faithlessness and infidelity among His people, which is why He repeatedly referred to the people of Israel as adulterous. They cheated on Him regularly. They repeatedly shared their attention and affection with others. They refused to give Him the credit He deserved and the honor His status as God demanded. But we can be guilty of the same thing. David provides us with a sobering reminder that this God of ours is worthy of our praise, glory, honor, gratitude, worship, and undivided attention. For who is God except the Lord?

It was the great reformer, John Calvin who wrote, “The heart and mind of man is ‘a perpetual forge of idols’” (John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion). Timothy Keller would expand on that idea, stating, “The human heart is an idol factory that takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them” (Timothy Keller, Counterfeit God: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matter).

David understood that God was the sole source of his success and significance. It wasn’t that David was entirely immune to idol worship. Just like us, he could make a god out of just about anything. He could deify his children by placing their well-being over obedience to the will of God. He allowed his obsession with the opposite sex to distract him from his love for God. David was anything but a saint, but he did have enough self-awareness to recognize that any success and significance he enjoyed was the work of God. He had no reason to boast, but he had every reason to bask in the glory and greatness of God.

Like the apostle Paul, David reminds us to give credit where credit is due. We owe all that we are to the one true God.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” – 1 Corinthians 26-29, 31 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy Is The Lamb!

Isaiah 43-44, Revelation 5

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! – Revelation 5:12 ESV

God's relationship with Israel was complicated. He had chosen them. He had made them His prized possession among all the nations of the world. He had determined to dwell among them, give them His law as a standard for righteous living, and then provided the sacrificial system as a means of forgiveness when they failed to live up to His law. They were to worship Him as their God. They were to both love and fear Him. They were expected to obey Him. They were to acknowledge Him as their Creator and King. He was to be their Lord of Hosts, their rescuer and protector in times of conflict. But more than anything, God was to be their Savior and Redeemer. There were times when He was forced to be their Judge, pronouncing His sentence of guilt upon them and executing the punishment they so justly deserved. Yet, in spite of their sin, God always stood ready to be their Savior. He repeatedly restored and redeemed them.  

What does this passage reveal about God?

God is worthy to be worshiped. He is deserving of man's praise and adoration – especially those who have been called by His name. He is the one who created all that exists. And as if that was not enough, He determined to have a special, one-of-a-kind relationship with the nation of Israel. He chose to allow them to experience the power of His presence. He revealed Himself to them. He dwelt among them. He gave them His law. He led them. He fed them. He protected and provided for them. He told them, “I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3 ESV). He reminded them, “you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4 ESV). He went out of His way to teach them, “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isaiah 43:15 ESV). And yet, they responded to Him with indifference, apathy, and a stubborn refusal to acknowledge who He was and all that He had done. “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel!” (Isaiah 43:22 ESV). Rather than worship Him, they burdened Him with their sins and wore Him out with their iniquities (Isaiah 43:24). But amazingly, God responded with grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. “I, I am he, who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

When the people of Israel were given the unique opportunity to have a relationship with the God of the universe, they proved to be unfaithful. Their affections for Him proved fickle and fleeting. Rather than honor Him as the one true God, they constantly found themselves turning to false gods. When faced with difficulties or in the midst of trying circumstances, they consistently put their hopes, expectations and affections in something other than God. His repeated acts of kindness, deliverance, protection, provision, mercy, grace, and love were met with indifference, doubt, ingratitude, and unfaithfulness. God had proven Himself over and over again. He had shown that He alone was God. There were no other gods before Him. He had defeated the gods of Egypt. He had overcome the gods of the nations that occupied the land of Canaan. He ridiculed the very idea of idols, saying, “All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit” (Isaiah 44:9 ESV). He exposed the idiocy of those who bowed down to the very things they had created, rather than worship the One who had created them.  

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

For those of us who call ourselves children of God, He has proven Himself worthy of our allegiance. He has redeemed us through the blood of His own Son. He has provided us a means by which we can escape judgment and enjoy a restored relationship with Him. He has rescued and redeemed us. He has shown Himself to be worthy of our praise, adoration, obedience, love and worship. And we are reminded that that worth is unmatched and without end. There is no one else like Him. There is nothing on this earth that even remotely comes close to Him in value and worth. There is nothing in heaven that rivals His majesty, power, and holiness, or merits our worship, attention or affections. In the book of Revelation, John is given a glimpse into heaven and shown a scene that takes place some time in the distant future. He sees God sitting on His throne in heaven, holding in his hand a scroll. John hears the voice of an angel crying out, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seals?” (Revelation 5:2 ESV). And much to John's dismay, he realizes that “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it” (Revelation 5:3 ESV), and he began to weep. The scroll contained the details concerning the future of mankind and the earth. It would reveal how the story ends, but no one was worthy to open it and reveal what was going to happen. Except for one – the Lamb who was slain. “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10 ESV). The one who was slain is the one who will make possible the final fulfillment of God's plan of redemption and restoration of creation. He alone is worthy. It is He who provided for our salvation and who will make possible the consummation of all things. He is our Savior, Holy One, Creator, King, Lord of Hosts, and Redeemer. No one and nothing else deserves our praise, attention, affections, hope, trust, worship, and love. “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13 ESV).

Father, it is so amazing that I can find myself worshiping anything or anyone other than You. Nothing compares to You. Nothing can hold a candle to You. Your power is unmatched. Your holiness is unexcelled. And yet I can so easily end up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. I can so quickly place my affections and expectations in those things that cannot deliver. You alone are God. You alone are worthy. You have proven that to be true time and time again, and when it comes time for You to bring Your plan to an end, it will be Your Son who proves worthy to finish what You began. Amen

Betraying God.

Deuteronomy 7-8, John 13

Beware lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth”. ­– Deuteronomy 8:17 ESV

God had blessed the people of Israel in amazing ways over the four decades since He had released them from captivity in Egypt. Not only had He arranged their release through a series of spectacular and devastating plagues, He had also fed them with manna from heaven and water from a rock. He prevented their clothes and their sandals from wearing out. He had revealed the glory of His power and presence through the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day. He had promised to give them a land of their own, providing for them vineyards and fields they never had to plant, as well as homes and cities to live in that they weren't required to build. God had shown these people favor after favor, extending mercy and grace beyond measure. But as they stood on the edge of the Promised Land, Moses warned them. He knew their hearts. He was well aware of their tendencies. He had struggled with these people for over 40 years. So he gives them some much-needed last-minute advice.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God was going to do His part. He had gotten them this far, and He would make sure that the land He had promised to them made it into their possession. Moses knew that this second generation were no different than the first. As soon as they saw the strength and size of the enemies in the land, they would panic. But he reminded them that God was clear out all the nations before them. He would literally give them over to the Israelites for destruction. Their job was to fight and, ultimately, to wipe out the nations who occupied the land. As harsh as this may sound, God had a very good reason for the extermination of the pagan nations that lived in the land of Canaan. He knew that they were idol worshipers and worse. They were the antithesis of what He wanted the people of Israel to be. If left to live in the land, it would just be a matter of time before the Israelites intermarried with them and took on their gods. They would end up co-habitating with the enemy and compromising their convictions. So God ordered their complete annihilation. He wanted the full attention and devotion of the people He had chosen. God wanted to bless them, but that was going to be impossible if they risked betraying their loyalty and devotion to Him.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Moses told the people, “The whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give your fathers” (Deuteronomy 8:1 ESV). “So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him” (Deuteronomy 8:6 ESV). But he also provided them with a sober warning to “take care lest you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11 ESV). How would they forget God? By failing to keep His commandments. By accepting His blessings and enjoying the God-given wealth of the land, but allowing pride to rise up and cause them to wrongly assume that “my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17 ESV).

He warned them not to forget God. To do so would be to betray Him, to turn their back on Him. And yet, they would be constantly tempted to do just that. God would give them victories and they would attempt to take credit for it. God would bless their crops and increase their wealth, and they would assume responsibility for having made it happen. Moses knew that God was going to bless them, because He had promised to do so and God could be trusted to keep His word. But Moses also knew that the people would be prone to betray God by refusing to obey Him and give Him the glory He deserved. One of the greatest ways men can honor and glorify God is to recognize His activity in their lives. Acknowledging the presence and power of God all around us brings Him glory.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Jesus lived His life on this earth to glorify the Father. He said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son,he will soon give glory to the Son” (John 13:31-32 NLT). Jesus complete obedience to the will of the Father in this life brought glory to God. His death on the cross brought glory to God because it was the ultimate expression of His unwavering obedience. His resurrection from the dead brought glory to God because it was the work of God. And now, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, restored to His former place and glorified by God Himself.

Jesus was not going to betray His Father. He would not assume credit for the work of the Father in His life. He spoke only what His Father commanded Him to speak. He lived in obedience and submission to the will of God. And He has called all His disciples to live likewise. We are called to live like Christ, to live in humble submission to God and willful obedience to His Word. Jesus washed the disciples' feet, not as a ritual to be repeated, but as an example to be followed. Jesus humbled Himself. He served others. In just a few hours from the moment He toweled off the feet of the last disciple, Jesus would be hanging on a cross, the ultimate expression of servanthood. He would give Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Jesus wanted His disciples to follow His lead. He wanted them to honor God rather than betray Him. Peter claimed that he was willing to die for Jesus, but Jesus begged to differ. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times” (John 13:38 ESV). Jesus had already revealed that Judas was going to betray Him. Now He tells Peter that, he too, will betray Him. The betrayal of God is a constant threat to each and every one of us. Turning our backs on God will always be a real temptation as long as we live on this earth. But we have been called to live in obedient submission to His will, giving Him the glory He deserves by recognizing His constant hand in our lives. Nothing we do is accomplished apart from God. Our greatest achievements are due to the grace and mercy of God. Rather than betray Him, I should live to display Him to the world around me. Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Father, I am nothing without You. I can do nothing without You. Forgive me for taking credit for and control of my life. I want to live in obedient submission to You, recognizing Your role in my life and remembering all that You have done for me over the years. May my life bring You glory and honor as I recognize Your activity in my life. Amen

The Key To Pleasing God.

Colossians 1:1-14

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. – Colossians 1:10 NLT

I don't think I've ever met an individual who claims to be a Christian who hasn't somehow aspired to live a life that is pleasing to God. In fact, most of us as believers know that our lives should be markedly different than those of non-believers. We recognize that God has a higher standard for us. So we go out of our way to try and attempt to live in such a way that our lives somehow bring glory to Him. What we usually end up with is some list of do's and don'ts that we use to determine our behavior and, ultimately to measure our degree of spirituality. Here's the formula most of us work from: More good behavior + less bad behavior = holiness. So we attempt to increase certain things in our life that we understand to be good, while eliminating other things that might hamper our holiness because they're inherently bad. So we read our Bibles and we give up smoking. We attend church and stop hanging out at bars. We listen to Christian music instead of rock or rap. But too often we miss the whole point. We can't actually increase our holiness through behavior modification. We can't sanctify ourselves any more than we could save ourselves.

That's why this passage in the very beginning of Paul's letter to the believers in Colosse is so important. He is writing to Christians and is confident that they have had a saving encounter with Jesus Christ. He refers to them as "God's holy people" (Colossians 1:2a NLT). He has heard great reports regarding their faith in Jesus Christ and their love for one another. And he offers up a prayer for them at the very start of his letter. That prayer is insightful and gives us a great glimpse into what Paul understood about the key to living a godly life. Notice that the verse above starts with the word, "then." Some translations use the words, "so that" or "in order that." But the idea is the same. Paul is telling the believers in Colosse that if they want to live lives that honor and please God, and if they want to live lives that produce every kind of good fruit, there is something they are going to have to have before that can happen. And that ingredient is made clear in Paul's prayer for them. "We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9 NLT). Paul tells them, "we have not stopped praying for you…" and the content of those prayers have been that they might know God's will and have spiritual wisdom and understanding. Those things are not just "nice-to-have-them-if-I-can-get-them" kinds of things. They are the keys to living a life that honors and pleases God. They are non-negotiables to to fruitful living.

Paul knew that in order for the believers in Colosse to live godly lives they were going to need to know the will of God. They were going to have to understand what it is that God desired for them. Over in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul wrote the Thessalonian believers that God's will for them was to be holy – set apart, devoted to God. His will for all believers is that they live lives that are distinctive and different, characterized by the Spirit's presence and God's righteous requirements. One of the primary ways in which we can know God's will is by reading and obeying God's Word. The Bible is the revelation of God and gives us a glimpse into His character and His expectations of mankind. As believers, we have the unique combination of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God that provides us with a way to know God's will, and a means to receive spiritual wisdom and understanding. Together, they provide us with divine insights into the will and ways of God. When I know His will and gain spiritual wisdom and understanding from His Word, I have what it takes to live a life that will always honor and please Him. I also have what it takes to produce the kind of fruit He is looking for.

Paul offered up a similar prayer for the believers who were living in Philippi. "I pray that…you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – for this will bring much glory and praise to God" (Philippians 1:9-10 NLT). He prayed for knowledge and understanding. He wanted them to know and understand not only God's expectations, but His provision. God makes the life of holiness possible. He provides us with salvation and then gives us His Word and His Spirit to aid us in the pursuit of sanctification. When we discover His will through His Word, and rely upon His Spirit to empower us to obey what we see and hear, our lives end up bearing fruit that is Spirit-produced. Paul describes that fruit in Galatians 5. "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT). That kind of fruit honors and pleases God because it is fruit that is the by-product of His presence in our lives. We can't manufacture it on our own. So when it shows up, it is proof of His presence in our lives.

So if you want your life to honor and please God, producing fruit that is of divine origin, then you will have to know His will and possess a wisdom and understanding that is not of this world. That will require time spent in His Word. It will demand a submission to His Spirit's leading. It will take a willing obedience to and trusting faith in His will for your life. And it all starts in the Word of God. Go there. Spend time there. Get to know Him there. And "you will grow to know God better and better" (Colossians 1:10b NLT).

Father, never let us lose sight of the fact that Your Word is essential for living a life that honors and pleases You. We can't know Your will part from Your Word. We can't get to know You well if we refuse to spend time in the very book that reveals Your character to us. May we grow increasingly dependent on Your Word and Your Holy Spirit's leading, so that our lives might honor and please you, producing fruit that proves Your powerful presence in our lives. Amen.

Ken Miller Grow Pastor & Minister to Men kenm@christchapelbc.org