Submitting to Authorities

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

1 Πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις ὑποτασσέσθω. οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσία εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ, αἱ δὲ οὖσαι ὑπὸ θεοῦ τεταγμέναι εἰσίν.

This is one of those verses that many of us choke on. After all, here in America we can point to all kinds of corruption in the government. Everyone has that and everyone can find governing authorities that clearly have beliefs that are antagonistic to the Christian. For example, a wildly pro-choice elected official should cause problems of conscience to the sincere believer. Can't we just ignore a President who holds beliefs that are clearly contrary to Scripture?


But we have to deal with this verse. I find the phrase αἱ δὲ οὖσαι interesting. This is a participle that is broken up by the weak adversitive δὲ. Basically, what this reads is "those that are." In other words, anyone who is in power is there because God put him there.


A lot of American Christians have problems with Barack Obama, and legitimately so. I have my issues with his politics. Yet he was instituted by God. Taking this further, Nero was instituted by God. Stalin and Hitler were instituted by God. Their positions were established by Him and they were put there by Him for His purposes. To think less would be to grossly understate His sovereignty. 


I realize that this philosophically borders on theodicy in a way, but we cannot ignore this verse. When we reach a tension like this we have two choices. We can say that God must fit the way we think things should be, which is what a lot of people do. Or, we can change our view of God based on Scripture. That is the way we should do it. That's easy to write, but difficult to do.

Living in Peace

Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

18 εἰ δυνατὸν τὸ ἐξ ὑμῶν, μετὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων εἰρηνεύοντες·

We've turned the corner from theology to praxis. This happens in all of Paul's letters. At some point he stops describing who God is and then explains what we should do with this knowledge. Not coincidentally, that's also how a good sermon should go. It's important to get this straight lest we slip into legalism. If one were to preach anything in Romans 12-16 without first addressing the material in Romans 1-11 then he may as well be a self-help guru rather than a preacher. The glib seminary explanation for this is that you must preach the indicatives before the imperatives.


This verse is one that has intrigued me for a while and now that I look at it in Greek it intrigues me a bit more. There are no verbs in this verse. The first phrase εἰ δυνατὸν τὸ ἐξ ὑμῶν could be very woodenly translated something like, "If power from you," which should be smoothed out to, "If there is power from you." The ESV translation above captures this well, but it is still interesting to see what they had to work with. The second half has the participle εἰρηνεύοντες.This is a present active nominative participle. Basically, it means "living in a state of peace." According to Wallace, this imperatival use of the participle is quite rare and most of the occurrences are in Romans 12 and 1 Peter. It is important that the participle have no connection to a finite verb, which is the case here.


This explains how we get our English translation. But what to do with it? I have found that this verse can be quite burdensome or liberating depending on how we look at it. It is burdensome in that we are expected to do what we can to make peace. We are to do everything in our power to live in peace with everyone.


However, it is liberating in that once we do what we can then the rest is between that person and the Lord. This means that we cannot force someone to forgive us and live peaceably us. We cannot force the contentious person to treat us well no matter how nice we are. This is vitally important as we can get caught up in our own efforts. We need to do our part and then trust God in His sovereignty. 

True Authority

Revelation 13:7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

7 καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ νικῆσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος. 8  καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.

It's tempting to get sidetracked with interpretive questions here.  Who is the beast?  Is it the President?  I don't think so for a lot of reasons.  Some thought it was Kennedy.  Others thought it was Hitler.  Pope John Paul II was another candidate.  We can speculate forever about this and in fact there are many folks who love to do just that.  I do not want to venture any guess about that.

But what I do know for sure is that any evil only exists through authority given by the Lord.  The phrase ἐδόθη αὐτῷ (literally translated "it was given") is an aorist passive.  In other words, all of these abominations could not happen apart from God's will.  He does not necessarily will each specific evil act, but He does give authority to this beast.

We've seen this before in Scripture.  The same thing happens in Job, which makes some skeptics see the whole book as little more than a bar bet between God and Satan.  But where we see this most significantly is at the cross.  There are references throughout Scripture that it was God's will for Jesus to die on the cross.  Therefore, in a sense God willed the most heinous act ever committed.

Does this mean we should throw in the towel when it comes to God?  By no means!  Instead, it should comfort us that nothing happens beyond His control.  I can't speak for you, but I always like to have a sense of what is going on.  I can handle a certain degree of chaos if I know that the important things are taken care of.  Knowing that God is ultimately in charge gives me great comfort.  All sorts of terrible things happen to Christians every day.  Yet God is in control and has a plan to make it all work out for His glory.  Therefore, if we focus on the Lord and the glory of His name as our greatest good then we can weather anything that comes our way.

Sovereign Will

James 4:15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

15 ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς· ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ καὶ ζήσομεν καὶ ποιήσομεν τοῦτο ἢ ἐκεῖνο.

Here James is explaining how we should view the future.  He rebukes those who plan for the future with certainty by giving the example of folks who plan on going to a town and spending some time there engaged in some business enterprise.  It is not that the act is sinful, but their attitude is.  They just assume that everything will be fine.  But James tells them that they ought to say ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ, which is a third-class condition.  That means that the future is not certain, but likely.

This use of the third-class condition saves us from all kinds of craziness.  Clearly we need to plan our lives.  We need to have stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure.  But what this passage does is to remind us that God is sovereign over everything.  I plan on seeing my kids graduate from high school.  I plan on seeing them get married.  I plan on serving the Lord for at least another 40 or 50 years.  But I also know that I could go through a green light today and a semi could be out of control and just obliterate my little car and me inside it.  Someone could blow a tire on the highway and smash into me.  I could have a seizure and discover that I have a brain tumor.  There are all sorts of grisly scenarios that could play out down to more mundane things like losing my job.

I don't expect them to happen, but if they do I will not be shocked.  God has a plan for my life and I will live as long as He wants for me to live.  My life will be prosperous as He wants for it to be prosperous.  It is perhaps a bit trite the way so many Christians say, "Lord willing" when they speak of the future, but I believe that to be biblical.  God is in control of everything.  Acknowledging that gives Him the credit He deserves.

Great Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

11  Ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐκληρώθημεν προορισθέντες κατὰ πρόθεσιν τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐνεργοῦντος κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ 12  εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης αὐτοῦ τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ.

Ephesians is one of those books where it is hard for me to pick just a single short passage and write about it.  This book has been transformational in my thinking about God.  Any idea of a God who doesn't know the future goes right out the window.  Any idea of a God who is beholden to man's "free will" is also destroyed by this book.

First of all, we see ἐκληρώθημεν, which is an aorist passive first person plural verb.  The fact that it is passive shows that the inheritance is something we receive rather than obtain.  There is a big difference there.  Man is not the actor, but has the action done to him.  We have obtained this incredible inheritance of eternal life through Christ.  Many stories have been written where a long-lost uncle or aunt dies and leaves some ridiculous inheritance.  (This is one of my favorites.)  We have something even better.  We have the God of the universe telling us that we have an inheritance in Him.

Unlike hapless Brewster, we have assurance that this will work out.  Why?  We know it is true because  τὰ πάντα ἐνεργοῦντος κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ.  He works all things according to the counsel of His will.  In other words, anything that happens is according to the counsel of His will.  Katrina?  That cannot happen apart from the counsel of His will.  The 9/11 attacks?  He certainly could have prevented them, but He didn't.  I don't want to get into the arguments about theodicy here, but the text certainly seems to say that everything has a reason behind it.  We just don't know what that reason is.

Finally, we see why God would bother with sinners like us.  He does this for the praise of His glory.  It's all about His glory.  If God were on earth and subject to psychologists He would be called narcissistic.  But the thing is that He is God.  Therefore, He alone deserves to have that kind of praise and glory heaped upon Him.  And in fact we are most satisfied when we feed that by focusing our attention on bringing Him glory.

This whole book is just amazing.  It shows us that God is really big, we are really small, and that this infinite God is also incredibly loving and merciful.  I hope that you enjoy contemplating the greatness and glory of this God, whether things are going well for you or poorly.  It's a reminder I definitely need.

Lament for Jerusalem

Luke 13:34-35
(34)  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
(35)  Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

(34)  Ἰερουσαλὴμ Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυνάξαι τὰ τέκνα σου ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις τὴν ἑαυτῆς νοσσιὰν ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε. 

(35)  ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν. λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἴδητέ με ἕως ἥξει ὅτε εἴπητε, Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου.

I know someone who takes this passage and its parallel in Matthew as a defense against Calvinism.  If Jesus says that He would have gathered them together but they resisted, then how can we speak of irresistible grace?  Where is God's sovereignty in election?  

First of all, I think that Jesus is using Jersualem as a metaphor for Israel.  I get this from His use of  τὰ τέκνα σου.  It seems to me that "your children" refers to all the Jews.  If you've read the Old Testament you've seen that the Jews made it a habit to resist God.  Of course, everyone does this.  

No one denies that Israel was God's chosen people.  However, it is clear from the Old Testament that they broke their covenant with God and had to face the consequences of it.  This was predicted back in Moses' farewell speech in Deuteronomy.

Does this mean that the people were free to do whatever they wanted?  They were free to live according to their nature, which is inherently sinful.  I would read this passage along with 2 Peter 3:9.  God wants for all men to be saved, but clearly all men are not saved.  Does this make God impotent to save?

By no means!  Rather than reinventing the wheel, I would point you to this excellent essay by John Piper.  I would love to interact with anyone in the comments, but not before you read that essay. 

Dinner Reservations

Matthew 26:17-18
(17)  Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
(18)  He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'"

(17)  Τῇ δὲ πρώτῃ τῶν ἀζύμων προσῆλθον οἱ μαθηταὶ τῷ Ἰησοῦ λέγοντες, Ποῦ θέλεις ἑτοιμάσωμέν σοι φαγεῖν τὸ πάσχα; 

(18)  ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ὑπάγετε εἰς τὴν πόλιν πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα καὶ εἴπατε αὐτῷ, Ὁ διδάσκαλος λέγει, Ὁ καιρός μου ἐγγύς ἐστιν· πρὸς σὲ ποιῶ τὸ πάσχα μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν μου.

I don't have any profound exegetical insights from this passage, but am writing about it because it has always fascinated me.  I have wondered if Jesus had spoken to this man long before.  Or maybe Jesus knew Him to be a faithful man who would be all too happy to have Jesus keep the Passover at his house.

What I do know is that this is one more piece of evidence for the absolute sovereignty of God.  For Jesus to say something like this indicates certainty on His part.  He knew that it would work out.  He wasn't showing up to the best restaurant in town at 7:00 PM on a Friday evening and hoping to get in with a date.  He knew that this was going to happen.

This is the Lord I serve.  What an awesome privilege to know Him!

Anxiety

Matthew 6:31-34

(31) Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

(32) For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

(33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(34) "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Our society is very good at being anxious. In fact, we're so good at it that there is a huge pharmaceutical industry to help people deal with their anxiety. We get anxious about our jobs. We get anxious about our families. We get anxious about acquiring more stuff. We get anxious when we drive. We're a society on edge and we seem to think it needs to be that way.

From what I've seen the church is not very much different. Sometimes we get anxious about the things that the world gets anxious about. Other times we get what we consider to be righteous anxiety about things related to the kingdom of God. We worry about how we are going to pay the bills, or maybe how we are going to get enough volunteers to work some ministry. Sadly, we often don't look much different than the world.

As a church we're very good at the big sins that involve sex or substance abuse. However, I'm not sure that we are so good with this one. Jesus expressly tells us not to be anxious. Obviously we still need to work. We don't just sit back and expect God to miraculously work things out. He uses means to accomplish His will. However, we must not be anxious about how it's all going to work out.

There is an overused phrase today of, "It is what it is." That's something we need to remember as we let ourselves get worked up about things. Either things will work out or they won't. Our attitude about it speaks volumes about our faith. Do we trust that God has a good plan or do we think that He needs our help to keep things straight? When things don't work out the way we hoped do we think that God made a mistake?

Let's seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. Once we do that our priorities will be His priorities and then we will be able to rest in His providential goodness.

Links in the Chain

Matthew 1:1

(1) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

I think a lot of us kind of tune out when we read parts of the Bible like Matthew 1:1-17 or Genesis 5. Who wants to get bogged down in genealogies? After all, didn't Paul tell us to avoid them?

What we may forget is that these tell us a lot about God and how He sovereignly rules over His creation. God gave us a hint of what was to come in Genesis 3 when He promised that someone in the line of Eve would eventually crush the serpent. Then He gave us another hint in Genesis 12 when He dealt with Abram and promised him land, seed, and blessing. This then carries over to 2 Samuel 7 when He made His covenant with David.

God is incredible. He sovereignly worked through men and women throughout history to bring us Messiah. This all came about in Jesus. Think about that this Advent season as we anticipate the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. While we can argue about the actual date of His birth, the important thing is that He came as it was prophesied. Who else but a sovereign God could make that happen?

Mercy in Action

Joel 2:18-19

(18) Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

(19) The LORD answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

This is a transition from all the calamity that had come upon the people. The land was in bad shape after the plague of locusts and the drought. And yet God relented toward His people.

What I notice in this account is that the people could not do anything to save themselves. Yes, there was a call to repent. However, it looks like God made the first move. He had pity on His people and then decided to send them "grain, wine and oil" so that they may be satisfied.

That is what He has done for any of us who know Christ. He has saved us. He is the one who does the action. Yes, we must repent and believe. However, He makes the first move. I don't know why He saved me, but I'm sure glad that He did!

More Tools

Ezekiel 21:28-30

(28) "And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning--

(29) while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

(30) Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

Back in Isaiah I wrote quite a bit about God's sovereignty in using kingdoms for His purposes. Here is another example. My ESV Study Bible note on verse 30 made the point that the command to "return it to its sheath" is another example of God using a kingdom to judge another, but still saving that kingdom for its own destruction.

I can remember how I would read the Old Testament and shake my head at the ignorance of the people. I would wonder how they could be so thick. I realize that I've written on this over and over again, but I think it bears repeating as often as God repeats it in His Word. The ignorance of Israel reminds me of how foolish I was and continue to be in my own life. I know that I keep making the same dumb mistakes. I know that it takes me a long time to learn some lessons.

The good news is that I serve a very patient and loving God. He blesses me way beyond what I deserve. I deserve death from Him and He gives me life. I deserve dryness and He gives me bounty. All I can do is thank and praise Him.

A New Heart

Ezekiel 11:19-21

(19) And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

(20) that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

(21) But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

This is a little appetizer for a similar promise that is coming in Ezekiel 36. Here God is telling Ezekiel how things will work. The people have hearts of stone. God promises that He will remove their hearts of stone and replace them. He has to do this in order that they can follow Him. It ends by reminding us that there are those who will still pursue their own desires. I would take this to mean that they still have the hearts of stone.

Hopefully this passage points you to the incredible majesty of God. He transforms hearts in His sovereign will. He doesn't woo people to Him. He doesn't sit up in heaven hoping that we will choose Him because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. No, He transforms people from the inside-out so that they may have a relationship with Him.

Does this make the chosen any better than those who are not chosen? I would say no. We are all like sheep who have gone astray. All I know is that I want to be faithful to my calling.

Really Gone

Jeremiah 50:39-40
(39) "Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations.
(40) As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

Ever seen Babylon on a map? I understand that it is in present-day Iraq. I also have heard that Saddam Hussein intended to rebuild it. That makes a lot of sense for someone who saw himself in the light he did.

However, it never happened. He was overthrown and democracy now more or less rules in Iraq. I am not trying to say that the United States was necessarily acting out of the interest of serving God's will, but it does seem like we were used to keep this prophecy valid. I don't want to make too much of the war in Iraq. I do know that there are a lot of people happy to have seen Saddam fall though.

My point is that God will fulfill His purposes. He will use means to accomplish them. I think that there are plenty of times when the means don't even realize how they are being used. The US invasion of Iraq is probably one of them. The Babylonian attack on Judah was certainly another.

God is bigger than we are. He sees how it all works out. No matter how hard we try we cannot foil His plans. I find that life is just better if we are working with Him rather than against Him.

Self-Help

Jeremiah 13:23
(23) Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.

The people of Judah were immersed in sin. They had temples to Baal. They were offering up their children to Molech (not unlike what we do now, actually). They had run far from God and were committed to evil.

I would maintain that we are in exactly the same state in our sin. This is our nature. We may not be as bad as we could be, but we are certainly predisposed to sin and away from God. Therefore, we have a major problem. An Ethiopian could not become white by choice and a leopard could not get rid of his spots by choice. These qualities are parts of their nature.

This is why the free and sovereign choice of God to save men is so wonderful. God saved me when I was mired in my sin. I was as unable to choose God as a leopard is to change his spots. Considering this really puts me in awe of the incredible love of our sovereign Lord.

Turning the Tables

Isaiah 49:22-23
(22) Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
(23) Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."

I'm not sure that we can really imagine this properly. Think of the President of the United States shining your shoes. Imagine a Middle Eastern dictator bowing at your feet and getting you drinks while you lounge at the pool. It's hard to comprehend, isn't it?

What a metaphor for the riches that we have waiting for us at the end! I don't think that any of my examples will become literally true, but the point is that what seems powerful in the world now will seem very insignificant one day. At that time we will be certain who the Lord of the universe really is.

Keep Reading

Isaiah 46:8-11
(8) "Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,
(9) remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
(10) declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
(11) calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

There are some folks who don't spend much time in the Old Testament. I would maintain that goes against this command. There is value in remembering what God did for His covenant people Israel. It reminds us of His ultimate goodness and His sovereignty.

Personally, when I read Exodus I am encouraged that the same God who freed Israel from Egypt also freed me from bondage to my sins. I am encouraged that the God who used David can use me for His purposes. I am encouraged that God is powerful enough to use Cyrus ("bird of prey from the east") to ultimately restore His people after they sin. If He can do that He can also restore me from mine.

God is indeed an awesome God. There is no one like Him. Spend time reading about all He has done for His people and be encouraged.

An Unlikely Tool

Isaiah 45:1-6
(1) Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
(2) "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,
(3) I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
(4) For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.
(5) I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
(6) that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Think about this for a minute. Cyrus was not going to be a Jew. In fact, he would be king of the nation that took the Jews into captivity. Yet here is described as God's "anointed." This has a couple of implications.

First, it shows that God is indeed sovereign. This was written before Cyrus came into power and yet it predicted exactly how things would go. Cyrus would be instrumental to the rebuilding of the temple.

Second, it shows that God works in ways that we often do not comprehend. I'm pretty sure it would be tough for a Jew to think of Cyrus as someone that God calls His own. Yet here it is in black and white.

What do we do with this? I think that it makes us take a moment to look with awe at the amazing sovereign power of our God. It also should keep us from putting Him in a box regarding how He operates. I consistently pray for the salvation of many people that seem like hopeless cases. But if God could use Cyrus He can find ways to save these folks. He saved me after all.

Prepare for Destruction

Isaiah 43:25-28
(25) "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
(26) Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
(27) Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.
(28) Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

It's hard to pick just one passage out of this incredible chapter. I like this one because it really explains how God saves us.

First, He blots out our transgressions for His sake. It's not all about us, despite what many appeals to salvation may sound like. It is for His sake. That is why He saved Israel. I believe that is also why He saves us. Of course, we should enjoy the blessings that come from salvation, but ultimately it is for His glory.

The rest of this passage shows us our complete inability to save ourselves. Israel's first father sinned. The ESV Study Bible thinks this is either Abraham or Jacob. My initial reading is to take this as Adam, but I can see where they're coming from. This passage certainly does address Israel head-on.

Israel's sin led to their destruction. Our sin leads to our own personal destruction. The good news is that, like Israel, we are to get rebuilt after that destruction. There can be no salvation without personal spiritual destruction. I've had to go through that with habitual sins in my life and I feel like I'm going through some of that now with how I've treated my wife. It's not a lot of fun to go through, but at least there is hope on the other side!

He is Sovereign

Isaiah 40:13-15
(13) Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
(14) Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
(15) Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

I feel very encouraged when I read this as part of my morning reading. God is in charge. No one can contain Him. He is perfectly wise and needs no counsel from anyone. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles like nations at war are nothing to Him. He calls me His son so I don't have to worry.

That sounds great as part of a morning devotional. The problem is that I don't really believe that. I give it mental assent, but the way I live often shows that I don't really buy this. I think that it is my job to work things out. I think that problems are too big for me to handle. I lose sight of the fact that God holds the whole world in His hands.

I'm not sure who is reading this, but I suspect that you can relate. I suspect that you have times where your faith falters a little bit. I want to encourage you to remember this passage. Spend time in the Word to be reminded of just how great and powerful God truly is. Repent of your sins and follow after Christ. He alone will guide us to victory.

All Part of the Plan

Isaiah 25:1
(1) O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

There was an episode of Cheers where Sam and Woody conspired to throw off Gary's Olde Towne Tavern's annual bid to win the bloody mary contest. Woody and Sam had a fight and Woody ended up working for Gary. They got a fake judge who declared Gary's to be the winner. After the judge left Sam and Woody started answering questions for the regular patrons about the elaborate ruse. Woody kept saying, "All part of the plan," until Gary came back for the real contest and Woody said, "Not part of the plan."

Nothing can happen to make God say, "Not part of the plan." Of course, this begs the question about the Garden of Eden. I don't think God wanted for Adam and Eve to sin, but He knew it would happen. Therefore, Jesus has always been part of the plan.

The things God does are part of a plan that was formed before the universe existed. He has it all under control. Only God could do this as we cannot possibly comprehend the myriad of variables that goes into even a single life, let alone the billions on the planet. The point of all this is that we have a God who is worthy of our praise and worship. He is in control and we can rest easy in that knowledge.