How can I know that the Bible is really God’s word? Suggested Daily Reading: II Peter 1:19-21 and II Timothy 3:14-17 This meditation includes the first 6 of 12 evidences that testify that the Bible is not just a book written by man or just a religious book that some people think is special, but that the Bible is really the word of God. Think of the Bible’s unique: Order and completeness – The Bible was written by more than 40 very different human writers living over a 2,000 year span, yet their writings form one unified message regarding the core issues of life. Indestructibility – Despite countless attempts to outlaw and destroy the Bible over the ages, it still continues today as the most widely read book around the world. Universality – The Bible speaks to the hearts all types of people regardless of era, culture or age for thousands of years. Power – Nations that have followed the teachings of the Bible have been changed and have prospered throughout history, and the reverse is also true. Cannot be exhausted– No matter how many sermons have been preached or books written based on the Bible, there is no end; there is always more. Honesty – Other books enhance the good traits and actions of their heroes and minimize their faults, but not the Bible.  It speaks just as honestly of the sins and failures of the saints as of their faith and good works. Do you value your Bible as God’s words written to you?  Do pray and strive to set your life’s thoughts, words and actions by its teachings?

Q: If God loves His children, then why do many Christians suffer, and some of them suffer a lot? Suggested Daily Reading: Matthew 15:21-28 A: Years ago, a woman was traveling by stagecoach in Montana on a bitterly cold winter day.  Temperatures were far below zero.  She was not properly dressed for a lengthy trip in this type of cold weather, and the driver was worried that she would freeze to death.  He kept calling back to her to make sure fatal drowsiness did not set in.  When she no longer answered, he stopped, seized the woman, pulled her out, dragged her over the frozen ground, and left her there. Then he drove away.  The woman awoke from this rough treatment and saw the driver leaving with his empty coach.  She started yelling and screaming and running after the stagecoach.  But he paid no attention and kept driving. Were the driver’s actions ones of love?  Or did they just produce suffering?  In actuality the driver knew that the only way he could keep this lady alive was to force her to run and get her circulation flowing and her body warmed.  After she had run a sufficient length of time, he stopped and helped her back into the coach. Sometimes God’s actions may appear to be like the stagecoach driver’s.  They seem so harsh and uncaring.  They appear to only produce suffering.  But actually, the Lord will often use affliction to draw us closer to Him.  We often learn most about ourselves and God in times of affliction.  Such times are often used to get our spiritual circulation flowing and to warm our hearts again.  God’s ways are higher than ours.  Often we cannot understand His dealings in our lives.  Think of the story of Joseph and the suffering he experienced as a slave and a prisoner.  But what does Joseph say years later when speaking with his brothers who had so terribly mistreated him?  “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen 50:19-20). Read the daily reading listed above.  Did it seem like Jesus was treating this woman unkindly?  Yet we see in the end that what looked like “pushing her away” was really “drawing her closer” and developing and bringing into the open deeper levels of her faith.  God often uses afflictions in our lives to produce good results.  This is why we sing in Psalter 329:4 (from Ps. 119) “Affliction has been for my profit, that I to Thy statutes might hold.” No one wants to experience affliction or suffering, but when these experiences draw us closer to God are they not be blessings as well?  Would you be willing to suffer afflictions if they were used by God to deepen your faith and unite you more intimately with Jesus Christ?

Q: Shouldn’t everyone simply go to the type of church that they like best? Suggested Daily Reading: 1 Kings 12:26-33 A: Imagine a guy who is attracted to a girl.  She has accepted his past invitations and they have really enjoyed their time together.  Her birthday is approaching and he wants to give her a special present.  He loves dogs.  When visiting a bookstore, he is impressed by a beautiful, expensive book with gorgeous photographs of all types of dogs.  With warm emotions, he buys the book and has it specially gift-wrapped for her.  The problem, however, is that she hates dogs.  His gift flops.  What is the problem? This young man made a serious mistake.  When selecting his gift, he focused on what he liked and not on that which would please his girlfriend. This same mistake is made when considering church worship.  We gather together on Sunday to worship God, not ourselves.  My focus is to be on God, not on me.  What God prefers and delights is to be the primary focus of my worship, not that which I might like. People can be sincere, but sincerely mistaken in this matter. Jeroboam made this mistake.  You can learn about this from the daily reading listed above.  To fit his own preferences and conveniences, and according to his own judgments, he chose and established a different place and manner to worship God.  We know, however, that again and again it is repeated in Scripture when describing kings of Israel, “For he walked in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger” (I Kings 16:26). What type of worship is most pleasing to God?  This is the best question to ask.  And how can I determine this?  From His Word.  Study His letter written to you, the Bible.  Do not add anything to it or take anything from it.  Seek for and value God-focused, Christ-exalting and Word-centered worship. Worship where the congregation demonstrates humility, reverence, child-like fear, joyful obedience and delight in praising God.  Such worship is pleasing to Him who deserves all honor and glory, both now and forever. When you go to church worship services, is your primary focus more on God, or on yourself?  On how you can best give God the honor and worship he deserves, or on what you personally like?  Why is this meditation increasingly applicable to Christians in today’s western culture?

Q: Why do some love the thought that there is a God, and others hate it? Suggested Daily Reading: Luke 21:27-28 and Revelation 6:15-17 A: Imagine a girl returning to her car in an underground parking ramp.  As she sets down her shopping bags to find her keys in her purse a man suddenly appears next to her with a knife in his hand.  She looks around but no one is in sight.  She stands there frozen with fear.  But just at that moment they both hear a car approaching and recognize that it is a police car!  Can you understand that the sight of the same police car fills the heart of one with fear and the other with joy?  Why?  Because the one is guilty and the other is not. Think of two teens who both told their parents that they were going to a church youth group meeting the previous evening.  The one did, but the other lied to his parents and went out with friends somewhere else.  The next morning at breakfast their Moms want to talk with them about the youth meeting.  The one enjoys talking with his Mom about the evening, but the other hates his Mom’s questions and looks for a way to escape or change the subject.  Why? The previous two examples illustrate why some people love the thought that there is a God, but others hate it.  If I am a guilty sinner who has not honestly confessed my sins to God, I am afraid and want to hide from God’s presence.  I hate the thought of having to appear before God, to be in His presence.  If, however, all my sins are forgiven and washed away by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and my heart’s desire is to know, love and serve God more and more, then I love the thought of God and of being in His presence. We see this great difference in the beginning of world history and at the end of it.  Why did Adam and Eve love to walk with God in paradise before they ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then hated the thought of meeting God and tried to hide from Him after they ate?  Read the two daily readings listed above.  Why will one group of people love Jesus’ coming again at the end of time, and others hate it? Do you like to think about God, or do you hate the truth that there is a God?  Is your heart’s desire to know, love and serve God more through Jesus Christ your Lord, or not?

Q: Is God my Father? Suggested Daily Reading: Matthew 6: 9-15 A: Scripture speaks of God as the Father of people in three ways: God is the Father of all people by creation (Isaiah 64:8).  God created each of us.  All of the billions of correctly matching components in our genetic code are designed and placed by God.  The millions of cells in our brains, the hundreds of thousands of nerve connections, and the thousands of miles of blood passageways in our bodies are all planned and formed by the Lord.   Why did God create us?   So that we would know, love, serve and enjoy Him as our God forever.  God is our Father as our Creator. God is the Father of church people (Hosea 11:1).  Those who are set apart from others, circumcised (Old Testament) and baptized (New Testament) to God, and brought up under His Word and covenant, God calls “His people” or “His children”.  As members of His church and covenant, God has set you apart and is your Father in this way also. God is the Father of His saved children (Romans 8:15).  When God regenerates and saves a sinner, He adopts this person as one of His children.  All those who repent from their sin, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and obey the Lord in love are adopted children of God in a saved sense.  God is a personal Father of all His adopted children. God is your Father by creation.  He is likely your Father by church membership confirmed in baptism.  Is God your Father by personal conversion, salvation and adoption? Are you saved?  Is God your personal Father by regeneration?  Are you an adopted child, by God’s grace?  How can you tell?

How would you answer someone who never goes to church because he thinks that Christians are hypocrites? Suggested Daily Reading: I Timothy 4: 9-16 (especially verse 12) Imagine that you have a neighbour who refuses to go to church.  You ask him, “Why?”  He tells you that he used to work with a “Christian,” but this person was the most selfish, unfriendly and miserable person he ever worked with.  How would you respond? You might respond by first agreeing that the example of this “Christian” was terrible.  Explain that you would not go to church either if your decision to go depended on the behaviors and examples of all “Christians.”  But inform him that you are a Christian because your faith is based on Jesus Christ, not on Christians.  Jesus’ words, actions and selfless giving were perfect.  They contained no blemishes, shortcomings or failures.  Jesus lived sinlessly. You may wish to illustrate with an example.  You could ask your neighbour, “How he would respond if a person told him that the people in our city are impolite and rude”?  This person explained that once stopped in your city when he experienced car trouble and the gas station attendant he spoke with was very disrespectful and uncaring.  Your neighbour would likely respond that this visitor should not judge all the people of your city because of the poor behaviour of one gas station attendant.  Encourage him in the same way not to judge all Christians from the poor example of one or a few. How do non-Christians view your words and actions?  What type of example are you?  Why is your example very important?  Will your example draw people to Christ, or the opposite?

What do you mean when you say that we all are millionaires? Suggested Daily Reading: Psalm 139:14-24 Did you know that you are a millionaire?  Why is this true?  Because when you add up the following it totals well over a million dollars! Would you sell me both of your legs for $200,000? Both of your hands for $300,000? Both of your eyes for $500,000? Your ability to think and communicate for $750,000? Do you see how this already totals well over $1 million?  We could add your hearing, sense of touch, general health and much more.  Yes, you are a multi-millionaire! Who gave you these precious gifts worth millions of dollars?  God did.  Why did He do this?  He freely gave you these valuable gifts so that you would use them to love Him, and other people.  Are you doing this with your mind, body, health, eyesight, hearing, etc.? Imagine knowing a rich person who gave an undeserving person $1 million for a particular purpose, but the person took the money and spent it selfishly on his own desires.  This is a picture of who we are, if we use our precious, God-given gifts of vision, speech and health for our own selfish purposes.  Sin is when I use my God-given gifts to honor and glorify myself and to serve my own selfish purposes, and not for loving God and others. For whose cause and purpose are you using the millions of dollars of gifts that God has given you?

Suggested Bible Reading: Matthew 6:19-34 Question: Do people commit idolatry today? Answer: An idol is anything that means more to us than God. It is anything we devote more time, effort and concern to than God. For example, today’s Scripture reading speaks of materialism. We can become so concerned about making money and buying the “latest and greatest” things, that we live more for the things we can buy than for God who is of infinite value. This is one of the idols “worshiped” by our culture today. Steve spends hours on his car – fixing, cleaning and polishing. Most of the money he makes at his part-time job goes into his car. He’s purchased expensive wheels, put on several chrome parts, installed a neat steering wheel; and this is just the start to his plans. He thinks about, talks about and spends most of his free time working on and cleaning his car. Sandra spends most of her free time shopping. She spends almost all the money she makes on clothes. Her thoughts, concerns and worries center on how she looks. She thinks that she doesn’t look good unless she has something new to wear that perfectly fits each special event that she goes to. Mr. Davis works day and night at his job. I need to do this to be promoted, he thinks. I’ll spend more time with God, my wife and two children later. Right now I need to work to secure higher positions and more income. To own a car and take good care of it is not a sin in itself. It is not wrong in itself to maintain a clean and attractive appearance. To work hard and be interested in a promotion is not a transgression in itself. But when legitimate things in a person’s life become more important than God and a person becomes more concerned and more focused upon something else instead of God, then it becomes sin. This is idolatry. Are there any idols in your life that need to be removed? If so, how will you accomplish this? Why will both prayer and work be required? #Idolatry #Matthew

Q: What does it mean to honor my father and mother? Suggested Daily Reading: Ephesians 6:1-9 God created everything.  He is king over all.  God has chosen to govern us through others.  While the Lord has ultimate or supreme authority, He delegates or appoints others to rule in different spheres or areas of life.  For example, God has provided fathers and mothers to govern in our families, teachers in our schools, directors in our businesses, office-bearers in our churches and officials in our civil governments. How am I to respond to those whom God has placed in authority over me?  We are to: Honor them – To show them due respect for the position in which God has placed them (Ephesians 6:2) Promptly obey them – To carefully do that which I am commanded to do and not to do that which I am forbidden to do (Ephesians 6:1) Willingly serve them – To serve from my heart; not grudgingly, reluctantly or hypocritically (Ephesians 6:5-6) Patiently bear with their weaknesses – To not criticize or disrespect them because of their mistakes or inconsistencies (1 Peter 2:18-19) Pray for them – To recognize their need for God’s help to rule well; to perform their duties as God instructs them and holds them accountable to do (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Wonder if the person in authority tells me to do one thing, but does not live that way himself or herself?  You are still called to obey.  But this is difficult to do!  Yes, it is but today’s daily reading can help you.  It speaks about obeying those in authority in the Lord and obeying from your heart as unto Christ and doing the will of God from the heart.  Focus on a worthy God and a perfect Christ, not on an imperfect person who is in a position of authority. There is one situation when we are not to obey those in delegated authority over us.  That is when they command us to do something that goes against God’s (the ultimate King’s) command; or when they forbid us to do something that God commands us to do (Acts 4:18-19).  In all other situations, we are to obey in the Lord, for this is right (Ephesians 6:1). Are you praying to live in this spirit of obeying those placed in authority over you?  Are you praying for them as well?  What helps can you use to more willingly obey people who are in authority but who do not act as respectfully as others?

Q: What is meant by the expression, “to sell one’s birthright”? Suggested Daily Reading: Hebrews 12:12-17 A: Do you recall the history of how Esau sold his birthright?  Remember how Esau returned from hunting, being very tired and faint?  Jacob had just prepared a red meat pottage dish.  When Esau asked Jacob for some of his pottage, because he was fainting from hunger, Jacob asked him to sell his birthright to him in exchange.  And Esau did. What was a birthright?  In Old Testament times the firstborn son received a double portion.  This was the oldest son’s inheritance.  But in the lineage of David, the birthright also included special covenant, spiritual blessings as well. By selling these promised blessings of God for some pottage or a “morsel of meat,” Esau revealed that he did not value his birthright. If you live in a Christian family, if you attend a Christian church, and if you have been brought up under the teaching and guidance of the Word of God, then you have a special birthright.  You can value or despise this birthright.  If you seriously pray and use the means of grace that God has given to you to seek for God, you show that you value your birthright. If, however, you prefer to focus on earthly things and spend more time and devotion on material and temporal things than you do on heavenly and eternal things, then you “despise your birthright.”  Those who received, but despised, this divine birthright will be punished more severely than those who never did.  Those who despised their God-given birthright and sold it for a “bowl of pottage” shall weep over their foolishness as Esau did over his (Hebrews 12:17). Are there ways in which you are selling your priceless birthright for some “pottage” of this world?  If so, in what ways are you doing this?  How can this serious error be corrected in your life?  What means can you prayerfully use to correct this problem?

Q: I have a friend who says that a Christian can “name it and claim it.” She says that God will give us whatever we want, if we have enough faith.  Is this true? Suggested Daily Reading: John 15:7-17 John 15:7 is one of the verses in the Bible where God promises to give us the things for which we pray.  “Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you,” Jesus promises in the last part of the verse. To correctly understand the second part of John 15:7, we need to understand the first part and connect them.  The first part of the verse places an “if,” a qualifier, on the second part. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you.”  What does this mean?  It means that we must first be connected to and abide in Jesus and in His Word, the Bible. How is the first part of this verse connected to the second?  In this way: when we are abiding in Jesus and in His will, as communicated to us in His Word, God will hear our prayer and grant us our request. Imagine for a moment a 10 year old boy who has selected a new bike, go-cart, swimming pool, camping equipment and several toys that he wants from the latest Sears catalog.  He asks his Dad to buy these for him.  The boy’s father knows, however, that purchasing everything that his son wants would not be good for him.  Doing so would spoil him.  Out of love for his son and for his best, his Father will deny his son’s requests. No, John 15:7 does not mean that God will answer all my selfish and sinful requests, or all that I name and claim.  It does not even mean that God will answer my legitimate requests in the time or manner that I think is best.  What it does mean is that when my will is immersed in God’s will, when I abide in Him and His Word, then He will answer my requests.  Why then?  Because then I most deeply want that which God wants.  My will is to do His will.  God will then grant me all I ask for, because all I ask arises from that which I most deeply desire. Then I most deeply want what He wants for me. The Lord reigns in my heart, not me.  I fight against selfishness and greed and pray to live more out of love to God and others. When you pray, are you the servant asking God what His will is for you, and for grace so that you can serve Him well?  Or, are you “god,” asking or demanding God to be your servant and to do your will, when, where and how you want it?  If you are “God” and God is “servant” in most of your prayers, what can you do to correct this wrong?

Question Is God outside of time? If so, how does this relate to His sovereignty and our free will? If not, please explain. Answer Yes, God exists outside of time because God existed before time. He inhabits eternity (Is 57:15), He is the I AM. In Exodus 3:2, the fire that Moses saw in the bush did not consume the bush. The fire was not dependent on the bush to exist. God was declaring to Moses that He was the self-existing God, who is not dependent on His creation to exist. By calling Himself the I AM, He declares that He is, He is self-existent. God is also unchanging (Mal 3:6). Then God created time. He created the world in six, 24-hour days. He did not change when He created the earth, nor does His existence depend on His creation. But God is also not detached from time. God holds all of creation and all of history, directing it all to His predetermined end. Not a sparrow will fall to the ground without the will of your heavenly Father, and the very hairs of your head are numbered (Matt 10:29-30). God is sovereign over His creation and governs all things by the council of His will. He has elected a people from before the foundation of the world. He determined when and how Christ was born, and when Christ will return at the end of the world. God raised up Pharaoh to show His power and to declare His name in all the earth (Ex 9:14; Rom 9:17). It was all in God’s sovereign decree that Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers (Gen 50:20), that he ended up in prison, became the second ruler in Egypt, that the famine came, that Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt, that the Israelites were made slaves in Egypt, that Moses was born and miraculously spared alive, and was called to be God’s servant to lead Israel out of Egypt. God hardened Pharoah’s heart, showed His power in the plagues, delivered His people from slavery, and led them through the wilderness to the promised land. The nations all heard of the power of God, and it brought a fear upon them (Joshua 2:9-10). God in His sovereignty also determines the means to the end. By our fall in Adam, we are unwilling and unable to obey God, but by grace, God also renews the heart to repent and believe. Then our will is also renewed, to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Phil 2:13). God in His sovereignty decreed all things, but it was Pharaoh who did not want to obey God. It was the Jews that willingly crucified Christ (Acts 2:23). It is us who willingly reject God’s word when we disobey. Then it is amazing to consider that God sovereignly made the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, that now the gospel comes to people who do not even want to hear it (Matt 22:3; 23:37). He calls you to willingly repent and believe, and also gives you a willing heart (Ezek. 36:26-27). God does not drag people kicking and screaming into heaven against their will, but makes them willing and gives them a desire to know God. But all those who are not willing to repent and believe will be cast away forever. No one will be able to blame God for their unwillingness to come to Him for salvation. This shows us the open welcome of the gospel in Christ, and our utter dependance on the God who created us, who gives us life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25). Now He calls out to you, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev 22:17); and “if any man thirst, let him come unto Me [Christ] and drink (John 7:37).