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Word for the Day |
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Exposure to God’s Glory for Spiritual GrowthBelievers are always looking for ways to grow. Most people are not satisfied with where they are in their spiritual walk. At least that is what the majority of people tell me. If you look through the shelves at the Christain book stores, you will find what seems like a never-ending list of self-help programs promising amazing spiritual revitalization. There is no doubt that if you discipline yourself as some of these books suggest, you will be better off spiritually. Exposure to God’s Word will always have an impact. However, it should be clear that exposure alone is not enough. Growth happens when faith is increased. You may read the Bible religiously and if done without faith it does little to change you inwardly. In fact, knowledge is said to puff up (1 Corinthians 8:1), which would obviously be counter productive. Therefore, we need to understand what is required for sustained spiritual growth. Perhaps the answer lies in how we look at Scripture. Notice Paul’s comment in the following passage. “. . . [W]e all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). The Scriptures are not just words written on a page. They are in fact living words that save. As it is written, we have been “. . . [B]orn again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23 NKJV). Now, Jesus is the Word, and is described as such in a familiar passage in Hebrews. “For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things [are] naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we [must give] account” (Hebrews 4:12-13 NKJV). Notice the personal pronouns that refer back to the Word of God in the passage above. The Bible reveals Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It is a revelation of God. Therefore, since beholding the glory of God trasforms us, and the Word is a revelation of God; then looking at the Bible through the eyes of faith to capture glimpses of glory we will have the fruit we desire. Like Moses who was exposed to the aftermath of God’s glory who then reflected that glory, we too will be changed. Ok, what does that mean practically? How do you go about this? I guess the best way to describe this is to say we must look at the Bible with the proper motivation and purpose. We must come to God’s Word to see God because we love Him. If we love Him, we will long to be near Him. To marvel at His magesty and bask in His grace will humble and purify the soul. We will then sing “A Mighty Fortess Is Our God” as a song of victory, and extol the wonders of His grace as we are unable to contain our thankfulness. O’ beloved have you come to the throne of grace lately? Has God met you in the garden? Has your heart been lifted up to the heavens lately? Why not today? Come before our great God and King and catch a glimpse of His glory. “[A]s newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious” (1 Peter 2:2-3 NKJV).
July 28-Morning {Daily Reading: #Ec 1:1-4:16} {Quick Study: #So 1:1-8:14} So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee. {#Ps 73:22} Remember this is the confession of the man after God’s own heart; and in telling us his inner life, he writes, ‘So foolish was I, and ignorant.’ The word ‘foolish,’ here, means more than it signifies in ordinary language. David, in a former verse of the psalm, writes, ‘I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,’ which shows that the folly he intended had sin in it. He puts himself down as being thus ‘foolish,’ and adds a word which is to give intensity to it; ‘so foolish was I’ How foolish he could not tell. It was a sinful folly, a folly which was not to be excused by frailty, but to be condemned because of its perverseness and wilful ignorance, for he had been envious of the present prosperity of the ungodly, forgetful of the dreadful end awaiting all such. And are we better than David that we should call ourselves wise! Do we profess that we have attained perfection, or to have been so chastened that the rod has taken all our wilfulness out of us? Ah, this were pride indeed! If David was foolish, how foolish should we be in our own esteem if we could but see ourselves! Look back, believer: think of your doubting God when he has been so faithful to you—think of your foolish outcry of ‘Not so, my Father,’ when he crossed his hands in affliction to give you the larger blessing; think of the many times when you have read his providences in the dark, misinterpreted his dispensations, and groaned out, ‘All these things are against me,’ when they are all working together for your good! Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure, when indeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you! Surely if we know our own heart we must plead guilty to the indictment of a sinful folly; and conscious of this ‘foolishness,’ we must make David’s consequent resolve our own—‘thou shalt guide me with thy counsel.’ July 28-Evening Who went about doing good. {#Ac 10:38} Few words, but yet an exquisite miniature of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are not many touches, but they are the strokes of a master’s pencil. Of the Saviour and only of the Saviour is it true in the fullest, broadest, and most unqualified sense. ‘He went about doing good.’ From this description it is evident that he did good personally. The evangelists constantly tell us that he touched the leper with his own finger, that he anointed the eyes of the blind, and that in cases where he was asked to speak the word only at a distance, he did not usually comply, but went himself to the sick bed, and there personally wrought the cure. A lesson to us, if we would do good, to do it ourselves. Give alms with your own hand; a kind look, or word, will enhance the value of the gift. Speak to a friend about his soul; your loving appeal will have more influence than a whole library of tracts. Our Lord’s mode of doing good sets forth his incessant activity! He did not only the good which came close to hand, but he ‘went about’ on his errands of mercy. Throughout the whole land of Judea there was scarcely a village or a hamlet which was not gladdened by the sight of him. How this reproves the creeping, loitering manner, in which many professors serve the Lord. Let us gird up the loins of our mind, and be not weary in well doing. Does not the text imply that Jesus Christ went out of his way to do good? ‘He went about doing good.’ He was never deterred by danger or difficulty. He sought out the objects of his gracious intentions. So must we. If old plans will not answer, we must try new ones, for fresh experiments sometimes achieve more than regular methods. Christ’s perseverance, and the unity of his purpose, are also hinted at, and the practical application of the subject may be summed up in the words, ‘He hath left us an example that we should follow his steps.’ {#1Pe 2:21} |
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