Waiting for the Lord

Beginning in Psalm 27:1, David praises God’s strength in his life. He expresses confidence in God’s ability to deliver him from various tragedies and difficulties. He expresses his desire to worship his God in joy. The first six verses declare trust and confidence, but the tone changes in verses 7-12 where he entreats God not to hide His face. David expresses fear of those plotting against him, and a study of his life demonstrates the reasons behind those fears.

David’s Life of Adversity
We are introduced to David in his defeat of the Philistine warrior Goliath, but his life becomes more difficult from this point. In I Samuel 21:1-10, David is fleeing for his life, and king Saul murderously pursues him. Those who assist him are murdered in the very next chapter, deaths for which David feels responsible. In chapter 23, David has to flee even after defending a city from the Philistines, and I Samuel 25:44 records Saul giving David’s wife to another man. He is forced to hide among rocks and caves. In II Samuel 15:13-14, King David’s own son Absalom plots against him. David again has to flee for his life. David’s life is full of danger and distress, and he approaches God with these concerns even when expressing his joy in the Lord as he does in Psalm 27.

Psalm 27:13-14 conclude David’s thoughts. Even feeling forsaken by all around him, he sings of his belief that he will again see God’s goodness. He instructs himself and us to wait on the Lord in His time. It is reminiscent of Moses comforting the Israelites before the Red Sea when he calls upon them to be still. It is a lesson of patience and fortitude, and it is often difficult to be patient. Wait for the Lord.

Trusting in the Lord
What does it meant to wait for the Lord? It is about trusting in God and looking to Him for answers. When Moses called upon the people of Israel to be still, he wasn’t calling upon them to remain inactive. He was calling upon them to remain calm and be ready to respond when God’s deliverance was made available. There are some things we must do if we are waiting on the Lord.

• Continual Fellowship with God. I John 1:6 encourages active involvement in our relationship with God. If I am looking to God, I must be in communion with Him.
• Constant prayer. I Thessalonians 5:17 calls upon us to pray continuously. We pray to God in good times and in bad. We speak with our God regularly to help maintain that relationship He desires.
• Remain in His presence. The entire book of Hebrews warns against the dangers of drifting away from God. Chapter 2:1, 4:16, and 6:1 call us to draw near to God, so we may trust in Him.
• Stay in the fight. I Kings 19 sees Elijah in fear of his life (much like David is time and again), and verse 18 records God reminding Elijah that he is not alone.
  

In His Time; In His Way
We have to be patient with God and remind ourselves that His time is not our time. God has never promised He will remove our trials, nor has He promised to make life easy. He may not even let us know the reason for our trials, but He has promised that our trials would make us stronger. James 1:2-3 tells us the testing of our faith produces endurance. In James 5:16, the author writes that our prayers for each other work, and we can better comfort one another if we have been prepared to do so through our own. Finally, God promises these trials will draw us nearer to Him. James 4:8 says that God draws nearer to us when we draw near to Him.

Like David, we can grow spiritually when facing the trials of this life. We can find peace and strength in Him. We can wait for God with the hope that we will dwell with Him forever in His house.

lesson by Tim Smelser

God in the Old & New Testaments

Is there a difference between God of the Old Testament and God of the New Testament? In many minds, there seems to be a large contrast between God’s character between these two covenants. The God of the New seems loving and kind while the God of the Old is vengeful and wrathful. We draw a line between His character on each side of the cross when, in truth, we serve the same God as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Grace and Mercy in the Old and New Testaments
God of the Old Testament is just as rich in grace, mercy, and love. Take the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:3 for example. Abel brings a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and Cain’s soul is threatened by his jealousy and anger. In loving-kindness, God takes the time to address Cain. He reasons with Cain regarding his conduct and encourages the brother to turn his mind away from sin and toward his Lord. He expresses confidence that Cain can overcome this temporary setback. He demonstrates is grace, mercy, and love in his interaction with Cain.

Time and again, during Israel’s journey to the Promised Land, God shows kindness to His rebellious people. Even at Sinai, when God sets out to destroy the Israelites, Moses appeals to His mercy, and God relents. Even when the people falter outside the borders of Canaan, God sets out to cleanse His people rather than annihilate them. Time and again, He remains merciful. Psalm 78:37-38 illustrates all God has done for His people despite their unfaithfulness. He forgives their iniquity. He turns away His anger. Psalm 86:15, 103:7, and 145:8 all record David praising God’s grace, mercy, and patience toward His people.

Jonah is another example of God’s mercy and love. Here we have a profit rebelling against God and attempting to deny God’s grace to those he despises. When he finally arrives in Nineveh, Job’s message is reluctant at best, but the people repent in Jonah 3:5. God demonstrates mercy to the Assyrians where Jonah craves destruction, and God is merciful toward His reluctant servant in saving the prophet time and again despite his disobedience.

Luke 1:49 has Miriam praising God for His mercy and grace. Later in the chapter, her husband praises God for the birth of John in the tender mercy of God’s plan. Both of these recognize their place in God’s plan of mercy. Finally, II Peter 3:9 tells of God’s desire that all His creation come to repentance. He is patient, allowing as many as possible to come to Him. His grace and mercy is visible from cover to cover of our Bibles.

Judgment in the Old and New Testaments
What about God’s punishments? Adam and Eve are immediately punished beginning in Genesis 3:16. They are cursed and driven from the garden due to their disobedience. Leviticus 10 records the destruction of Nadab and Abihu when they worship God improperly. In II Samuel 6:6-7, Uzzah is immediately killed when he lays his hand upon the Ark despite Uzzah’s apparent intentions. These acts are how we characterize the God of the Old Testament. These judgments are swift and decisive.

In Acts 5, we have a couple named Ananias and Sapphira. Both of these fall dead in their attempts to lie to the apostles. Here in the New Testament, there is a punishment very similar to what we see in Leviticus 10. He demonstrates consistency from the Old into the New.

Serving a Loving and Vengeful God
God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Hebrews 3:7 and 3:15, the author calls on his audience to obey God’s word today. He repeats this warning in chapter 4:7. He quotes a Psalm of David who was referring to an event that had happened centuries prior to his reign. It was as applicable to God’s people in A.D. 60 as it was to His people in 1,500 B.C., and it still applies to us today. Psalms 103:7 calls God’s mercy from everlasting to everlasting, and James 5:10-11 uses the Old Testament prophets to illustrate God’s mercy and kindness.

How then does God’s punishment fit into this pattern of a merciful God. In each of these cases, the victim was judged based on outright disobedience. None of these simply made understandable mistakes. In Leviticus 10:3, Moses reminds Aaron of the need to honor God when worshipping Him, and Aaron hold his peace. Nadab and Abihu dishonor God. Uzzah may have been in his circumstance due to someone else’s plan, but he and his companions were transporting the Ark in a way that was not part of God’s plan. Finally, Ananias and Sapphira attempt to manipulate their apparent godliness for their own glory and honor.

In these events, God tells us that we should never “play church.” He demonstrates that our approach to Him is on His term rather than ours, and He teaches us to value our religion and our relationship to Him. The lesson to us is to honor and respect the mercy and kindness God has shown us. He is full of grace and mercy to those who approach Him in humility and obedience, but He rejects those who reject Him. In Isaiah 9, the prophets speaks of God’s anger at His people’s disobedience, but His hand remains outstretched. He is willing to forgive, but we have to make the determination today that we will take His love seriously and treat it as something valuable to us.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Mentors of a Spiritual Heritage

What do you value? What means the most to you? It may be something that has sentimental or familial value. This object may not be worth much financially, but its value to you is personal. Perhaps it is something that came form your parents or grandparents. It might be something from a child. Its value is its heritage.

In Exodus 10:2, God tells his people to make a heritage of what He has done for them. Exodus 13:8 repeats these instructions. He tell His people to pass the events of the Exodus from generation to generation. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells the Israelites to teach the traditions to God to their children. What His people were to value most was to be His word.

Two women concerned with the spiritual heritage of their children were Lois and Eunice – mother and grandmother to Timothy. We now little of these women. Timothy’s mother was married to an unbeliever, but we know that Timothy’s mother taught him God’s word, and his grandmother worked with him as well. Many churches were affected by Timothy because of the work done by his mother and grandmother. They brought up a child. who would be valued by Paul according to verses like Philippians 2:19.

Timothy’s Spiritual Role Models
The qualities we see in Timothy are not accidental. His life was deeply impacted by the women who purposed to set him in the Lord’s footsteps.

• They were examples of godliness. II Timothy 1:5 records the example Lois and Eunice set for Timothy. They practiced what they taught. Growing up, Timothy would have seen the type of adult he should become in the example of his mother and grandmother.
• They taught in the face of difficulties. Their teaching influenced Timothy according to II Timothy 3:15. They showed Timothy how to live, and they reinforced those principles in their teaching. He was taught from God’s word despite the faith (or lack therefor) of his father who would have looked down upon many Jewish traditions as barbaric. They also taught Timothy despite their inability to take him to synagogue because he was uncircumcised.
• They obeyed the gospel. Lois and Eunice originally taught Timothy from the sacred Jewish texts, but they respond to Paul’s message of Acts 16. They changed when change was called for based on inspired teachings. In this, they set an example to Timothy for him to follow in Christ’s teachings.

Creating Our Own Spiritual Heritage
How do we create a spiritual heritage like the one passed on by Lois and Eunice? There are some families that can trace their faith back for generations, but, even if we do not have such a history, we can start it now. We can pass our faith on to our children and grandchildren. Our spiritual influence is not limited to our children, but, like Lois, we can positively affect our grandchildren’s relationships with God. In fact, some lessons are better received from our grandparents than our parents.

We need to determine the heritage we want to pass on. Even if we have no children or grandchildren, we can become spiritual mentors as Paul was to Timothy. Paul had no children or grandchildren recoded in scripture, but he was a father-figure to Timothy, providing guidance that Timothy’s own father did not. Show someone you care about them, reach out and make another feel their importance. We can help someone grow up to be like Timothy – a Christian valued by others and carrying on a spiritual heritage as valuable as any other heirloom close to his or her heart.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Assurance in Grace

Last week, we considered the all-sufficiency of God’s grace in supplying our needs to do His work and in delivering us from sin. The challenge in talking about grace is that of extremes – either we view ourselves as saved by grace without condition or effort on our part; or we view any mention of God’s grace as softness or an attempt to absolve ourselves of responsibility. It is a simple topic that carries great difficulty. It’s hard to wrap our minds around all that God has done for us, and we sometimes downplay the grace God has demonstrated toward us.

In A.D. 50, Rome captured the isle of Britain and subjugated its ruler. While standing before Claudius Caesar, he calls on the Caesar to spare him as a symbol of his clemency. Claudius agrees. Back in Psalm 51, David implores God for grace after his sins involving Bathsheba and her deceased husband Uriah. Likewise, he calls on God’s mercy as a symbol of His clemency. Too often, we don’t allow God’s grace to be that symbol in our lives that demonstrates God’s mercy to others.

Grace and Justification
In Romans 5:6, Paul begins a discourse on God’s salvation coming despite our undeserving state. His point is that we are justified by the blood of Jesus, but He opens his argument by stating we are justified by faith. In Romans 3:28, he again states our faith justifies us. James 2:24 argues that obedient works have to be coupled with that faith by which we are justified, and Paul, in Romans 3:23-24, asserts that grace has a role in this justification. There is a balance. All of these are involved in our justification, but God’s grace is what makes all of this possible.

We sometimes put so much emphasis on the ritual, that we assume our justification comes purely through completing the steps. The idea of grace is one of royalty bestowing a blessing upon an undeserving servant. Deity stoops down to grant kindness upon us when we are undeserving and unable to earn that favor.

What God Owes Us
In Romans 4:1, Paul asks about the works of Abraham. What justified Abraham, faith or works? He concludes that Abraham’s favor cannot be based solely on works. Otherwise, God is in debt to Abraham. As great as that man was, as often as he obeyed God’s commands, he has no basis upon which he could pray to God. We cannot fall into the trap of the Pharisee who prays to God as if God should feel lucky to have us.

We gather to glorify God, but our Creator is not indebted to us because of our praise. Instead, we should be like the humble publican who returns to his house justified. Without grace, nothing would merit our standing before God. Look again at Romans 5:8. “While we were yet sinners…” Royalty bends down and bestows grace upon us.

Grace and Salvation
In Mark 2:13, religious leaders of Israel condemn Jesus for associating with sinners, but Jesus rebukes them for not recognizing the need to reach out to those who need salvation. Like we don’t save doctors visits until we are well, the message of salvation is not for those who are already in His fold. However, we are often reluctant to share the gospel message with those we find unappealing. Look at the example of Jesus. The physician goes to those who are in need.

With all of Paul’s works and sacrifices, with all his efforts to spread the word, he recognizes that he cannot attain salvation alone. Philippians 3:12 records his knowledge that he must always press forward on the grace of Jesus. He expresses assurance in God’s ability to save him. He is not arrogant like the Pharisee of Jesus’ parable, but he does have confidence in the power of his God to save him. In verse 8, he counts all things as worthless when compared to gaining Christ, not trusting himself but trusting his Savior.

Living in Assurance
II Timothy 4:7 again expresses the assurance Paul has in Christ. He recognizes the imperfections in his life, but he anticipates a crown of righteousness through God’s grace. God’s grace makes us heirs of His despite our imperfections and our flaws. I John 1:6-7 calls on us to choose the walk of our lives. Walking in the light, conforming our lives to His will, gains us cleansing through grace.

Finally, in II Timothy 1:7, Paul says that God has granted us a spirit of love and power in self-discipline. We can know God’s power and His love when we give ourselves over to Him. His grace is open to us despite our undeserving state. We have but to obediently submit to His conditions of accepting that grace.

lesson by Tim Smelser

God's Sufficient Grace

When we think of grace or gracefulness, we might think of a performer, a dancer, or a well-spoken orator. We might consider these people graceful. God’s grace, though, is more than appearance. It is more than what we perceive. God’s grace is often coupled with patience, longsuffering, and mercy. It is less about how God handles or presents Himself than it is about how He interacts with us.

II Corinthians 12:7-10 records Paul’s pleading with God regarding a physical affliction – a thorn of his flesh. God answers that His grace is sufficient for Paul regardless of his physical suffering. Like Paul, God’s grace is also sufficient for us. While suffering comes from the devil, grace is from God.

All Sufficient Grace
God’s grace is self-sufficient. I Corinthians 2:1-5 and chapter 3:6-15 tell of Paul’s efforts spreading God’s word in Corinth. Paul attributes any success from his work to God, and Paul speaks of a foundation built according to God’s grace. He preaches only what God reveals to him. We have sufficient grace in God’s word, and we need turn to no other for the grace of His message.

Grace is sufficient to open opportunities to us. II Peter 3:9 tells of God’s desire for all to turn to Him. He provides opportunities for His people to reach out to the lost. Numerous time in Acts, unlikely opportunities present themselves to God’s followers. These serve as examples of how God’s grace opens doors. He has given His word to all mankind, and we recognize the grace of that word when we reach out to share it with others.

In His grace, God looks over our needs so we can focus on His work. Philippians 4:10-20 records Paul expressing gratitude to those Christians who helped meet his needs as he traveled in his ministry. He also demonstrates gratitude to God who will continue to support them in their generosity. God finds ways to let us do His work.

All Saving Grace
God’s grace is sufficient to save anyone. Ephesians 2:8-10 speaks of our salvation through grace and our inability to earn that salvation without God’s intervention. Paul calls us God’s workmanship prepared to do His works. He wants us to come to Him, and nothing we have done can keep us separated from Him. His grace can span the gulf of our sins. All He asks is for our faith and obedience. When we submit ourselves to his will, we open ourselves to His grace – grace sufficient to cover our sins, ease our sufferings, and open doors of opportunity to do the work of our Lord.

lesson by Alan Miller