Listening to the Word

Isaiah 4,5; Psalms 115,116; Jude   “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord; ‘O Lord, save me!’ The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.’” Psalm 116:3-7 The Psalmist described depression, distress, and sorrow to the point of fearing for his life. In the lowest place, he cried out to the Lord to save him and his testimony is of God’s compassion and grace drawing near to him. How do we respond when the pressures of life seem too great to bear? Where do we turn? Do we cry out to the Lord, “Save me!”? The result of the intervention by the Lord in the Psalmist’s life was rest for his soul. He experienced the goodness of the Lord in lifting the weight of anxiety, fear, and death from his soul. That is a testimony w...

Isaiah 1-3; Titus 3   “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.’” Isaiah 2:2, 3, 5 Jesus called out the moneychangers for desecrating the temple because it was to be a house of prayer for all nations. At Pentecost, many nations were present and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the living presence of God. Paul described the body of each disciple as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Collectively, we, the Church, are a temple that God indwells by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:21). Are we living in the ways of God so that the nations are drawn to the light of the Lord and his ways of peace? When the Church quarrels and fights we lose ou...

Amos 7-9; Psalms 104; Titus 2   “This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’ So the Lord relented. ‘This will not happen either,’ the Sovereign Lord said.” Amos 7:4-6 Amos knew the Sovereign Lord as a friend who shared his plans with him. As one who knew God, Amos had the boldness to ask God to relent in sending judgment. Why? Amos knew the love of God through his mercy in saving and calling. While God is Sovereign, he is also merciful. Amos appealed to this aspect of God’s nature and God listened to his friend Amos. God listened to Abraham as he interceded for Sodom and to Moses as he interceded for Israel. God listens to his friends today who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and boldly approach the throne of grace. “Lord God, you are sovereign and you are merciful. Heal our land ...

Amos 4-6; Psalms 86; Titus 1   “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Titus 1:15, 16 Our heart births motives and thoughts which shape our actions and then our character. To the pure, all things are pure. Rather than a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’, the pure are focused on living in unbroken fellowship with God. Each day, they see God at work in their lives and the world around them. However, when our heart is corrupted, we might say we believe, but our actions and secret disobedience tell the true story. Sanctification is not just a reformation of behavior, but a transformation of the heart.   Will we ask God to replace our divided heart with a heart that is pure and seeks his face each day? It will change how we see others and the wo...

Amos 1-3; Psalms 80; 2 Timothy 4 “When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared – who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:6-8 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3 When we ignore the Word of the Lord, he sometimes roars like a lion through the circumstances of our lives. There are times when the Word of the Lord comes to us with prophetic urgency. Will we fear the Lord and obey him? Will we humble ourselves, or harden our hearts? Our temptation might be to turn the page, ignore the voice of the Spirit, or even look for a different church where ‘our needs are met’. ”Itching ears” ...

2 Kings 13-14; 2 Chronicles 25; 2 Timothy 3   “Amaziah asked the man of God, ‘But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?’ The man of God replied, ‘The Lord can give you much more than that.’ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home...” 2 Chronicles 25:9-11 How often does money influence our willingness to obey God? King Amaziah had hired troops from Israel to help him fight the Edomites. When confronted by a man of God about relying on Israel rather than the Lord, Amaziah’s first thought was about his investment being lost. Yet the man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.” Do we believe that? Do we believe that obeying the Lord is worthwhile, even when it appears that we will pay a price financially? Do we believe God’s Word to us is useful for ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3:16). Do we believe that to obey God’s Word is worthwhile, even when it h...