Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
January 1st Devotional – Seeking Idols or God in 2011
May the Lord grant you a blessed New Year! As I typed the previous greeting, my mind wondered, “What would make this coming year more blessed for me and those whom I’m writing?” How we answer that question will reveal what is really important to us. Our answer will reflect whether we think of blessings in God’s terms or our terms. If we seek the blessings of life without seeking the Giver of blessings, we make the blessings an idol that comes before God. We must guard our hearts from seeking some possession, position, or person that we think is necessary to bring blessing and happiness. Anything or anyone that we put before God becomes an idol. We would do well to start the year out in self examination by asking this question: “Is there something or someone in my life that is more important than God?” Whatever it is is your idol!
I believe that having lives truly blessed of God will require us to acknowledge our idols, pull them down, and cast them out of our hearts. Then we need a growing and deepening knowledge of our God by seeking Him diligently through His natural revelation (His creation) and His special revelation (the Scriptures). Paul’s prayer for the believers at Ephesus reveals our need for knowing God:
Eph 1:16-21, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (emphasis added).
Will you pray this prayer for yourself and others? Can we really go another year without becoming more serious about seeking God? We have not because we ask not!
This year I would like to dedicate my Shepherd’s Musings devotionals to seeking and knowing God by writing on the theme “God Is”. The Bible is replete with verses and passages that tell us about who God is and how we can relate with Him. My theme verse for this year will be Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (emphasis added).
May the year 2011 be filled with adventure in diligently seeking to know God! Will you join me in a quest to know God more fully and intimately as you seek Him? We can find our greatest satisfaction, pleasure, and fulfillment in Him and Him alone! May “grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). Blessing to you in 2011!
Sincerely in Christ, Mark
Selected Scripture about Knowing God
Emphasis added
1 Corinthians 15:34, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”
2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Colossians 1:9 -10, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
Philippians 3:7-11, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Selected Scripture about Idols
Emphasis added
1 Chronicles 16:26, “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.”
Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Revelation 2:14, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Tension of Love, Forgivness, and Justice
D. A. Carson book, Love in Hard Places 
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2002) has been challenging me these past few days on the topic of love and forgiveness. I have and will continue to have the tension that he talks about in the following paragraph from page 83-84:
"The preceding Scriptures suggest that Christians experience an
unavoidable tension. On the one hand, they are called to abandon bitterness,
to be forbearing, to have a forgiving stance even where the
repentance of the offending party is conspicuous by its absence; on the
other hand, their God-centered passion for justice, their concern for
God’s glory, ensure that the awful odium of sin is not glossed over. The
former stance without the latter quickly dissolves into a mushy sentimentality
that forgets how vile sin is; the latter stance without the former
easily hardens into rigid recriminations, self-righteous wrath,
unbending retaliation."
You can read the book for free as a pdf file by clicking this link: Love in Hard Places
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2002) has been challenging me these past few days on the topic of love and forgiveness. I have and will continue to have the tension that he talks about in the following paragraph from page 83-84:"The preceding Scriptures suggest that Christians experience an
unavoidable tension. On the one hand, they are called to abandon bitterness,
to be forbearing, to have a forgiving stance even where the
repentance of the offending party is conspicuous by its absence; on the
other hand, their God-centered passion for justice, their concern for
God’s glory, ensure that the awful odium of sin is not glossed over. The
former stance without the latter quickly dissolves into a mushy sentimentality
that forgets how vile sin is; the latter stance without the former
easily hardens into rigid recriminations, self-righteous wrath,
unbending retaliation."
You can read the book for free as a pdf file by clicking this link: Love in Hard Places
Saturday, December 11, 2010
God is Faithful! Are you?
A Shepherd’s Musings - December 2010
Ways in which God Shows His Faithfulness
What a joy to have been able to write and preach about God’s faithfulness in the Year of Our Lord, 2010. I am prayerfully wondering about what theme would be good to write about on a monthly basis this coming year. I am open to suggestions, if you have any.
Last month I recounted some of the ways in which God has been faithful to me and hope that you spent some time doing the same. This last month of the year 2010, I want to muse upon some of the ways God has demonstrated His faithfulness to all of us.
Every morning as the light begins to penetrate the darkness at the dawn of a new day and we see the soft yet brilliant red hues in the sky, we are all benefactors of God’s common grace to both those who acknowledge Him and those who deny Him. The breath of air that we just breathed is a gift from God—life is a faithful gift from God. The food that we eat is a testimony of His faithfulness to His promise that there will be seedtime and harvest while the earth remains (Gen.8:22). Furthermore, that beautiful rainbow that dazzles our eyes with wonder and awe was given by God as a reminder of His faithfulness. Truly, there are signs and wonders all around us that speak volumes concerning God’s faithfulness for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. For those who do not acknowledge God’s faithfulness the very fact that they are still alive is a testimony of God’s faithfulness. They still have a chance to humble themselves before God and believe in Him. For “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Also, 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” There is still hope for our unsaved friends and loved ones! God in faithfulness has given them more time to respond to His faithful revelation of Himself through the light of His creation and Scripture—Psalm 19.
Every Christmas as we put up lights to celebrate the season, it is a testimony to our faithful God that He sent His Son to be the Light of the world. Jesus Himself said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” The light of God’s faithfulness flickered in His coming into the garden to seek Adam and Eve after their sin and the giving of the first gospel promise (Genesis 3:15). It was progressively revealed throughout history as God unfolded his plan of redemption through the children of Israel and His prophets (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 53). It shined brighter at the incarnation when God became man at the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem—Immanuel—God with us! It blazed in darkness when God the Son took upon Himself the sin of the whole world by shedding His blood upon a cruel and agonizing cross that we might have the forgiveness of sin. It radiated at the resurrection and ascension of our King and Lord to sit at the right hand of God the Father. It will shine gloriously in the future when Christ returns to reign upon the earth for a 1000 years.
God is faithful! Will you and I be faithful to Him! The choice is ours to make each day. May the Lord give you grace and mercy for the coming year and peace as you wait upon Him. Have a worshipful Christmas and blessed New Year!
With love and prayer,
Mark R. Worden
Links to the 2010 “Pastor Chat” devotionals on God’s Faithfulness are as follows:
January: Dwelling on God’s Faithfulness!
February: Telling Others of God’s Faithfulness!
March: Hope and Confidence through God’s Faithfulness
April: God’s Calling and His Faithfulness
May: Chastening and God’s Faithfulness
June: God is Faithful in Mercy
July: Praise, Prayer and God’s Faithfulness
August: God’s Faithfulness in Spiritual Battle
September: God’s Faithfulness during Upheaval and Change
October: God’s Faithfulness and our Love and Obedience
November: Sharing Your Testimony of God’s Faithfulness
December: Ways in which God Shows His Faithfulness
Sermon Links to Mini-Series on “God’s Faithfulness” January 3, 2010
Listen:Our God- A Faithful High Priest
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January 10, 2010
Listen:Our God–A Faithful Provider
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January 17, 2010
Listen:Our God–A Faithful Judge
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January 24, 2010
Listen:Our God — A Faithful Protector
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January 31, 2010
Listen:God Is Faithful; Are You?
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(If these sermons have blessed you please feel free to share the links with others who might benefit from them.)
“So than faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17
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