Faithfulness of God

Promises of God in Jesus

Ken

“For all the promises of God in Him are yea [Greek, nai, yes, verily, truly, surely], and in Him Amen [Greek, amēn, so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled], unto the glory of God by us” (2Corinthians 1:20 KJV). What greater confidence than the name of Jesus attached to a promise! Is this only youthful enthusiasm? What greater accomplishment than the promises of Jesus fulfilled in our lives, and in those around us? He who is the Word accomplishes every jot and tittle of His promises because He is the essence of faithfulness and will not let one promise fall to the ground. 

The very placement of the words in the text of Scripture are not accidental. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth to preach the first sermon of His messianic career, He read Isaiah 62:1-2, but completed His reading at the end of the comma — “to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,” (Isaiah 61:2). He did not complete Isaiah’s sentence with “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn” (61:2) because that would only be fulfilled later. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). Just as Jesus fulfilled His Word in atoning for our sins on the Cross, so He will keep the prophecy of fulfilling His promise of vengeance during the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:26), then Israel will finally turn to Him at His Second Coming. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 

Father, You will keep all Your Word through Christ Jesus in the salvation of Israel, since all Your promises in Him are yea and amen. Magnify Your name. Keep Your Word. Save Israel. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen.

God’s Strange Work

Ken

It is strange work, when God must deal with His people in the same way He treated their enemies in times past. “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act” (Isaiah 28:21 KJV). It is “strange work” (28:21) for God to turn on His own people. It was formerly at Mount Perazim that the LORD gave David  victory over the Philistines (2Samuel 5:20). And, at Gibeon, Jehovah gave victory to Joshua over a confederation of kings (Joshua 10:10), but now He will perform a work that “ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Habakkuk 1:5). Israel will lose its military engagements. Why? Because of the wickedness of Israel’s conduct, God will allow Israel’s enemies to treacherously abuse and devour her (1:13). 

By doctrine and tradition, both Israel and the Church have so absorbed the idea of their national and moral invincibility, they have forgotten what God requires of them to maintain that invincibility. “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). God will always find a way to deal with His people, though He will treat His people in the same way He dealt with their enemies in times past. 

Father, it is You who are faithful to the uttermost, not we. You have never abandoned the kindness of Your Word of promise to Your people. But, You are to be exalted in Your work, Your strange work for dealing with our unfaithfulness. May You be praised for the wisdom of Your love in judging us. And, may You be held in the highest esteem for all Your actions regarding us. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen.

Intimacy With God Through Obedience

Ken

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13 KJV). God’s promises reveal God to us, sanctify us, and make us more like Christ. For God’s enemies, God’s promises mystify them, threaten them, and harden them against Christ, unless the Spirit can reach them. A “temptation [Greek, peirasmos, putting to proof]” (10:13) is God allowing you to be put to proof, in order that you might have the intimate experience of obeying God. Obviously, God already knows how we will respond, but He knows our correct response will draw us closer to Himself and make us more like Him. Even Jesus, when He was tempted, became more like the Father. “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Temptations may be directed against us from our adversary the devil to destroy us, but “God is faithful” (1Corinthians 10:13) in using that to build us. “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” (Genesis 50:20). God knows our breaking point — how much we can take before we sin — and will not “suffer [Greek, eaō, permit]” (1Corinthians 10:13) us to be tempted above or beyond what “ye are able” (10:13). That is the faithfulness of God. “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it” (1Thessalonians 5:24). Our confidence is God will always give us “a way to escape [Greek, ekbasis, exit, way out], that ye may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13) to keep us from sinning; after all, He is a Holy God. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36). Satan tempts to our destruction, but God tests for our sanctification. Finally, we need to be careful not to despise God for testing us (Exodus 20:20), allowing us to be tempted (James 1:13), reproving us (Hebrews 12:5), or chastening us (Proverbs 3:11), since He means it for our good. Do we trust Him for that? Most certainly, we will have our opportunity to prove the faithfulness of God! Father, You are the Faithful God, who will exercise us for Your glory; and, we know You will draw us to Yourself by demonstrating how we will obey You, for when You are happy, we are happy. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Come Out of Her (Revelation 18:4)

Ken

Babylon the Great’s upcoming judgment is certain, but God’s deliverance of His people is just as certain. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15 KJV). Even those who will come to faith in the midst of BABYLON THE GREAT, Jehovah delivers, as witnessed by His audible warning to them, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). God delivered or will deliver: (1) Noah and family from the judgment of the Flood (Genesis 6), (2) Lot from the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), (3) the OT Jewish captives in Babylon, by warning them to flee Babylon’s coming judgment, i.e., “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:45), (4) all the Christians residing in Jerusalem, who escaped the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian’s Tenth Roman Legion, i.e., “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto” (Luke 21:20-21).

And, (5) all future faithful watchers, i.e., “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36). “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (Daniel 3:29), and He will deliver now and forever. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13).

Father, Your deliverance of Your people from Your judgments upon this world is a trademark of Your continual faithfulness to those who are faithful to You. Magnify Yourself in the upcoming Rapture of Your Church. May these words be a small testimony to Your enduring faithfulness. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Judy the Lifesaving Dog

Ken

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10 KJV). And, why wouldn’t we care for someone who is so faithful to us? Judy (1936-1950) was a pure-bred liver and white Pointer, born in Shanghai, China and adopted by the British Royal Navy as a ship’s mascot for the HMS Gnat, and later with the HMS Grasshopper. During WW2, many times she provided early warning to the ship’s crew of approaching enemy aircraft with her acute canine hearing. After her ship was finally sunk, and finding refuge on an island, she helped surviving crew members find fresh water, saving them all. Upon their eventual capture by the Japanese, Judy was the only dog ever registered as a prisoner of war. Moving from camp to camp, she survived the sinking of the transport ship Harugiku Maru, and saved many passengers from drowning by bringing them flotsam. In camp, she caught small rodents for the POWs to eat for survival. Judy bonded with fellow POW Frank Williams, who shared his handful of rice, and both cared for one another until her death years after the war. Bonding with furry friends such as Judy reminds us of our Lord’s attachment to us. LORD, may we be inspired to be as faithful to You, as Judy was to Frank and all her crew mates. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

The Unprofitable Servant

Ken

Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) was actually about faithfulness in handling wealth and possessions (Greek, talanton, one money “talent” is the equivalent of 200 pounds of gold) placed under our control by the Father, and not a story about unique talents or abilities, which distinguish us. Each of three servants were given differing amounts of capital or property to administrate, invest, and manage with the expectation of returning the property or principal with a profit equal to the original property. The first two conscientiously took their lord’s original investment and faithfully “traded” (Matthew 25:16 KJV) or duplicated that amount, but the last was an evil, unprofitable servant, who had a low, selfish, and unkind view of his master. “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed [scattered seed]: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine” (25:24-25). Why should I benefit such a boss with my labor, if he is not worthy of me? He’s only exploiting me. LORD, grant to us a willing heart for service and deliver us from Your sentence of casting the “unprofitable servant into outer darkness” (25:30). In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. 

Perfect Soundness

Ken

“And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:16 KJV). Should Christians use doctors and medical science? Of course, since doctors do not heal, but only assist God to heal. It is our privilege to receive healing from God. Yes, but some healing may not be complete until we come into His glorified presence. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2). In the meantime, we should pray, believe, and affirm our “perfect soundness” (Acts 3:16) from the top of our head to the tip of our toes, until we see the physical reality, or we’re translated into His presence. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen. 

Dead Reckoning

Ken

Dead reckoning is an expression in aeronautical navigation of determining your current location based upon speed, heading, and elapsed time from a previous position. “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11 KJV). Christians are held captive by entangling sin simply because they do not reckon, consider, picture, or imagine themselves as anything but chained to the necessity or reality of that sin. Paul showed us the beginning of our solution. Reckon yourselves dead to that sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Some do it easier than others, but all must actively admit, confess, believe, imagine, see, and reckon that it’s so, for it to be so. How is this miracle accomplished? Through Jesus, who is God’s empowerment. It is simply God’s work in us to make it so.

Rapture: The Blessed Hope

Ken

“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV). Sure, I’d like to go, if there’s a Rapture, but how do you know it’s so? Harpazō is the NT Greek for catching up or rapture. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Here, harpazō is understandably connected with the “coming of the Lord” (4:15). We will be “caught up” (4:17) to the Lord in the air to reunite with our predeceased brothers and sisters before we all return with Christ. Harpazō also occurs in Revelation 12:5, where the “woman” (12:1), representing Israel, brings forth the Messiah, who is “caught up” (12:5) to the throne of God. Likewise, the Church as the Body of Christ will be raptured to Heaven, after which Israel will be forced to flee “into the wilderness” (12:6). May the Spirit of Christ “comfort” you (1Thessalonians 4:18) with these words, but let us not be impatient or contentious with one another, least of all, about the Rapture. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). 

Incentive to Seek the LORD

Ken

“When He slew them, then they sought Him: and they returned and enquired early after God” (Psalm 78:34 KJV). Survivors became seekers. How does God get us to do something without taking away our ability to make a free choice? God only knows where to draw the line. My choice is choose Him, but satan seeks only to keep Him from being my last choice. Faithful LORD, perform the good work You began in me, to the end. Amen.