The Knowledge of God's Glory

Habakkuk 2:14 - “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

God's wisdom and knowledge fills not only the earth, but all of creation. One only has to read God's longest monologue in scripture in Job 38-41 to begin to understand His plan. However, a day is coming when this knowledge and wisdom will be manifested in all of its glory. The spoken word of God that we often skim over in these aforementioned chapters, along with others such as Psalm 19, will become reality when we see His glory fill the earth through the knowledge of Him.

The scripture tells us the nations will mourn as every eye will see Him when He returns to this earth (Revelation 1:7). On that day, the glory of the Lord will not only be seen regarding His knowledge in creation, but also the glory of His justice and mercy. For those who have hearkened His call, it will be a day of great rejoicing as salvation's plan for both mankind and the earth we live on will be revealed.

Soul Rightness

Habakkuk 2:4 - “Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith."

The soul of man without the Spirit of God has lost its way. The mind, emotion, and will are skewed toward promotion and preservation of self. As the prophet states, it "is not right within him." Human souls, left to themselves, are motivated by fear and the eventual realization that without God, all will be lost. There is the continual grasping for "more," seeking to quell the fear and find that place of fleeting peace the heart of man so desires.

When we come to Christ, His righteousness fills us and seeks to rule our soul through our spirit and the Holy Spirit within. When we surrender to Him, fear must flee. Instead of our previous modus operandi of fleeing from God, we run to Him. This, beloved, allows our righteousness in Him to become reality. It then becomes His creation clinging to the Creator, allowing us to go from faith to faith as our soul becomes "right" before our God.

God's Great Gifts

Romans 2:4 - "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"

Do we really understand what it cost God to save us? It cost Him an entire Person of His Godhead to sacrifice Himself on our behalf. The riches of Jesus Christ have therefore been given to all who would accept His great gift. He became sin for us, beloved, that we would be called the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21). This was God's great plan to redeem everyone, not just a select few.

The greatest expression of God's love outside Christ's redemption is "His kindness and tolerance and patience" as He waits for sinners to accept His Son's finished work. God tarries, as much of the world continues on their path of destruction, disregarding both His completed work and God’s mercy as He waits. What can be done? We can first accept His great gift. Then, we can pray and ask God that His kingdom would come to this earth, sweeping millions into His great harvest.

Lord, have Your way with our lives. Cause us to be intercessory missionaries for Your Great Commission. Then, send us out to our respective mission fields -- whether around the block or around the world -- for Your Namesake. Worthy is the Lamb to be slain to receive the reward of His sufferings! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A True Disciple of Jesus

Mark 14:69, 71 - "The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, 'This is one of them!' ... But he began to curse and swear, 'I do not know this man you are talking about!'”

Whether we wish to believe it or not, those around us are always watching. Friends, colleagues at work, relatives, and especially those closest to us – our spouses and children. Oftentimes, those with whom we deal with will remain silent about our faith until a crisis moment reveals our allegiance. Then, we may find those we thought were not watching are watching indeed. Some might say, "You call yourself a Christian and believe THAT? Look at the way you are behaving!"

Peter was right. He did not know Jesus as he professed. He only knew Him as an acquaintance that he desired to emulate, but yet not enough to die for. Will we be surprised to hear others accusing us of being with Jesus only in relation to His precepts rather than relationship with Him? If we rejoice when others say we are "one of them," no matter the circumstances, we will embrace both His death in us so we can live through Him.

Facing Death to Self

Mark 14:31 - "But Peter kept saying insistently, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!' And they all were saying the same thing also."

Crisis moments reveal true character. We can all be heroic in our resolve to follow Jesus in theory. However, when the moment of decision comes, how committed will we be to stay the course? Consecration is something each one of us will deal with, every day, the rest of our life here on earth if we know the Lord. How well we respond to each instance will determine how God sanctifies us for His purposes.

Religion will often look like the "real deal." However, when the flesh (or our old nature) is faced with death, it will always run and hide. We must all beware of the pride of selfish ambition (James 3:16). It manifests itself most profoundly in zealous, religious pledges that have no substance once the test of consecrating ourselves to Jesus comes our way.

Holy is the Lord

Habakkuk 1:13a - "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor."

There is never a time in the history of sin that God has not had to look at a world filled with iniquity. In His wisdom and love, He has orchestrated ways that a holy God is able to put up with seeing the abominations that occur daily upon this earth. In this regard, He will never be able to approve the smallest iota of sin ever committed. That is why there will come a day of judgment when He will appease His wrath upon the disobedience of those who have not accepted His Son and His righteousness.

The furthest desire from God's heart is to have to judge mankind. He would much rather have a heart of mercy and grace to those He loves with all of His being. However, that day of reckoning is coming because anything less would be unjust. He must juxtapose His judgment with His mercy and forbearance He has shown for millennia. May we all hearken to Him in this age of grace and mercy, beloved of God.

Love's Obligation

Romans 1:14 - "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Obligation does not necessarily imply emotion. It is a stated fact regarding a contractual agreement between two parties. However, Paul was obligated by love. He understood the importance of his message to all classes of people. Along with this obligation came extreme patience to explain himself to anyone who would listen to the gospel. Remember, patience equals love expressed. It manifests itself by a heart that has the best interest possible for the object of its affection.

Do we possess a sense of obligation to those around us regarding Jesus Christ's message of hope and love? Or, do we look at some and impatiently think, "They will never come to Jesus, why should I bother!"? Like Paul, we should never judge mankind from our perspective. Righteous judgment is better left to the Holy Spirit (John 7:24). It is our duty to live as ambassadors of His love to all men and allow the Father to draw those whom He has called through the patient love He has granted to those who are His sons and daughters.