Keep going…and going, and going!

Joshua 13:1 "…You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed." (NASB95)

Just because we've been at it a long time does not mean we're finished, or even about finished!

Joshua had been fighting in the Lord's army since his early adulthood, being drafted as a spy into the Promised Land. Having spent 40 years in the wilderness, watching a generation of faithless die, he now had experienced great years of conquest, watching the Lord fight for Israel like she had never before experienced.

But it was too soon to retire! The Lord still had great things in store for this man who was "old and advanced in years" (that's Bible talk for "Really, really, old!").

What about you? Has your journey been long? Don't retire too early! God may have His best work yet still in store.

In His Grace;

Dr. Randy White

When God is Not There

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Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of  the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.  (2 Chronicles 32:31 NASB)

Hezekiah the King had some great stories to tell!  When the King of Assyria came to attack, having defeated all the surrounding nations, he taunted Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem--but God gave a great victory to His people and Sennacherib went home in shame.  When Hezekiah came down with a terminal illness, he cried out to God and his life was spared.  God had been with him every step of the way and had given him every benefit for leading Judah.

The work of God in Jerusalem through Hezekiah was so amazing that the Babylonians (at this time a rather insignificant horde) took notice of what was happening.  The King of Babylon sent envoys to Jerusalem to see for themselves what God was doing.  As they began their journey, God did something unusual...He left!

That's right!  God left Hezekiah to handle this one on his own.  God wanted to see the heart of Hezekiah.  God had done so much for this man.  Now that He had an opportunity to give God the praise and glory, what would he do?  Would he honor God's Holy name?  Would He praise God for the bountiful blessings he had received from His hand?

Instead, Hezekiah proudly showed his treasure rooms and boasted of his own accomplishments.  God sat in the shadows and listened...never hearing mention of His name.

Perhaps it is mostly in times of victory that God leaves us alone to test us?  And when He does...do we praise Him for the blessings, or do we boast of our own ingenuity, strength, wisdom, and hard work?

In His Grace;
Dr. Randy White

Two Words

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1 is a great verse of scripture teaching the diety of Jesus Christ.  Using the greek word logos, John describes Jesus as “in the beginning” and “with God” and, in fact, “was God”.  This verse tells us of the pre-existence of Jesus (that is, He existed before He was born as a baby in Bethlehem).  It teaches of the divine nature of Jesus (that is, He was and is God, and this is His eternal state).  It even teaches of the Trinity (He was both with God and was God, expressing the “one essence, three persons” of God).

Some mistakenly interpret this verse to combine Jesus and the Scriptures into one, eventually saying that the Bible, as truth, becomes equal to Jesus, the Truth.  This not only is a misunderstanding of the text (one that is prohibited in the Greek language but becomes available in English thinking), but removes the “personhood” of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

In this scripture, when John says that Jesus is “the Word”, there is no connection between that and the printed page of scripture.  While we might say “open the word to such and such a passage”, we do not mean that the word of God and the Word who is Jesus are one in the same.  In English printed word, spoken word, and figurative word are all the same “word”.  In Greek, logos means “expression” and graphe means “printed word” or scripture.

Jesus is the logos but not the graphe.  Jesus is one of three unique persons of the Trinity.  Jesus is the Son of God, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and the scripture is the inerrant revelation of God in printed form.  Take care not to make any of them one and the same!

In His Grace;

Dr. Randy White