Author: BTP

“Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him” (Luke 20:37-38).

The Sadducees were a sect of the Jews that did not believe in the resurrection. They believed that when a person dies, that is the end of them; they die just as an animal dies. There are many people today who believe like that, for if there is no resurrection, then they will not have to meet God someday and account for the way they have lived. But I believe that deep down in their hearts they know that they will have to meet God someday.

In our verses today, the Lord Jesus answers that question, showing from the Old Testament scriptures that in the time of Moses, God revealed Himself to him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If all these had died like animals, God would scarcely refer to Himself as their God; it would have no meaning. But while those men, and many others, are dead as far as this world is concerned, they are not dead to God. All three of those men are with Christ now, but those who have died without Him are in a place of torment. As our verse says, “All live unto Him.”

“I Wisdom dwell with prudence…Counsel is Mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength” (Proverbs 8:12,14).

Prudence means using wisdom to apply to different situations. The book of Proverbs speaks a lot about wisdom, but especially in the first few chapters. How important it is to get wisdom! But where is it to be found? If you read Proverbs 8, you will find that wisdom becomes a person, and that Person about whom the chapter speaks in verses 22-31 is obviously the Lord Jesus Himself. He is the wisdom of God for us in our Christian pathway.

Yes, we learn about Him in the Word of God, but ultimately it is an intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and a walk with Him, that gives us real wisdom. More than this, the wisdom of this world cannot add anything to the Word of God, and to Christ. In fact, the wisdom of God is always opposite to man’s wisdom. Let us remember that, and let us walk with the Lord. His wisdom is perfect.

“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me” (Psalm 50:23).

Our verse today brings out what we mentioned in the last sentence of yesterday’s meditation. When we sing the Lord’s praises, we glorify Him. We will certainly sing His praises in heaven, but the Lord wants us to begin down here. Yes, there are some people who cannot sing, and others who have difficulty singing on key, but most of us have good voices that can be used for God’s glory.

In Hebrews 13:15 we are told to bring to the Lord “the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” In the Old Testament, the Israelites were not allowed to bring a blemished animal as a sacrifice. It could not be lame, or sick, or blind, or anything like that. Are we bringing a “blemished sacrifice” to the Lord by not giving Him our best in our praise to Him?

“I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praise unto Thee” (Psalm 144:9).

It is a wonderful thing to be able to praise the Lord intelligently. The Lord has given us human beings voices that are capable not only of intelligent speech, but also of singing. Man has made many musical instruments, but none are quite as good as the human voice. The violin comes the closest to the human voice, and the cello is the only instrument that is capable of the range of notes that the human voice can sing. The most famous violins are the Stradivarius violins, and people will pay millions of dollars to obtain one. Yet each of us has a voice that is even better, if used properly.

When we come together as an assembly of Christians, are we using our voices to praise the Lord, or do we sit there in silence, or perhaps barely open our mouths? The Lord values the response of our hearts to what He has done for us, and loves to hear us sing His praises. I believe that the instrument of ten strings refers, not to another musical instrument, but rather to you and me, for ten is the number of man’s responsibility. Let us use the instrument God has given us, for His glory!

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him…a lying tongue” (Proverbs 6:16-17).

Here we have the second thing that the Lord hates—a lying tongue. When I was growing up, lying was considered a very serious thing, and if children told lies, they were usually severely punished. Sadly, all that has changed over the years, and now adults often lie without seeming to have any conscience about it. After all, they say, isn’t it an easy way to get out of an embarrassing situation? Of course, it becomes even more embarrassing when they are found out, and have to admit that they lied. But even then many people are not very embarrassed, and simply say, “Yes, I lied,” as if this were quite normal. Of course, children learn from adults, and get used to lying as well.

Let us remember that we live and move before the Lord. Let us not adopt the sinful practices of this world, but rather remember that the Lord is watching.

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: a proud look” (Proverbs 6:16-17).

God is holy, and He hates sin in any form. However, it is a mistake to think that all sins are equal in God’s sight. Some are far more serious than others. Here in our verse today we have a list of seven sins that the Lord hates especially.

We notice that the first one in the list is “a proud look.” We might think that a “look” is not that serious, but what is on our faces betrays to others what is in our hearts. The Lord can look directly into our hearts, and knows our attitude, and what we are thinking. As creatures, we have no right to be proud, for that takes away from the glory due only to God, and gives it to us. Everything we have, every ability we have to do things, everything we know—it all ultimately comes from God. Truly, as an older brother used to teach us, “Every form of pride is wrong, and ought to be condemned.”

“Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

Back in the late 1700s and early 1800s there was a famous British admiral named Lord Nelson. He had lost one eye and one of his arms in battle, but continued to win many sea battles. He was extremely well-liked by the sailors who worked under him, for he understood them and led them rather than drove them.

In those days of sailing ships, many younger sailors found it a little frightening to have to climb up the rigging (a network of ropes that held the mast up) to the top of the mast. All this had to be done while the ship was pitching and rolling on the ocean, causing the mast to sway from side to side. Since the mast was often 100 feet high, it was dangerous too.

Often when a young sailor had to “go aloft” for the first time, Lord Nelson would stand with him at the bottom of the mast. “I am going aloft right now,” he would say, “I trust I shall meet you at the top.” Of course a young man with both eyes and both arms would think, “If a man with only one eye and one arm can do it, surely I can too.” Then he would be encouraged to go up, and soon felt comfortable doing it.

The Lord Jesus is like that to us. He has been through every kind of difficulty that a sinless Man could go through, and He is our example. He has gone on before and reached heaven safely. If we follow Him, He will give us the strength to complete the journey too.

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Yesterday we saw that those Christians who really follow the Lord Jesus, and are willing to give up their present advantages in this life, will not only enjoy His company in this present life, but will have eternal life in the world to come. But does this mean that a true Christian who does not follow the Lord will eventually lose his/her salvation?

No, for our verse today tells us that we will never lose our salvation. The Lord knows those who are His, and He says in John 10:28 that “they shall never perish.” However, an unfaithful Christian will definitely lose part of his reward. Also, if we profess to be true believers, the Lord expects us to “depart from iniquity.” That means to depart from sin. We disgrace and dishonor the name of Christ if we live sinful, worldly lives, and others will find it hard to believe that we are true Christians.

“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29-30).

There are many people today who want to live an easy, comfortable life in this world, and then go to heaven at the end. As the saying goes, they want to have the best of both worlds. But if we truly wish to follow the Lord Jesus, and to know Him in an intimate way, it means following Him in His path of rejection in this world. It often means giving up some of our material things, perhaps some of the advantages we might otherwise have had, and perhaps even some people who are naturally close to us, in order fully to follow the Lord. But it is worth it!

Not only will we have an inner joy that more than compensates for the loss of these things, but we will enjoy eternal life with our Savior for all eternity. Are you and I prepared to pay the price to follow Him fully?

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it” (Proverbs 3:27).

Have you ever woken up in the morning in a bad mood? Perhaps there is no reason for it, but you just feel in a bad mood. A good friend of mine who lived in a foreign country went to the post office to pick up a parcel that had been sent to him. When he arrived at the post office, he could see his parcel sitting on a shelf behind the counter. But the man at the post office refused to give it to him; he simply said, “Not today; come back tomorrow.” He was in a bad mood, and did not feel like giving my friend his parcel.

Let us not allow a bad mood to govern our lives. Let us ask the Lord to help us get over it, and to treat others in a right way. A prominent pizza company in the U.S.A. used to tell its employees, “Leave your bad mood at home!” As Christians, we should go further than that. We should get rid of that bad mood altogether.