Bible League: Living His Word "God's thundering voice is amazing! He does great things that we cannot understand."— Job 37:5 ERV As our verses for today proclaim, God's thundering voice is amazing. It is the voice of the Lord that lies behind the whole created order. In the beginning, "God said, 'Let there be light!' And light began to shine" (Genesis 1:3). When God speaks, things come into being and things happen. That's why the psalmist says, "The LORD spoke the command, and the world was made. The breath from his mouth created everything in the heavens" (Psalm 33:6). How does God do it? How did He create all things, and How does He providentially control all things? We have no idea. We simply do not understand. Do we believe that He created and controls all things because we have some sort of audible experience of His voice? No. Thunder may seem like the voice of God, but no one ever heard God say to the snow, "Fall on the earth!" or heard Him say to the rain, "Pour down on the earth!" Do we believe it because science tells us that He does? No. We believe it by faith. God tells us in the Bible that He creates and controls all things, and we believe what He says. We believe by faith that God's thundering voice is the ultimate cause of everything. Scientists can give us theories of why the snow and rain fall on the earth, but their "natural" explanations are not the full story. For the Bible tells us that God causes the snow to fall and the rain to pour down. God's voice works through the natural order of things to bring about the results that He desires, that we experience. Although His voice can be likened to thunder, it is the inaudible, behind-the-scenes cause of everything that happens. Although we have no idea how God does what He does, although we do not understand the nature of His creative and providential control, we can see its results everywhere. God is always showing us what He can do. And sometimes, He forces us to stop what we're doing just so we can marvel at all of it. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 20, 21, 22 Genesis 20 -- Abraham, Sarah and Abimelech NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 21 -- Isaac Born; Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away; Treaty at Beersheba NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 22 -- The Offering of Isaac; Nahor's sons NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 7 Matthew 7 -- Do Not Judge; Ask; Seek; Knock; Golden Rule; Narrow Gate; Good Fruit; Foundation on Rock NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.Insight The Egyptians tried to wear down the Hebrew people by forcing them into slavery and mistreating them. Instead, the Hebrews multiplied and grew stronger. Challenge When we are burdened or mistreated, we may feel defeated. But our burdens can make us stronger and can develop qualities in us that will prepare us for the future. We cannot be overcomers without troubles to overcome. Be true to God in the hard times because even the worst situations can make us better people. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Exodus 28:38 The iniquity of the holy things.What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It will be humbling and profitable for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight. The iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of heart and forgetfulness of God, what a full measure have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what a mass of defilement is there! Our private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity, what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully we should find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at first sight. Dr. Payson, writing to his brother, says, "My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I find that very many of my desires for the melioration of both, proceed either from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? It may be that I may walk out and say to myself, In what fine order is my garden kept!' This is pride. Or, it may be that my neighbours may look over the wall and say, How finely your garden flourishes!' This is vanity. Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This is indolence." So that even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long to discover them. How cheering is the thought, that, when the High Priest bore the iniquity of the holy things, He wore upon His brow the words, "Holiness to the Lord,:" and even so while Jesus bears our sin, He presents before His Father's face not our unholiness, but His own holiness. O for grace to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith! Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread. Psalm 37:28 For the LORD loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. 1 Samuel 12:22 "For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 2 Corinthians 1:10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, Hebrews 13:5,6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," • so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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