Tag Christian

God is at Hand

Todd R 1 Comment

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah lived in a time full of false prophets, where the true word of God was rarely heard.  It was also a time where idolatry and sin ran wild among the people of Judah, Jeremiah’s audience, a nation headed for destruction by Babylon, God’s chosen agent to discipline them.  Yet the false prophets told the people: “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”[1]  Later, “They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”[2]

These false prophets were essentially telling the people they can do whatever they want, so they don’t need a savior since God was not going to judge them.   The false prophets also said that the people don’t need God as Lord, since there would be no negative consequences no matter what they chose to do.

Jeremiah fearlessly confronts these prophets and worked hard to get the people to take him seriously.  At one point, God tells Jeremiah to proclaim: “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?”[3]  With this question, the LORD lets the people know that they can’t just set him aside as if He doesn’t exist.  While God is a God of love, He is also a God of justice, and sin will not be ignored.

Both the Old and New Testaments warn that those who ignore God can infect the broader population.  In Deuteronomy 29:18-19, Moses wrote: “Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.”  [emphasis mine]. The whole church, the “moist and dry alike” can suffer from the influence of members who cast God aside as irrelevant or inconvenient.  People who stubbornly insist on their own way.

The New Testament picks up the “root” image from Deuteronomy in Hebrews 12:15 – “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled”. This verse is in the context of God’s discipline, of understanding that when He judges His own people, it is not a final judgement, but one that is meant to refine them and make them holy.  But it is also a reminder that we need to accept God as Lord, by His grace, in order for Him to be our Savior.

Like the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day, modern preachers can also teach that we don’t need Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Some of them declare that we are free to do whatever we want because He is a God of love and therefore will never judge us no matter what.  These ministers fail to see God’s loving, disciplining hand in our difficulties, feeding the “root of bitterness”.

Other preachers declare that God is a God of love, and therefore if we follow Him, we will be showered with blessings.  These ministers see suffering not as discipline, but as a failure on our part to love God, thus making God’s love conditional.  This also feeds the “root of bitterness” because there is no way we can meet God’s standard.  We will always fall short and without grace all we can experience is frustration.  There will never be enough material blessing to keep us satisfied under this theology.

However, we do need Jesus as Savior, and we do need Jesus as Lord, and we also have Jesus as Savior and Lord.  We need to live like God is “at hand” and not “far away.”  R.C. Sproul used to say Christians need to live “coram Deo” which means “before the face of God” in Latin.  Always knowing that we live in God’s presence, that He is “at hand” reminds us not only of our need for Him as Lord and Savior, but also that He more than meets our need because He is a perfect Lord and Savior.

So, when Jeremiah tells us that God asks, “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?” we can reply that we know we always live coram Deo because He is near.  Only then can we pull up bitterness by its roots and experience true joy in His presence.

Live coram Deo today.

Amen.

[1] Jeremiah 14:13b
[2] Jeremiah 23:17
[3] Jeremiah 23:23

Weekly Readings for February 3 – 9

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Fellow travelers:

Here is the list of readings for this week.  Each week I will post 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025, I’ll post the extra chapters needed for that goal.  The main readings will include all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, the Pentateuch, Ecclesiastes, and a few other Old Testament books.

Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week.

Follow along (or not) any way you choose!  I will often re-post old blogs that comment on the chapters in this schedule.

Monday, February 3: Psalm 34, Genesis 34
Tuesday, February 4: Psalm 35, Genesis 35
Wednesday, February 5: Psalm 36, Genesis 36
Thursday, February 6: Psalm 37, Genesis 37
Friday, February 7: Psalm 38, Genesis 38
Saturday, February 8: Psalm 39, Genesis 39
Sunday, February 9: Psalm 40, Genesis 40

Additional readings if you want to read the whole Bible this year:
2 Samuel 13 – 21

The Cost of Being a Good Samaritan

Todd R 2 Comments

Years ago, I heard a sermon illustration about a parent looking out the window and seeing their kids playing with a skunk.  Naturally, they yelled out to the kids “get away from there and come inside!”  The kids quickly came inside but brought the skunk with them!  The point of the story is that when we want to help others, sometimes their problems become our problems.  There is a cost to truly loving others.

The same principle comes out of the parable of the Good Samaritan.  In the well-known parable a man is robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of a road.  First a priest, and then a Levite, passed him by.  But a Samaritan, a member of a group despised by many Jews, stopped and helped the man.  This help had a significant cost, as described in Luke 10:34-35:

“He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’”

Here’s a list of what the Good Samaritan provided for the man in these two verses:

Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash
  • Likely some kind of cloth to bind the wounds.  He likely tried to use the cleanest cloth he had with him and ripped or cut it as needed.
  • Oil and wine, which he “poured” on the man’s wounds.  He is more concerned about treating the man than about pouring out too much.
  • A ride on his own animal.  The Samaritan walked alongside, giving the man the more comfortable trip to the inn.
  • Money.  Denarii is the plural of denarius, which was about a day’s wages for a laborer.  The Samaritan spent at least two days wages (“two denarii”) and promised to pay more if needed.
  • Ongoing care and concern.  The Samaritan promised to pay “when I come back.”  He was going to make a return trip to the inn to check up on the man.

Contrast this to the priest and Levite, who both “passed by on the other side” to avoid being contaminated by the man, who appeared dead.  The Samaritan was more concerned about providing help than about whether he would become ceremonially unclean.

Loving people often has costs, including significant ones and ones we don’t anticipate, like the skunk that ended up in the house in the opening example.  While we can’t help everyone in need that we come across, and we’re unlikely to come across someone beat up and left for dead, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” – James 2:15-16

“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something” – Max Lucado

Enter His Gates: Participating in the Psalms

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Photo by Steven Lasry on Unsplash

Psalm 100 is “A Psalm for giving thanks.”  Yesterday’s post focused on the first three verses, and today’s covers the last two, which continue the Psalmist’s encouragement to personally join them in thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4 reads:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
            and his courts with praise!
            Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

Verse 3 ended describing us as God’s sheep, and as our Shepherd, He guides us into His presence.  At the time the Psalm was written, this would probably be in His temple, but for us it is whenever we worship in public or in private.  Does our worship involve willing and joyful giving of thanks, praise, and blessing to God?  Or do we sometimes worship reluctantly?  Do we feel we don’t measure up to what God expects?  In case we need encouragement, the Psalmist continues with verse 5:

“For the LORD is good;
            his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Like verse 3 covered yesterday, this verse is a list of things to be thankful for.  A list of reasons we can enter His gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise:

“For the LORD is good” – We can approach God and worship Him because He is good
“his steadfast love endures forever” – We can approach Him because His love is steadfast
“and his faithfulness to all generations.” – We can approach Him because of His faithfulness

It is His characteristics that make Him love us, and His character endures forever.  If we have lacked goodness, love, or faithfulness since we last met with God, His love for us in Christ overcomes it all.  His nature is 100% reliable, and worthy of our thanksgiving!

Take a moment and ask Him how you might participate in the Psalms, being thankful for His character regardless of how your day is going, or how you feel.  He wants to walk through it with you.  Be thankful!

Make a Joyful Noise: Participating in the Psalms

Todd R 2 Comments
Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash

When reading the Psalms we should keep in mind that the writers aren’t just trying to teach us about God, but they are trying to share their experience of Him.  Some Psalms give us instructions like “sing to the LORD a new song” in Psalm 96.  Psalm 100 is “A Psalm for giving thanks,” and like Psalm 96, spells out ideas for doing it.  Today will focus on the first three verses, and tomorrow on the last 2.

Psalm 100 begins with:

“A Psalm for giving thanks.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
            Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!
            It is he who made us, and we are his;
            we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

First, the Psalmist wants the whole earth to make a joyful noise, but notes that singing and making a joyful noise are not the only part of giving thanks.  We are encouraged to thank God by serving Him, not reluctantly, but to serve with the same gladness we have when we sing in worship.

The third verse reads like a list of things to be thankful for.  When we feel like there’s nothing to be thankful for, or no motivation to serve, consider:

“Know that the LORD, he is God!” – Our Lord is not powerless, He is God!
“It is he who made us, and we are his” – We are not accidents of a mindless nature, we are His!
“We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” – We do not have to wander aimlessly through life, not knowing where we are going, we belong to a flock and our Shepherd provides us pasture! 

Take a moment and ask Him how you might participate in the Psalms, carrying these instructions into your daily circumstances.