Essentials

3 Things We Must Believe About God's Word adapted from Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung.

Essentials

In Psalm 119 we see at least three essential, irreducible characteristics we should believe about God’s word.

1. God’s word says what is true.

Like the psalmist, we can trust in the word (v. 42), knowing that it is altogether true (v. 142). We can’t trust everything we read on the Internet. We can’t trust everything we hear from our professors. We certainly can’t trust all the facts given by our politicians. We can’t even trust the fact-checkers who check those facts! Statistics can be manipulated. Photographs can be faked. Magazine covers can be airbrushed. Our teachers, our friends, our science, our studies, even our eyes can deceive us. But the word of God is entirely true and always true:

God’s word is firmly fixed in the heavens (v. 89); it doesn’t change. There is no limit to its perfection (v. 96); it contains nothing corrupt. All God’s righteous rules endure forever (v. 160); they never get old and never wear out.

If you ever think to yourself, “I need to know what is true— what is true about me, true about people, true about the world, true about the future, true about the past, true about the good life, and true about God,” then come to God’s word. It teaches only what is true: “Sanctify them in the truth,” Jesus said; “your word is truth” (John 17:17).

2. God’s word demands what is right.

The psalmist gladly acknowledges God’s right to issue commands and humbly accepts that all these commands are right. “I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,” he says (Ps. 119:75). All God’s commandments are sure (v. 86). All his precepts are right (v. 128). I sometimes hear Christians admit that they don’t like what the Bible says, but since it’s the Bible they have to obey it. On one level, this is an admirable example of submitting oneself to the word of God. And yet, we should go one step further and learn to see the goodness and rightness in all that God commands. We should love what God loves and delight in whatever he says. God does not lay down arbitrary rules. He does not give orders so that we might be restricted and miserable. He never requires what is impure, unloving, or unwise. His demands are always noble, always just, and always righteous.

3. God’s word provides what is good.

According to Psalm 119, the word of God is the way of happiness (vv. 1–2), the way to avoid shame (v. 6), the way of safety (v. 9), and the way of good counsel (v. 24). The word gives us strength (v. 28) and hope (v. 43). It provides wisdom (vv. 98–100, 130) and shows us the way we should go (v. 105). God’s verbal revelation, whether in spoken form in redemptive history or in the covenantal documents of redemptive history (i.e., the Bible), is unfailingly perfect. As the people of God, we believe the word of God can be trusted in every way to speak what is true, command what is right, and provide us with what is good.

He Is The Amen

"Prayer in the name of Christ ends with a calm and joyous Amen; for Jesus Himself is the Amen of God, in whom all promises and gifts of God are sealed. "

— Adolph Saphir   The Hidden Life

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Hyperlinked Prayers

"..Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God. When you know you are praying the promises of God, you can pray with holy confidence. It's the difference between praying on thin ice and praying on solid ground. It's the difference between praying tentatively and praying tenaciously.You don't have to second guess yourself because you know that God wants you to doubleclick on His promises."

          - Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker, page 91

Things You Can Stake Your Life On

Here's a great post from The Gospel-Driven Church: What You Can Stake Your Life On:

1. God's words are true.

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
-- Psalm 33:4

2. Even if you let him down, he will never return the favor.

If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
-- 2 Timothy 2:13

3. He is never late.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
-- Romans 5:6

4. He is not slow.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
-- 2 Peter 3:9a

5. He loves you.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
-- 1 John 4:16a"

Thanks, I needed to hear this today!

Always Yes

The ten prayers God always says “yes” to are:

1) God, Show me that you exist
2) God, Make me an instrument
3) God, Outdo me in generosity
4) God, Get me through this suffering
5) God, Forgive me
6) God, Give me peace
7) God, Give me courage
8) God, Give me wisdom
9) God, Bring good out of this bad situation
10) God, lead me to my destiny

From: Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, by Anthony DeStefano published by Doubleday

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Cor. 1:20 ESV)

He is Near

Good words of wisdom from John Acuff at Thinking Out Loud

I have heard roughly 1 million pastors reference the verse, Philippians 4:6-7, in sermons about worry.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And it makes complete sense, because it’s a great verse. I’ve said that one over and over again through the years as I’ve wrestled with my own worries.

But I’ve never heard anyone mention the four words that come before it. I’ve never heard anyone talk about the incredibly short, but in my mind, incredibly powerful sentence that precedes, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

Have you? If you’re familiar with that verse and have memorized it before, do you know the way the verse before it concludes? I honestly didn’t until a few weeks ago.

The four words before Philippians 4:6 are “The Lord is near.” The verses say, “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious …” I love that. When we pray that verse out loud when we’re under the burden of worry, when the skies are dark and we are so anxious we can barely stand and we cry out to God, I think we should start with “The Lord is near.”

We’re not praying to a far off God. We’re not presenting our requests to a long distance lord. The Lord is near. The Lord is near. That’s such a great reminder. Instead of starting with us, “Don’t be anxious about anything,” what if we started with the Lord? What if we started our pray with, “the lord is near” and ended it in verse 7 with “in Christ Jesus?” What if we had God bookends on that prayer about worry?

Would that change the way we thought about worry? It has for me.

10 Reasons Not to Panic

I like this post by Steve Murrell at the reluctant leader: 10 Reasons Not to Panic, Despite the Wall Street Meltdown. Good stuff to remember.

Here are my top 10 reasons not to panic:

10. Because God, not Wall Street, gives the ability to produce wealth.
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. - Dt 8:18

9. Because of God’s covenant promise to Abraham
But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” - Gen 32:12

8. Because God has plans to prosper His people
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jer 29:11

7. Because God rewards those who are kind to the poor
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. - Prov 19:17

6. Because God blesses generous people
A generous man will himself be blessed - Prov 22:9

5. Because if we give to the poor, we will lack nothing
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. - Prov 28:27

4. Because God provides so we can be generous
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. - 2Cor 9:11

3. Because God does not forsake the righteous
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. - Ps 37:25

2. Because God takes care of tithers
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. -Mal 3:10

1. Because God promises to meet all my needs
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. - Phil 4:19