GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GOD
“Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth” (2 Kings 19:15 NKJV).
After receiving a threatening letter from Assyria, Hezekiah wisely took it to the Lord in prayer. As he begins his prayer, Hezekiah said some significant things about God. He spoke of God as the God of Israel, the God of Mercy, the God of Dominion, and the God of Creation.
God of Israel – “O Lord God of Israel.” Other nations had their gods, and Hezekiah stated who Israel’s God was. This is acceptance of Jehovah God. Oh, that leaders of our nation would bow down to Almighty God and accept Him as the God of our nation. Instead, they chose to keep Him out of as many of our nation’s affairs as possible which is basically saying they do not want Him as their God.
God of Mercy – “Who dwells between the cherubim.” This refers to the fact that God said He would dwell above the blood sprinkled mercy seat of the ark between the cherubim on the mercy seat (Exodus 25:22). This emphasizes the fact that God is a God of mercy. When we go to God for help, we need to come by way of God’s mercy not our merit. Mercy will bring us great blessings; merit will give us little or no blessing.
God of Dominion – “You are God, You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth.” This acknowledges the dominion of God over all the earth. He is the Ruler of all mankind. Thus we need to submit to His commands if we wish to benefit from His rule. Man often thinks he is in charge of things, but it is God who is ruling the earth. When men refuse God’s rule in their lives, this only result in problems in their lives.
God of Creation – “You have made heaven and earth.” Hezekiah recognized God as the creator. Many intellectuals do not recognize this fact. However, this does not change the fact. It is absurd to devise any other creed for creation other than the one Hezekiah embraced. Yet our schools and so called intellectuals continue to teach evolution and other similar beliefs. This happens because of their rejection of God.
(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)
Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)
Quotation of the Week
“In an age of false superlatives, only God is truly great!”
Anonymous
Word Study
Despise
In 1 Thess. 5:20 we read, “Do not despise prophecies!” (NKJV)
Despise is the Greek word exoutheneo (εξουθενεω). It is made up of two words - “ek” which acts as an intensifier, and “outheneo” which means to bring to naught. Thus the word means to despise someone or something on basis that it is worthless or of no value. It is to treat something or someone as of no account, to set at naught, to make something of no account (disregard, reject with contempt, despise).
In Classical Greek, the word exoutheneo means to treat with contempt, to despise. In the Septuagint, exoutheneo carries the idea of rejection and forsaking. In the New Testament exoutheneo also carries the idea of contempt and to set at naught. Further, the combination of a negative particle with the present imperative suggests stop doing something already begun. This means individual were to stop despising prophetic utterances. Note also that exoutheneo is in the second person plural indicating that the command is intended for the entire Thessalonian church, as well as for us today.
Bible Facts
Titus, companion of the apostle Paul was a Gentile (Gal. 2:3). He may have been converted by Paul who called him “My true son in the faith that we share” (Titus 1:4). Although the Book of Acts does not mention Titus, he was quite involved in Paul’s missionary activities as shown in the Pauline letters. He was evidently known to the Galatians (Gal. 2:1, 3), and seemed to have been a very capable person, being called by Paul “my partner and fellow worker” (2 Cor. 8:23). He was entrusted with the delicate task of delivering Paul’s severe letter (2:1-4) to Corinth and correcting problems within the church there (7:13-15).
Bible Quiz
Who said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”
**Answer to last week’s trivia:When will Jesus Christ return to the earth? “At an hour you do not expect” (Matt. 24:44 NKJV).
That’s in the Bible
“Tender mercies”
"Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old!” (Psalm 25:6 KJV).
Today, we facetiously say we leave someone to another’s “tender mercies” when we leave that person in the care of another who isn’t so appealing for one reason or another. Movie producers and writers often find it increasingly appealing to use the Bible as a source for their production titles. And so we find the phrase “tender mercies” showing up as the title of a 1983 movie starring Robert Duvall. Yet the movie title had nothing to do with God’s mercy. However, “Tender mercies” takes on a significantly different meaning in Scripture, signifying God’s literal mercy on us.
Did You Know – Christian History
Hans Schlaffer was a former Catholic priest, who became an Anabaptist in 1526. In May 1527, Schlaffer was part of a group including Hans Hut that was involved in a theological controversy taking place in Nikolsburg, Moravia. He was arrested on December 5, 1527 by local Roman Catholic authorities along with fellow Anabaptist Leonard Fryk. He was brought to Schwaz, tortured and questioned bout infant-baptism. Hans said that according to scripture, a man had to “hear, understand, believe, and receive” God’s word before being baptized. As he saw it, this alone counted as Christian baptism. Children need not be baptized and the Lord did not command it because they were already his. When asked on what foundation the Anabaptists rested, he replied, “Our faith, actions, and baptism rest on nothing else than the commandment of Christ.”
Hans was also known as a master of prayer. On the day he was arrested, he had been teaching his hearers about prayer. Two months later, on the night before his execution, he was still focused on prayer. He wrote a last letter to his flock; it was smuggled out of the castle and preserved for us. It read in part – “Oh Father in heaven, whoever lives in Christ your Son and suffers and dies with him will rise with him in glory to be in his Kingdom forever. This is how we have understood the holy Gospel. This is how we understand Christ and his teachings, and this is how we now understand the word faith which we never understood like this before.” When asked to recant, he refused and was subsequently burned on February 4, 1528.
A Little Humor
A man goes into his doctor’s office for an annual physical. After a while, the doctor comes out and says, “I’m sorry Bill, but we have discovered you have a condition which only allows you another 6 weeks to live.” “But Doctor,” Bill replied, “I feel great! I haven’t felt better in years. This just can’t be true. Isn’t there anything I can do?” After a moment the doctor said, “Well, you might start going down the street to that new health spa and take a mud bath every day.” Excitedly Bill asked, “And that will cure me?” “No,” replied the doctor, “but it will get you used to the dirt.”
Thought Provoking Church Sign
“A person who is almost persuaded is still completely lost!’”
