PERSPECTIVE

“Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the LORD, and my work with my God" (Isa. 49:4 NKJV).

This verse cites a wrong perspective and then gives the right perspective about serving God. First, it speaks of a wrong perspective, then it tells of the right perspective.

Wrong perspective – “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain.” It is a common complaint that we are laboring in vain when the results don’t seem to match our efforts. This can be discouraging. However, while the results of serving the Lord faithfully often is not immediately known, it does not necessarily means failure. Yet, quitting is not the correct response; quitting is trick of the enemy.

Right perspective – “Yet surely my reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God.” This says two important things about our labor for God. First, appraisal: God is the One who determines whether or not we have labored in vain. All that we do is known by the Lord and He evaluates all our conduct. If we have done what He has commanded us, we have not labored in vain no matter what the outward earthly results appear to be. Second, award: “Work” here refers to reward or wages. Our verse says our reward is from God. We may not receive any awards from man for serving God; but if we are faithful in doing right, we will be rewarded by God, and no rewards are better. This is encouragement to be faithful in our service for God.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, “He’s so big we can never kill him.” But David looked at the same giant and thought, “He’s so big, I can’t miss!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dismay

In Luke 21:25 we read, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves” (NASB).

Dismay is the Greek word apeitheia (ἀπείθεια = ap-i'-thi-ah). It is made up of two words: “a” which means without, and “peítho” which means trust. Apeitheia denotes intentional and obstinate refusal to believe, acknowledge, or obey. It is disbelief; an obstinate rejection of God’s will. Literally, apeitheia refers to an unwillingness to be persuaded, and thus describes the condition of being unpersuadable.

In classical Greek apeitheia means disobedience, but was not widely used. Apeitheia is not found in the Septuagint. In the New Testament apeitheia always speaks of disobedience to God and is often shown as the result of or with the connotation of unbelief. Apeitheia is not ignorance but obstinacy which manifests itself in disobedience. Apeitheia thus denotes a willful unbelief and obstinate opposition to God’s will.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would give His “back to the smithers” (Isa. 50:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:26

Did You Know…

In the Bible, it states that Jesus opens the mind to understand scripture (Luke 24:45).

Bible Quiz

According to 1 Kings 15, only once did David not obey the Lord. What was the sin that David committed?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: In the writings of the prophets, God’s wrath and fierce judgments are frequently described as what? A fire (Jer. 4:4).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

“Wish you’d never been born”

“The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born” (Mark 14:21 NKJV).

“Wish you’d never been born” - The expression “wish you’d never been born” carries the idea of despising your life. In context, the Lord Jesus is talking about His coming betrayal. On the one hand the Lord Jesus must die, in fulfillment of Scripture (e.g., Ps. 22; Isa. 53). His death was according to God’s plan not simply because of the betrayer’s action. But on the other hand, heartfelt pity “to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.” So awful a destiny awaits him that it would have been better for him if he had not been born. We all bear the responsibilities of our actions even though God in His sovereign will uses them to advance His kingdom.

Did You Know – Christian History

Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut. He was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian.

Edwards entered Yale College in 1716, at just under the age of 13. During his college studies, he kept notebooks labeled “The Mind,” “Natural Science,” “The Scriptures” and “Miscellanies.” Even though he would go on to study theology, Edwards was still interested in science. He saw the natural world as evidence of God’s masterful design.

Edwards was a Calvinist, and although most often remembered for his hellfire sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was not a hellfire preacher. He carefully prepared his sermons with detailed logic and read his messages to the congregation.

Edwards was well equipped to do this. As a youth he was proficient in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and wrote works important to the field of psychology. People were brought under conviction because they recognized truth in the clarity of his words. He believed and taught that salvation is not by works, but by the grace of God acting in a heart. It depends upon faith in God’s work in Christ on the cross rather than on our works. Under his teaching, waves of revival swept through his community and spread outward in the Great Awakening.

Edwards’ uncompromising rebukes against sin and his refusal to permit the unconverted to partake of the Lord’s Supper led him into difficulties with his congregation and he was fired. In face of this blow, Edwards trusted God. He had been ordained to preach the gospel, and preach he did - to the Housatonic Indians and a small white congregation.

Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. His theological work gave rise to a distinct school of theology known as the New England theology. Edwards is well known for his many books, The End for Which God Created the World, The Life of David Brainerd, which inspired thousands of missionaries throughout the 19th Century, and Religious Affections, which many Reformed Evangelicals still read today.

Edwards died on March 22, 1758 from a smallpox inoculation shortly after beginning the presidency at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). He was the grandfather of Aaron Burr, third Vice President of the United States.

A Little Humor

A newspaper interviewed a grizzled old man sitting with his hand folded in his lap, behind his farmhouse. “Sir, I’d like to know the secret of your long life,” asked the reporter. “I drink a gallon of whiskey, smoke fifty cigars, and go out dancing every day of my life,” said the man. “Remarkable!” said the reporter. “And exactly how old are you?” “Twenty-seven,” was the reply.

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Life is a puzzle - Jesus is the missing piece!”