Grains of Sand

Google Images As I've been reading through the Old Testament, there is one thing that stands out among many important principles. God's holiness pervades all the pages of Scripture but never more than it does in the Old Testament. That holiness was offended in Genesis at the fall of Adam and Even, driven to its limits in the flood during Noah’s time, and tested time and time again by a disobedient and the rebellious people. It demanded that no one touch the mountain of God, and established a priesthood, a Tabernacle and a system of sacrifices that were set apart to be as holy as the One Who had established them. God’s people were given commandments to follow and told to be as holy as the God Who was forming them into a nation. That command to be holy carried over into the New Testament, providing the bridge between the Old and the New (i.e. Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16). As I was reading Numbers 3 this morning, I was reminded again that God had set apart His priests to mai...

Google Images Oops, wrong answer! There are many times when God’s response to our dullness surprises me. Many people go into spasms when the wrath of God is mentioned. True, God isn’t one-sided. His wrath is a real and current part of His character. So is His grace. Neither one can be emphasized at the expense of the other. Here in Genesis 15 we have an example of God’s grace when wrath might have been our response if we had been in God’s “shoes.” The Lord appeared to Abram in a vision and said: “ Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward ” (Genesis 15:1). I would hope that if God appeared to me in a vision and said those words, I’d be so overwhelmed by such a wonderful promise that everything else would fly out of my mind and I’d fall flat on my face before Him in worship. What could possibly be better that having God personally tell you that He is going to be your protector and your reward? But Abram’s response is more typical of what mine, and yours, migh...

He who opens his mouth is sure to put his foot in it. We laugh, perhaps a little sheepishly. Who hasn't spoken without thinking (or after thinking) and said something that he later wished he could take back. It seems that what comes out of our mouths is no laughing matter to God. Jesus said: " But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken " —Matthew 12:36. What grabs my attention here is the context surrounding His words. He had just finished calling the Pharisees a " brood of vipers " (12:34) for the evil that they continually spoke. I can understand that evil words will be judged. That makes perfectly good sense. But what I take note of is that the Lord didn't say only our evil words would be judged, He made a point of saying that our careless words would be judged. My online dictionary describes " careless " as: not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm o...