Savoring the Scripture

When God graciously gives us suffering there are some purposes God has in the suffering of His people. Suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory. 2 Cor. 4:17, “ For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison .” Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”   Notice the contrasts. Light affliction/weight of glory. Momentary affliction/ eternal glory. Beyond all comparison. Sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed. In suffering, we learn His statutes. Psalm 119: 71, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.” When we endure suffering or affliction, we learn how to count it all joy (James 1:2) and how to trust in Him through difficult times and pour out our hearts to Him (Psalm 62). We learn to persevere in prayer and to never give up (Luke 18:...

God's Omniscience     In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it asks this question, "Does God know all things?" The answer states, "Yes, nothing can be hidden from God." The immensity of that truth overwhelms us at times. We understand this to mean that God knows the vastness of each galaxy and every star He placed in it and, in fact, knows each one by name (Ps. 147:4). He knows every tiny creature that creeps on the earth.  There are millions of beetles alone and the Lord knows each one's location, what it ate for breakfast, and even its very life span, for He gives to every creature its food in due season and life and breath to all (Ps. 104:27; Acts 17:25). There are no scientific, historical, mathematical, economic, or personal facts or details He does not know.  And when we talk about mankind, He knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. He knows us and is intimately acquainted with all our ways. He knows our thoughts, our lying down and going out,...

The Care of Widows in the Scripture In the Old Testament, a widow was left in a difficult position with the death of her husband.   She could not inherit from him and thus if she was childless she may have the opportunity to marry her husband’s brother and stay in the family.   If she had children, her eldest son was to care for her. In the OT, God made provision for the widows by having them participate in the triennial third tithe, gleaning, and religious feasts (Deut. 14:29; 24: 19-21; 26:12). There was blessing from the Lord for those who followed this command to help provide for the widow, orphan, and alien.   God commanded the people not to pervert justice for the widow (Deut. 27:19), and He Himself would be her defender and execute justice on her behalf (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18, 24:17,19; Ps. 146:9). In the NT, Paul expected families to care for their widows (1 Tim. 5:4-8), and the church would care for widows who were widows indeed (1 Tim. 5:3-16). However,...

Empathy is defined as the capacity for understanding, being aware of, being sensitive of, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. Christ in His tenderness towards His children empathizes and sympathizes with them, for indeed, we are His own body that He “nourishes and cherishes.” His sympathy is such that “in our pain, Jesus is pained; in our suffering, he feels the suffering as his own” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). In fact, He co-suffers with us (Acts 9:4). Christ’s own testimony is that He is gentle and lowly (Matt. 11:29). He is “Tender. Open. Welcoming. Accommodating. Understanding. Willing” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). We are to imitate Christ in our treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are members of His body (1 Cor. 11:1; 12:18-20).  We must be most tender with those who are weakest—spiritually, physically, mentally. We must strive to show solidarity with them; to be understanding of their infirmit...

In my last post encouraging women to study the Scripture, I looked at three reasons to study the Word of God. As believers we want to know God truly for who He has revealed Himself to be, we want to know the truth and guard ourselves against deception, and we have a deep privilege to dig into the Scripture. In this post, I will look at three additional reasons why we, as women, should study the Word of God: to grow and bear fruit, to be adequate and complete, and to have His Word richly dwelling in us. Grow and Bear Fruit We study the Scriptures so that we can grow and bear fruit.   The Word of God is necessary for our growth. 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”   The word long means to desire earnestly and is a command. The object of our longing is “the pure milk of the word.” Milk is used figuratively here as the sincere and sweet word of Christ by which believers grow in...

The Westminster Confession of Faith states plainly about the Word of God, that the people of God: ...have right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of God, to read and search them...that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship Him in an acceptable manner; and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope (Art. 1.8). This understanding of the necessity of reading and searching the Scripture is for all the people of God, not just for pastors, seminarians, or bible teachers. The Word of God to the believer is to be more desired than gold and sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10). In fact, we live not by bread alone but by these infallible words which have proceeded from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). Women are included in the church of God and ought to take seriously our call to search His Word deeply. In this post, I will explore three reasons why we should study the Scripture. Know God First, we study the Sc...