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Wanna Know A Secret?
Everyone loves secrets. Whisper a secret to a child, and immediately his eyes light up. However, children don’t have a corner on the secrets market. Adults love to hear secrets almost as much as children love to tell them.
God has secrets—boy, does He have secrets! As if we didn’t know this already, the Bible tells us so.“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
The funny thing about God’s secrets is that he isn’t averse to telling us some of them. He told Abraham before he even had a son that his heirs would be held captive in a foreign land for many years. Genesis 15:13, “Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.”
God told Moses He would send His Prophet at some point in the future, and Moses shared this secret with the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”
When God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus, He revealed His secrets in a form mankind had never seen before. John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
Jesus revealed many secrets to his disciples. He even revealed explicit details about his upcoming death. Matthew 20:18-19, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
While we may be quick to criticize the disciples for ignoring all the secrets Jesus revealed about his death, the Lord has also revealed some secrets to believers living on this side of the cross. First and foremost, Jesus told us His future plans. Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
In the same way Jesus revealed His death to His disciples, He’s made known His second coming to all believers. He said, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31)
God even gave us a promise about His secrets: “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
Every secret God wants us to know, He’s already revealed through his prophets. And, in His grace, He made sure those of us living in 2015 would have access to those secrets because He had His prophets write them down.
Wanna know a secret? Just read His Word. There you’ll find the best-kept secrets!
I Want To Know God
Last week, I talked with a young lady who had been a believer for several years, but who had just recently decided to become involved in a Bible study. She said, “I want to know God, and I know that’s only going to happen if I study my Bible.”
Without realizing it, this young lady had made a profound statement. There’s no way anyone can know God except through the study of Scriptures, except through studying the revelation He’s given us through the Word He’s given us. The best way to learn about God is to read and study and meditate on the love letter He’s written to us.
Although I met my husband-to-be when I was sixteen years old, for the next two years, we lived a thousand miles away from each other and never had the opportunity to spend any time together. I understood why my friends and family were surprised when I announced James and I were getting married only a couple of months after my eighteenth birthday. What they failed to grasp was that James and I had been corresponding with each other regularly, and, through those letters, we had come to know each other as well as many couples who had been dating for several years.
While this illustrates the concept of getting to know God through reading His Word, it fails to portray the real picture of how intimacy with God is possible through the study of His Word. This truth can only be experienced when a believer spends time in the Word every day. This is the way God has chosen to build a relationship with His children. This is the way God speaks to His children, and this is the way His children learn to recognize the voice of the Father.
Jesus said His followers are able to discern His voice. John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Read His Word, become familiar with the sound of His voice, if you truly “want to know God.”
The Reason Behind This
Whenever I have the privilege of signing my book for someone, I do so with this inscription: “Walk in His Light.” I follow that with my name, and, of course, if the request comes from someone who wants a personal inscription, I begin my inscription with a personalized autograph.
However, from this point forward, I’ve decided to add a Scripture reference to my inscription of “Walk in His Light.” I’m doing so because some readers seem puzzled when they read that phrase, and I want to make it perfectly clear what I mean by pointing them to a verse summarizing the thought behind my words.
Although the Bible references God as Light throughout both the Old and New Testaments (Psalm 119:105; John 8:12), I’ve always loved 2 Corinthians 4:6 as a beautiful, yet understandable, verse which explains what happens when a person begins a personal relationship with the God of the Universe in the person of His son Jesus.
This reference will now appear below my signature. 2 Corinthians 4:6.
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
When I write “Walk in His Light,” I’m voicing a prayer that my reader will look in the face of Jesus, see the glory of God, cling to His provision for salvation in Christ, and follow that Light wherever He may lead.
May you “Walk in His Light” today.
This Is A Gross Subject
Until recently, I never realized how gross the subject of purification could be. Then, I had to do some research about my refrigerator’s water filter. That’s when I read about the stuff a water purifier is suppose to remove–things like cysts, radioactive particles, arsenic, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals. I found myself getting a little sick just reading about the stuff.
The same week I was researching pure water, I read this from James 4:8, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.”
God expects those who desire His presence in their lives to have their hearts pure, to be free from contaminants. However, pure hearts, like pure water, must go through a purification process before being pronounced clean. Like water from a dirty lake, our hearts don’t become pure on their own. Hearts must be cleansed by an outside source.
David, in Psalm 51:10, cried out to God for purification, “Create in me a clean heart, O God!” Only when we cry out to God for purification does the process of heart cleansing truly begin. Luke, writing in Acts 15:9, says God does His act of purification “by faith.”
Water purification occurs when I connect a water filter to a water source. Heart purification occurs when, by faith, I connect my desire for purity with the source of purity, God Himself.
Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
There Should Be A Better Word
I often play a word game on my iPad called Words With Friends. It’s very much like playing Scrabble, but, unlike Scrabble, you can try as many combinations of the letter tiles as you want until your word is accepted. Sometimes, you randomly arrange the tiles, and a word you never knew existed is accepted. (Out of curiosity, I often look up the definitions of these words, thus justifying the “educational value” of playing this game.)
But, there are many other times when I arrange the tiles into a nice-sounding word and discover that it’s not a real word. When that happens, I’m frustrated and sometimes think, “But this should be a word,” or “That’s such a descriptive-looking word, it should stand for something.”
When I’m reading the Bible, I come across a slightly different frustration, but it still involves a word describing a concept.
It happens when I’m reading about what God did for me in sending His only son to suffer the punishment I deserve. The Bible calls this “love.” Romans 5:8 “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Yes, this definitely encompasses the definition of love, but it’s so much more than this. That’s why I long for a better word, a more descriptive word, a word that is not used every day, a word that is exclusive for such an act as this.
Paul often uses a variety of words to expand on God’s “love” for us in such a sacrificial act. Titus 3:4-5 says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . . according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Emphasis mine)
After some meditation, I decided there is an all-encompassing word for God’s love after all, and it goes beyond “love” or any other related word.
It’s the word, “JESUS.”
An Author with an Itsy Bitsy Platform
One of the most important concepts in the publishing industry today is the notion of “The Platform.” You may not know what that is, but think for a moment about people who’ve recently released a book—people like Hillary Clinton, Bill O’Reilly, and John Grisham. These authors have a built-in platform. The mere suggestion they might write yet another book has readers signed up to buy a copy before one word has been penned.
That’s a platform.
Publishers and literary agents will ask a potential author, “What’s your platform?” If you’re on the news regularly, have already written a best-selling book, have held a prominent political office, or have even committed some serious offenses against humanity, the publication industry is willing to sign you up immediately. Thus, platform is less about writing and more about having visibility and authority in the eyes of the world.
When the Son of God came to earth, he had no platform. He lived his life in relative obscurity in a small town that had a bad reputation. Yes, he gathered around himself a group of followers, but they were few in number and mostly considered the riff-raff of society—prostitutes, tax collectors, and a handful of rebels and fishermen.
Jesus, the very Author of Life, had an itsy bitsy platform.
Yet, He did have something to say. In fact, He had a lot he wanted to tell people—about Himself, about His Father, and about the fact that He was the Word. His Word brought into existence everything that was, everything that is, and everything that will be. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.
The message he delivered received bad reviews from those in authority, from the people who had developed a platform of their own. At the earliest opportunity, they crucified Him, intending to obliterate his words.
But the words were important; the words were Life, the words brought Life. They were taken up by others who had no platform, but who faithfully wrote down what He had said, who delivered the message he could not deliver because he had no platform.
May all of us with itsy bitsy platforms never fail to deliver His Words. By doing so, we provide Him with a platform the world cannot ignore.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation . . .” Isaiah 52:7.
Why Do You Believe In God?
Why do you believe in God?
I’ve seldom had to answer that question. In fact, when I heard it the other day, it surprised me. That’s like asking me why I breathe or why I love my grandkids. The answer seems obvious.
Then again, maybe it isn’t.
Why do I believe in God?
It’s certainly not because I’ve had some tangible experience. I’ve never seen God or had an angelic visitation, nor have I received some special sign—a cross in the sky or writing on the wall—to prove He’s real.
The answer to why I believe in God involves trust; it involves faith. I trust what the Bible tells me about God. Ironically, the faith to believe in Him and what the Scriptures tell me about Him is a gift, a gift from God. It is, as Ephesians 2:9 says, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Believing in God is not something I can do for myself. The ability to believe in God comes from God.
Any person who sincerely wants to know God will find Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.
I believe in God because He created the desire, provided the means, and made the provision for me to believe in Him.
The Message of God in an Asteroid and a Meteor
Two rare events happened in our atmosphere on Friday, February 15th. I definitely see a message from God in both of them.
Before Friday’s close fly by of asteroid DA14, the media bombarded the public with information about asteroids. Each time I heard a reporter talking about the millions of space rocks out there, I marveled at how our planet has escaped being hit or destroyed by one of these celestial bodies. How have we been spared? The answer is in Isaiah 45:7: “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Clearly, our loving God, who created the asteroids in the first place, continuously protects Earth from being seriously damaged by them. Until He decides such a planet-shaking event will occur, every asteroid, every comet, every meteoroid, stays in its God-appointed place away from our earth’s atmosphere. The fact that He allowed such a close encounter on Friday, and that the occurrence was broadcast worldwide, only served to emphasize His hand in the other rare event which happened on the very same day.
Early Friday morning, before asteroid DA14 whizzed by our planet, a meteor, 50 feet wide, slammed into Chelyabinsk, Russia. Scientists say a meteor of this size impacts our earth every decade or so, but most of them simply fall into the ocean. The fact that this one injured almost one thousand people and heavily damaged a city made it an extremely uncommon occurrence.
Officials from NASA immediately declared the asteroid and the meteor were not connected. These were two rare events that just happened to occur on the same day. However, I disagree. I believe the two incidents are connected. I believe they’re connected by the message God delivered on Friday.
While NASA and other scientists assured everyone they knew the asteroid’s path and were tracking its every move, God allowed an unforeseen meteor to enter earth’s atmosphere. This unexpected cosmic rock was God’s way of reminding mankind that scientists can never accurately predict what God will send upon planet Earth or when He will send it.
Mathematicians tell us—astronomically speaking—the odds of these two events happening on the same day were 1 in 100 million. The improbability of this is a clarion call to worship an Almighty God who governs the heavens and the earth.
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11
Satan In The News
Satan has hit the news recently in a speech Presidential candidate Rick Santorum made in 2008 at Ave Maria University. Santorum said Satan was attacking the United States on several different fronts, asking, “If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?” News commentators have labeled his remarks as controversial, weird and even provocative. Read the CBS account of Santorum’s speech here.
Students of God’s Word find these remarks anything but controversial. Jesus spoke often of Satan (Matthew 13, Luke 10), and the letters of Paul, James and Peter all give warnings about his plans and desires for believers and unbelievers alike. John in Revelation gives a graphic portrait of his ultimate end. When Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4, Luke 4, Mark 1), He didn’t disagree that Satan could offer Him the kingdoms of the world and all of their splendor. Satan is an incredibly evil being who seeks to destroy God’s people.
Not only does Satan attack nations, he also attacks the followers of Christ as individuals. If you belong to Christ, here are 20 ways Satan will attack you this week.
Jesus’ work on the cross redeemed us from Satan (Colossians 2:15). As Satan and the fallen angels he controls (demons) seek to manifest authority over believers, the Bible says to “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). As individuals submit to God and resist Satan, so does a nation.
Bits and Pieces 9/8
Ten Years Later: “Where was God when this happened?” is a question often asked about the events of 9/11. In this article, R. C. Sproul seeks to answer this question and in so doing raises several others. Why are we urged to ask God “to bless America,” yet if some suggest that God might also “judge America,” they are condemned for doing so? Read the article here.
What Is The Most Important Word In The Bible? I found this to be an interesting question, and this very brief post gives a worthy answer. Read the post here.
The Book Of Revelation App: When I first saw this app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod, I doubted if a graphic illustrated book of the Bible could be a serious tool for Bible study. Yet, after I read an interview with the illustrator, I was convinced enough to get it a try. After downloading it, I had a hard time putting it aside and found the illustrations didn’t overwhelm the message but instead enhanced its clarity and scope. At least for me, the best way to view the app was in landscape mode, that is, going panel by panel. Read more about the Book of Revelation App here.
Book 8 in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series, Click on cover
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Ben in Trouble follows Four Steps Missed in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
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Ben in Charge, Follows Three Steps Away in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Ben in Love, Follows Two Steps Forward in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Two Days Taken:Book II in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series; Click cover.
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One Day Gone: Book I in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series; Click on Cover
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Prequel to the Titus Ray Thriller Series is $0.99 on Amazon. Click book cover
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His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich 
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