Inside Out Living

“Do not test the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7).

While in the wilderness, Jesus quoted the above verse from Deuteronomy 6:16. His purpose in quoting it was to fend off the temptation from Satan. Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s promise of protection (Psalm 91:11-12).

In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz is in a similar situation. God has promised him protection from his enemies (Isa. 7:3-9) and then invites Ahaz to ask for the most difficult sign possible (Isa.7:10-11). Now we know from the historical narratives in Kings and Chronicles that Ahaz was not righteous. So I am surprised by his response of refusing to ask for a sign. He actually demonstrates a proper fear of the Lord in this instance.

If you were in Ahaz’ shoes, what would you have done?

Someone who fears the Lord also knows what it means to trust in the Lord. When we ask God for a sign to confirm His word, we reveal a lack of faith and trust in that word.

May you learn to trust God at His word each and every day.

Nothing exists that doesn’t fall under God’s sovereignty. This profound truth extends even to the existence of evil. Many have wondered why God allows evil to exist, but this question is ultimately futile because we cannot change the fact that it does exist. What we must focus on is how to live appropriately in light of the fact that evil is present in this world.

A large part of that issue is the ability to put Satan and his evil forces into a proper context. Satan is not the evil equal of God; rather he is a created being, a fallen angel who will ultimately be defeated by our great and glorious God (Rev. 20:10). The story of Job helps us to understand the proper context of evil. God, in His sovereignty, grants Satan a measure of authority in Job’s life. So we know that Satan and evil are real and have significant power and authority in this world. However, none of it is beyond the sovereignty of God. Thus, in spite of evil, the believer can rejoice in the sovereignty of God and the knowledge of the Lord’s ultimate victory.

The devotionals for this week center around the issue of faith. We will talk about our need for faith in God and we will look at examples of faith in the lives of Abel, Noah and Abraham. My prayer is that, by the end of this week, your faith would be strengthened and maybe even challenged a little bit.

God’s creation was perfect in every way, shape, and form, “God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was excellent in every way…” (Gen. 1:31)
I have often pondered what life would be like if Adam and Eve had chosen obedience that day in the garden. I would imagine that Satan would have shown up the next day to tempt them again. After all, he is the deceiver and father of lies; he is in the business of tempting mankind.
However, no matter how many times I ponder this thought, the story never changes. On that fateful day, sin and death entered into the entire human race (Rom. 5:12). But by the grace of God that is not the whole story. In fact, you need not read past today’s reading to find hope for mankind. In God’s judgment upon the serpent is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ triumph over sin and death at the cross. The offspring or seed of the woman that will crush the serpent is the first mention of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. So, reader, take hope. There is more to the story, oh, and please keep reading.

Today I read one of my favorite parts of the Bible. As part of our read through the bible devotionals that we have in our church, I read the last four chapters of Revelation today. I love these chapters because it is the completion of all of the promises of God throughout Scripture. God gave the Apostle John this wonderful glimpse into future events thus we get to know a good portion of what we have to look forward to.

It is so encouraging to know that Satan will be bound and defeated. That sin and suffering will finally be done away with. And that we will enjoy dwelling in the presence of God for eternity as he always had intended from the beginning.

When the drama finally unfolds I know that I will be on the winning team. What a glorious celebration that will be. It reminds me of watching Chicago Cubs games when they would actually win, and the late broadcaster Harry Carey would exclaim, Cubs Win, Cubs Win. Of course for the loveable losers in Wrigley it would come as a surprise, but for those of us on God's team it will come as no surprise. In his perfect timing, God will defeat Satan and those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus will prevail.

All this reminds me of a little chorus we used to sing at church when I was a growing up, I think it goes like this, "Break forth into joy oh my soul, break forth into joy oh my soul. In the presence of the Lord there is joy forevermore. Break forth, break forth into joy oh my soul."