CHARACTER OF GOD
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11 NKJV).
In this verse we learn a few things about the character of God. It speaks of the work, wisdom, and wonderfulness of God.
Work of God - “The Lord God is a sun and shield.” The sun speaks of light and God is the great enlightener. The shield speaks of protection. God provides us with both light and protection. Yet, the greatest protection God provides us is the protection of our soul through Jesus Christ. This will protect us from eternal condemnation. If we leave God out of our lives, it means walking in darkness in regards to the most important matters of life.
Wisdom of God - “The Lord will give grace and glory.” That which emphasizes God’s wisdom here is the fact that grace comes before glory. Grace speaks of character. To grow in grace, we often have to experience troubles and trials. And this will build up our character. If glory comes before the grace of character, it will ruin us. Character is essential to be able to handle glory well. God is wise: grace must come before glory.
Wonderfulness of God - “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” This is an amazing and wonderful promise from God. Yet some believers doubt it and complain. There are two reasons for this complaint. First, the nature of the blessing: our verse did not say all the things we want; it said “good thing.” Many things we want are not 'good' for us. Second, the nobleness of the blessed: the promise is not to everyone but only to those who “walk uprightly.” If we are short on God’s blessing, then we need to check our walk. Indeed, if we want Divine blessing, we need to focus on our walk and let God take care of the blessing.
(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)
Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)
Quotation of the Week
“God’s wrath comes by measure; His mercy without measure!”
Anonymous
Word Study
Distress (tribulations)
In Rom. 5:3 we read, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience!” (NKJV).
Distress (tribulations) is the Greek word thlipsis (θλῖψις = thlip'-sis). It means to crush, press together, squash, hem in, compress, squeeze. Thlipsis is a strong term which refers to real hardships instead of minor inconveniences.
Figuratively thlipsis pictures a person being crushed by intense pressure, difficult circumstances, suffering or trouble from the outside. In Scripture, thlipsis is most often used of outward difficulties, but it is also used of emotional stress.
In Classical Greek thlipsis means to crush, squeeze. In the Septuagint as well as the New Testament thlipsis carries the idea of tribulation, trial, and distress. Thlipsis was also used as a technical theological term for the Great Tribulation of the end times.
Here in Romans 5 thlipsis is preceded by the definite article, marking these tribulations out as specific occurrences that’s expected in the Christian life. Note that the apostle Paul saw tribulations as having a beneficial effect upon his life. And so like the apostle Paul, we too can overcome trials as we learn to lean on and trust in the Lord. This will not only help us grow in grace, but shape our character into the conformity of Christ.
Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus
Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah’s friends would stand afar off (Psalm 38:11)
New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 23:49
Did You Know…
In 1 Peter 5:8, the apostle Peter says that the devil is a roaring lion and wants to eat us. In John 6:53-58, the Lord Jesus says that in order to be saved we have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Bible Quiz
During His temptation in the wilderness, what Old Testament book did the Lord Jesus quote to rebuke Satan?
**Answer to last week’s trivia: My name is Methuselah, and my father was a devout man who walked with God. In the end he was translated to Heaven. Do you know the name of my righteous dad? Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24).
Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible
"Born to be wild”
“Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7 NKJV).
“Born to be wild” - The expression “born to be wild” carries the idea of natural inclinations for rebellion. Trouble doesn’t grow out of the ground, like weeds; it’s a part of our nature because man is born a sinner. This means that man’s troubles are innate which means that we cause our own problems by the choices we make.
Did You Know – Christian History
Samuel Robbins Brown was born June 16, 1810 in East Windsor, CT. He was an American missionary to China and Japan with the Reformed Church in America.
Brown graduated from Yale College in 1832, studied theology in Columbia, South Carolina and as a member of the first graduating class of Union Theological Seminary, and taught for four years (1834–38) at the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.
Brown was a respected businessmen. He recognized the importance of economics to missions and later wrote a book on economics in Chinese, seeing it as crucial to the development of China.
In 1838 Brown went to Guangzhou and opened the first Protestant School in the Chinese Empire. Later, he had mud slung at him and was pierced by a bandit’s spear. Undaunted, he persisted in his efforts to teach and preach. After seven years, Brown and his wife Elizabeth returned to the US because of Elizabeth’s health.
Brown then pastored a Dutch Reform church, farmed, and ran a school. He was noted for his passionate appeals to all to accept Christ. However, with opening of Japan, Brown and his wife were among the first Protestant missionaries to the Land of the Rising Sun. At first the government viewed his teaching with suspicion, but finding that he never used the classroom as a political forum, they stopped spying on him.
During troubled times, Brown refused diplomatic immunity. This led the Japanese to compare him with their Samurai. Indeed, his ability to inspire young men and impart his faith resulted in him being known as the greatest of the early Christian schoolmen in that country. In addition to developing methods for training Orientals, Brown also head the committee that translated the New Testament into Japanese. Furthermore, his preaching prepared a strong group of converts which became the nucleus of the first Japanese Protestant church at Yokohama. Near the end of his life, he also established Japan’s first Protestant theological seminary, operating it out of his own home in Tokyo at the start. Brown died June 20, 1880.
A Little Humor
The man has just died. The priest in the ceremony extends with the compliments: “The deceased was a good husband, excellent Christian, an exemplary father!” The widow turns to one of her children and whispers in her ear: “Go to the box and see if it is your father who is inside...”
Thought Provoking Church Sign
“He who has slight thoughts of sin never had great thoughts of God!”
