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September 2002
Christ:
The Landscape of Life
Part Twenty-one
“LO and BEHOLD”
(D)
Being trustworthy is a hallmark of Godly sonship; and one expression of trustworthiness is to be able to hear and keep men’s secrets. Men are not the pioneers of secret-sharing; God has infinite Secrets! But Ps 25:14 says “The Secret of the Lord is with them that FEAR HIM!” Only he that fears the Lord shall learn the Lord’s glorious Secrets! For this reason, Pr 1:7; 9:10 tell us, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom...and Knowledge!” Man has never known- nor can any man know- anything about God except it is first revealed to him by His Holy Spirit! Therefore,
EVERYTHING WE LEARN OF GOD
WAS FIRST ONE OF HIS SECRETS!
What is a secret but information someone believes is necessary to conceal! Lu 8:17 says, “Every secret will be revealed; and everything hid will be exposed!” Hear this, beloved! It is only in our self-deceiving hearts that our thoughts are hid from our Omniscient (all-seeing, all-knowing) Creator and Sustainer of life! Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “The secret that the king seeks to learn cannot be discovered by all his wise men, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers; but THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN WHO REVEALS SECRETS!” (Dan 2:27-28) But in time, Nebuchadnezzar “fell on his face; worshipped Daniel; presented him with an offering and fragrant incense, saying “Your God is a God of gods; a Lord of kings; and a REVEALER OF SECRETS!” David adds, “GOD KNOWS ALL SECRETS OF THE HEART!” (Ps 44:21) What an unnerving thought for unbelievers; and it should arouse fear of the Lord in believers! Paul adds, “GOD JUDGES THE SECRETS OF MEN BY JESUS CHRIST (Saving Anointing) as my Gospel declares! ”(Ro 2:16)
Each time the Lord unveils another aspect of His Existence, it is somewhere substantiated in His Scriptures. Some have tried to reduce the relevance of God’s Word for our lives by suggesting that all questions we face in our lives are not “directly answered” in the Bible. They challenge that daily decisions like: which breakfast cereal to eat; which freeway to drive; which job to accept; etc; are not “specifically cited” in Scripture. These are carnal-minded smokescreens to make the Word become only a “Sunday-go-to-meeting-accessory” that pastors read and interpret for us! There is a present, deadly drive afoot to convince men that the Bible is nothing but an irrelevant history book; full of human opinions, pretty poetry and confusing symbolisms. But let us offer one contradiction for all such mortal madness just as it was presented to us:
The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117;
the centermost chapter in the Bible is Psalm 118;
and the longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119!
There are exactly 594 chapters before Psalm 118
and there are 594 chapters after Psalm 118; then
594 + 594 = 1188; and the centermost verse in all
the Bible is Ps 118:8! And what does it proclaim?
"It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in MAN."
Who would call this sheer coincidence? God reveals His perfect will for men’s lives in this extraordinary way. So when someone tells you they want to be in the center of God’s Will, direct them to the center of His Word! Amazing how this worked out- or is God at the center of it?!
[TO BE CONTINUED]
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