The Heart of the LORD is Clear

J.A. Matteson

"And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years." Judges 13:1

The passions of unbridled sin by God's people guarantees a divine response of chastening.  Forty years is a long time to be vexed and oppressed by purveyors of wickedness.  Imagine those born in Israel during that time, distress is all they knew, it as a normal part of their life experience.  Then there were pious adults who had maintained their fidelity to the LORD while many of their brethren pursued other gods. Certainly their grief tormented them as they witnessed the chastening of the LORD upon the nation.  And it is not as though the Philistines were not previously in the land before judgment visited Israel.  They were there, but providentially subdued.  Failing to expel them from Canaan the Philistines remained as thorns in Israel's side.  It may be instructive at point to at least consider the possibility of divine judgment upon many nations today, including the United States, in response to the unbridled sin among the people who identify themselves as Christians.  For decades now sin has found a foothold within local congregations while church discipline wanes.  All manor of sin is accepted under the contemporary banner of "tolerance."  And so it should not be unexpected that increasingly the people of God find themselves oppressed and vexed by wicked and evil people in the land who lay no claim to Jesus Christ, being hostile to all that is Christian.  Apparently the people of God have a high pain tolerance because they have yet to repent of sin and return to the LORD who saves them.  It is a certainty that the chastening will continue, and intensity, until God's people cry out to him in humility and desperation.  Until that time oppressors of God's people will taunt, vex, harass, annoy, persecute, pursue, and malign them, flaunting wickedness and evil openly, calling evil good and good evil, viciously denigrating righteousness and biblical truth. At any moment God can end the distress of his people; indeed, he desires to end it. But he will not end their misery until they repent and call upon his name, "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chr. 7:14).  The heart of the LORD is clear.  The question is, when will God's people turn to him in repentance for his deliverance?

Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever.") Isaiah 40:8

To Grow in Mercy and Love

J.A. Matteson

"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.'" Luke 5:4

Peter was an able fisherman, skilled in the trade. An overlooked nuance of truth in his encounter with Christ this day was in the how of Jesus' invitation to join him in his messianic work, not simply the what of it. That Simon would engage in proclaiming the good news of salvation was fundamental and further empowerment and training would be forthcoming. Yet in the haul of fish in his net that day were likely a variety of fish species. Simon would later in a vision behold a variety of unclean animals set before him with the command of the Lord to take and eat. Protesting a violation of his strict kosher diet Simon hesitated, only to encounter a deeper truth about Christ and the gospel; viz., it is for all people, Jew and Gentile.  It is likely that in Simons net were many varieties of fish.  When Christ bids us to join him in his evangelistic work we must confront our own prejudice if we are to be of value to the Lord in his work.  To reveal your prejudices to you expect the Lord to repeatedly place you in settings where people unlike you reveal their hearts and anxieties. Take note in that moment how you instinctively respond to them in your heart. Anything less than a heart of love and compassion is not the heart of God towards them.  Who gets under your skin, irritating you? God wants to love them and extend his compassion to them through you.  Using Simons perspective they represent your Gentile, anathema to you.  Here is God's lesson: the gospel is for all people, Jew, Gentile, rich, poor, educated, illiterate, liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, libertarian, white, black, Latino, Muslim.  All of these types of people are fish in the net of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Take note, therefore, when you find yourself avoiding certain groups of people, esteeming them as unworthy of compassion and love, for that revelation is God inviting you to grow in mercy and love in order that you might more fully reflect his nature in the world to which he has called you to be salt and light.

Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever.") Isaiah 40:8

The Mercy of God Never Tires

J.A. Matteson

"Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:78-79

Incomprehensible is the mercy of God, especially to those who revere his name. Once darkness blinded our eyes and silence closed our ears, ignorance defiled our faculties so we were by nature like untamed beasts, always straining and pulling against the way of righteousness in arrogant unbelief, boastful, hateful, stubborn. Darkness was our habitation, ignorance covered us as a blanket. Preferring the darkness to the light we scurried as roaches to the recesses of cover whenever a moment of shimmering light invaded our habitat. But the mercy of God never tires and the purposes of the Almighty are irrevocable. Not looking for mercy we obtained mercy. Not searching for light we obtained light by his seed deposited within us whereby that which was formerly odious was transformed into something sweeter than honey. Ignorance yielded to truth and stiff necked rebellion to belief. The state of the old nature, in the tinkling of an eye, was replaced by the new. The mercy of God loved it's object into willful obedience and faith. Such is the new birth through the agency of the Spirit in the light of the gospel. Where is boasting? It is obliterated. By what means is it obliterated? By the law of grace through faith. A blind man at midday is oblivious to the brilliance of the light of the sun. The mercy of God comes from outside of the blind man, opening his eyes to behold that which was clocked in darkness. To this miracle of sight and new life belong all praise, honor, and glory, to the king immortal who's mercy endures forever, and who's ways are beyond comprehension.

Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever."). Isaiah 40:8

The Hallmark of Genuine Faith

J.A. Matteson

"You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that he might humble you, testing you, to know what as in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." Deuteronomy 8:2

Have you erected an Ebenezer unto the Lord? Surely he has been your help, great satisfaction and comfort along your pilgrims pathway in this present wildness. A present crises is best navigated by remembering past victories. God's promises to his children are irrevocable, all of them are a resounding Yes in Christ Jesus. Do we know his plethora of promises experientially or are we tossed to and fro like driftwood upon the raging waves of life, familiar with them only intellectually? Are your circumstances difficult at the moment? Praise God in them for what he intends to accomplish in you through them. Are you doing quite well at the moment, feeling satisfied with the comforts of this world? Beware, lest you forget the Lord your God and mistakenly place your security and hope in things rather than in he who provided them. The greatest hindrance to our maturity is practical atheism where we through the study of God's word acquire intellectual truth about God and his promises in our heads, but remain doubters in our hearts, evidenced by our behavior. Such was Israel's folly. If we are to traverse the wilderness in hopes of crossing the Jordan into the promised land, enjoying the rest promised to us, we must live by faith, trusting God to deliver on his promises and not focusing on our adverse circumstances. Remember why the adversity has come, to humble you, to test you, to see whether you will live by faith or by sight. To be victorious as we pass through the wilderness we must bring to mind God's promises, reflect back upon our Ebenezer, and summons within our heart a steadfastness that trusts in the promises of God no matter what circumstances may tempt us to believe. That is the hallmark of genuine faith to which the writer to the Hebrew beautifully illustrates in chapter 11. Certainly the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Pray, therefore, that the Lord may strengthen you in the inner person to live as Jesus lived, always doing the Father's will in humble dependence upon him for life's necessary provisions. And as the promises of God to you are proved repeatedly you will find not one, but a multitude of Ebenezer's to fondly look upon, perceiving your present battle as an opportunity to erect still another marker all to the glory and praise of God the Father, through his Son, as empowered by his Spirit who dwells within you.

Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).

God's Work Requires God's Power

J.A. Matteson

"I brought my son to you...so I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able" (Mk. 9:17-18).

What sort or manor of Christ does the church project to the world in which it is called to be salt and light? Note, that the authority of Christ over the supernatural realm was clearly conferred to the apostles and understood as much by the community at large. Presenting a situation to the apostles was synonymous with bringing it to Christ. Failure of the apostles to exercise the authority given them by Christ generated confusion to those seeking his redemptive intervention in their circumstances, causing them to question his ultimate authority and power. The Lord reveals the crux of their failure, a lack of prayer, which implies they were seeking to perform God's work in their own natural ability. God's work requires God's power, and God's power is only available through abiding in him. Unless we daily confess our inability to do anything for the Lord, earnestly seeking first his kingdom and righteousness in our own lives, we will fail as his witnesses before a watching world. Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness unto salvation. Abraham continued to believe in the presence and power of God and was greatly used of God throughout his life. The world is watching the church, bringing its needy, to identify the power and authority of God it claims to possess. Whenever the redemptive aspect of Christ touches a situation, be it a marriage in distress or a teenager in rebellion, restoration results, manifesting the power of God to the world. Jesus promises that all things are possible to those who believe. But the caveat for his redemptive power to flow is earnest prayer by those entrusted with advancing his kingdom.

Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).

Willing to Loose that You May Gain

J.A. Matteson


"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34

Each day offers its own opportunities to hear and obey. God is working out his redemptive ends among the sons of men and has chosen to work through his people in order to bring those ends about. The concise words of the Lord Jesus in this passage summarize his many other statements relative to kingdom life and self denial, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.... "(Matt.6:33); "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me" (Jn. 14:21); "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake" (Matt. 5:11). The picture that the Lord Jesus displays repeatedly is the exact relationship between faith and obedience. That is, genuine faith is known by its obedience and genuine obedience is known by faith. Faith and obedience are two sides of one coin; viz. salvation. One cannot exist apart from the other. We cannot have obedience apart from faith and we cannot have faith apart from obeying the command, "Repent and believe he gospel" (Mk. 1:15). God is working all around you today, seek therefore his activity in the people within your sphere of influence. Consider his provinces as opportunities to follow him in obedience. Notice within your thinking if you find yourself drawing back in order to take what you perceive to be a less risky route. That moment is your cross of obedience, follow Jesus. Be willing to loose in the eyes of the world in order that you may gain the praise of God, your abba Father. The intersection of loss in the eyes of the world is gain in the kingdom of God. Consider the cross of Christ, apart from which eternal atonement for sin would remain unsatisfied. Enduring the shame of the cross the Lord Jesus opened the way for sinners, permitting access into the most holy place, the very presence of Almighty God. Consider the risk someone took when they shared Christ with you? Were they not denying themselves and obeying Christ? It was their obedience that in part led to your salvation for, "our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction" (1 Thess. 1:5). So we too, as imperfect vessels, beloved by God, count it both a privilege and solemn responsibility to deny ourselves in our Lords service for the sake of the gospel. Consider how many souls may one day thank you in heaven!


Copyright (c) 2016 Immutable Word Ministries ("...and the word of our God stands forever." Is a. 40:8).