Bible Doctrine Series-Jehovah-Jireh

Jehovah-Jireh—“the Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14). Jehovah-jireh is one of many names compounded with Jehovah. Most of these compound names of God arise out of some historic incident, and portray Jehovah in some aspect of His character as meeting human need. The Hebrew root of the word jireh means “to have regard for the one seen, to see to their every need with provision and care. Jehovah-jireh is the Lord who provides. The name Jehovah-jireh was first used by Abraham in memorial to his mountain top experience of testing. After Abraham and Sarah had received their promised son, Isaac, God sent Abraham to Moriah to offer the lad as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed without question, believing the promise of God that this very son would still become a great nation in spite of His request. Once Isaac and his father arrived at the alter site, Abraham built an altar. Prior to their arrival, Isaac has seen the wood and fire; he inquired about the missing lamb needed for the offering. His father gave this answer: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8). He then arranged the wood, bound his son, and placed him on top of the wood. As he picked up the knife to slay Isaac, the angel of the Lord interceded, telling Abraham not to harm the boy. Looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. God had provided! Abraham gladly made the substitution and sacrificed the ram instead of his son. That day father and son both saw the provision of God. Genesis 22:14 says “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” We worship the same God that Abraham did, and He is just as willing to provide for our needs today. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Good News, Bad News

Please take time to read Galatians 1:1-10. Ever hear of a paper that only printed good news? In our world filled with trouble it is becoming more and more difficult to find any "Good news." Perhaps such a news paper would be a bargain. The Good News of salvation through faith in Christ is the most important message in the world. But now this message was being attacked, and Paul was out to defend the truth of the Gospel. False teachers were spreading a false "Gospel" which was a mixture of law and grace, and Paul did not stand by and do nothing. How does Paul approach the Galatian Christians in his attempt to teach them the truth about the Gospel? In the opening verses of the above passage the Apostle takes three definite steps as he prepares to fight this battle. First, he explains his authority. Paul is careful to let them know the authority he has comes from the Lord. He has three sources of authority. His ministry is the first source he mentions. Paul was an Apostle. Paul had founded the churches in Galatia. His message is the second source of authority. It is centered in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Christ paid the price that He might achieve a purpose, that is, delivering sinners from bondage. The Judaizers wanted to lead the Christians out of the liberty of grace into the bondage of law. Legalism has to do with attitude. A legalist will treasure man made rules rather than treasuring Christ. His motive is Paul's third source of authority. The false teachers were not ministering for the glory of Christ, but for their own glory. Paul's motive was pure and godly: he wanted to glorify Jesus Christ. Paul explained his authority. He is ready for a second step as he begins this battle for the liberty of the Christian. Second, Paul expresses his anxiety. The first reason for Paul's anxiety was that they were moving aways from the grace of God. They were abandoning liberty for legalism. They had become infatuated with the religion of the Judaizers. They taught salvation by faith plus circumcision. The second reason for Paul's anxiety: they were perverting the Gospel of God. Perverting the Gospel by adding to it. The word "Pervert" means to "To turn about, to change into an opposite character." They had reversed the Gospel and taken it back into the Law. The Law never was designed to save, only to lead people to Christ. The third reason for Paul's anxiety: it was troubling the Galatians. The verb "Trouble" carries with it the idea of perplexity confusion, and unrest. Do you have a lack of peace? Examine your walk, you might consider examining your belief system. Grace always leads to peace, but the believers had deserted grace and therefore had no peace in their hearts. Having explained his authority and expressed his anxiety, Paul now takes the third step. Third, he exposes his adversaries. The Judaizers are identified by the false Gospel that they preached. The test of a man's ministry is his faithfulness to the Word of God. Paul pronounced the Judaizers "Anathama" which means "Dedicated to destruction." The Judaizers are characterized by the false motives that they practiced. They accused Paul of being a compromise and "Adjusting" the Gospel to fit the Gentiles. Its easy to condemn others with you are wrong yourself. But in reality, it was the false teacher who was the man-pleaser. The servant of God is constantly tempted to compromise in order to attract and please men. Paul was not a politician: he was an ambassador. His task was not to "Play politics" but to proclaim a message. These Judaizers, on the other hand, were cowardly compromisers who mixed law and grace hoping to please both Jews and Gentiles. Paul explained his authority. He expressed his anxiety, and he exposed his adversaries. Our authority is in Christ. We are Priests and Kings. We are to cast all of our anxieties on the Lord. And we are to pray for our human enemies and resist our spiritual adversaries. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Is It Good Enough for You

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2). The principles set forth here are simple, we are not to take ungodly men's ideas or opinions as a rule for life, we are to renounce this world system and seek the wisdom of Christ. The Greek word "Conform" is the word we use for "Plastic." The Ideal is "Stop letting the world mold you into its image." Our writer goes on to say "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." This comes when we saturate our mind with the Word of God. We are not to conform to this world system because the spirit of this world is the prince of darkness, the evil one himself. The better we know the Scriptures the better equipped we are to recognize demonic thinking. The world and the flesh work in concert with the devil to carry out his will. The transformation God seeks comes from the inside out and results in a new form of life. The word "Transform" is the Greek word from which we get the word "Metamorphose." The change in our lives is much like the radical change that happens when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. This transformation results in our being able to discern what is the "Good and pleasing and perfect will of God." God's will is well pleasing to Him and to us. I believe we need a transformed mind in order to understand and accept His will. Much of what God does makes little to no sense to the unregenerate mind. I know of a young man who was running away from God. One night, this rebellious young man was riding on the back of a friends tractor, the tractor was struck by a drunk driver traveling at a high rate of speed. The young man lost a leg in the accident, but gained a relationship with God. A holy hush swept over the church service when this new convert stood on wobbly crutches and said "I am glad the Lord took my leg, for in doing so He saved my soul," only the redeemed could amen such a testimony. I do not have the capacity to understand all the reasons God has for doing what He does. He is working from eternity to eternity and He certainly sees what is coming and how it fits into His perfect will for our lives. We "See through a glass darkly" at times I don't even see that well. I am often amazed at how I can see a situation in my life one way, and then gain some further understanding and it looks totally different. That is why He wants us to know His will, His good, pleasing, and perfect will. He ordained it, that's good enough for me. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Creativity

Human creativity came to us as a gift from our Creator. All human creativity and innovation comes from His hand. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God created the world in six days then He rested. He made us in His image and likeness, that includes giving us the ability to be creative. An excellent example of human creativity is found in George Washington Carver. He was one of the 20th century's greatest scientists, George Washington Carver's influence is still being felt today. As a committed Christian he asked the Lord to help him discover God's purposes for the simplest of plant life. He focused his work on peanuts, sweet potatoes, and pecans trying to produce new products. He developed more than 300 products from the peanut (including Peanut Butter), 175 from the sweet potato, and 60 from the pecan. He extracted blue, purple, and red pigments from the clay soil of Alabama. He researched the manufacture of synthetic marble from green wood shavings, rope from cornstalk fibers, and veneers from the palmetto root. During WWI, he worked to replace the textile dyes that were being imported from Europe. He ended up producing and replacing over 500 different shades. In 1927, he invented a process for producing paints and stains from soybeans. He is best know for developing crop-rotation methods for conserving nutrients in soil and discovering hundreds of new uses for crops such as the peanut Although he did hold three patents, Carver never patented most of the many his discoveries. He said "God gave them to me, how can I sell them to someone else?" If God has placed on idea in your heart to do, ask the Lord for His help in bringing it to reality. He desires to see His people create new things that can serve mankind and bring glory to God. Henry Ford once said, "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Facts About Faith

Hebrews tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." Our faith is no better than the object of our faith. I can believe in something with all my heart but if I am believing a lie, my faith is worthless. The Scriptures are God's truth. What God says is absolutely true. My eternal salvation is based on the Gospel as revealed in the Word. My faith must be placed in God and the truth of His Word. The fact is God backs up everything He promises, there is not a promise or statement in the Scriptures that He will not honor. Thus we trust in Him and in none other. The Scripture say "Cursed is the man who trusts in man." God is my Father and He takes responsibility for me. He has made it quite clear that He is more than willing to provide for me and He calls on me to trust Him. "My God shall supply all your needs through His riches in glory." Everyone of us will come to the place of desperation in life. During this time it seems as if everything we touch falls apart. There are times we can readily identify with the Prophets of old who would lament the day they lived in. Jeremiah cursed the day he was born. Habakkuk asked the Lord why He would allow a people far more wicked than the children of Israel to conquer them. The most interesting thing is when the Prophet was through crying out his lament to God he would invariability break out in praise. Crying out to God seems to help us get our priorities straight. In the process of crying out we tend to see Jesus. The Author of Hebrews tell us to "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." I am reminded of the Scripture that says "If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small." We are reminded in the Bible "The battle belongs to the Lord." The Christian life is a faith life, fleshed out in trust. Is your faith growing or diminishing in your present trial?

Where Is God In Times Like These?

We certainly live in times of uncertainty, political and economic Crisis are standard fare. The darkness deepens, as the world turns a blind eye and a deaf ear toward evil. The Scriptures are quite explicit concerning the end time. "Men will wax worse and worse." Rather than park on the negative, let's consult the Lord and get His view of difficult times. He says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”- Isaiah 41:10. Look at this scene. The Prophet Jeremiah was in a pit, his fellow country men hated him, they are the ones who threw him in. The city of Jerusalem was about to be captured and her people would go into exile. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and told him to purchase a portion of land as the Lord would have a purpose for it in the future. Jeremiah couldn't believe his ears. Everything he was experiencing screamed hopeless. Then the Lord said "Is there anything too hard for Me?" That is the question was must ask, is there anything to hard for the Lord? Are His promises relevant for me. Is His Word true for me. Can I trust Him today in the midst of all my trials? What if He let's me down? The hymn writer of old asked this question "Where can I go but to the Lord?" We have many voices calling to us today. False prophets seem to be everywhere. Political Messiahs are on the rise. The scientific community is trying to forecast a better tomorrow. But what about the condition of a man's soul? Are we as a nation, running to the Lord? Where do we go in times of crisis? Some one wisely asked the question "Why do men run to the Devil as though he were God and run away from God as though He were the Devil? Hard times, they are a coming, for many they are here. But what about God. He is here to, and He is a whole lot bigger than our hard times. What do we do in times like these. We run to the God who is our Strength.