Do You Remember the Scarlet Thread? Habakkuk 2:4.

There is a scarlet thread running through the pages of scripture. The gospel, the story of the scarlet Blood of Christ, can be found in all sixty-six books of the Bible. 

I used to enjoy reading a book of my mother’s called WHAT THE BIBLE IS ALL ABOUT by Henrietta Mears. Today it remains the world’s bestselling Bible handbook, having sold some 3 Million copies!  The author provides a brief introduction to each of the 66 books—and she always manages to show how the life of Jesus was connected to each book of scripture.  That message later became the basis for a 1995 song by Aaron Jeoffrey, “He Is.”

In Genesis, He’s the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He’s our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He’s Moses’ voice
In Joshua, He is salvation’s choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He’s sovereign …

The song goes on in this way, building to a rousing climax with the Book of Revelation and the chorus that follows. You can hear the amazing song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7lrTZJajo. 

As I learned from Mrs. Mears, there is a scarlet thread throughout the scripture.  The entire book—all sixty-six books—tell the story of God’s Redeeming Love that saved His creation. Today I was startled to discover the Gospel story in the obscure, three-chapter book of Habakkuk.  Check it out.

GOD IS HOLY. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing” Habakkuk 1:13.

MEN ARE GUILTY, SEPARATING US FROM GOD. “They are guilty. Their strength is their god” 1:11.

THE LAW CANNOT SAVE US. “The law is ineffective and justice never emerges” 1:4.

WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH. “But the righteous one will live by faith” 2:4.

GOD IS THE ONE WHO SAVES. “I will triumph in Yahweh. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” 3:18.

GOD GETS ALL THE GLORY. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the waters cover the sea” 2:14.

God, teach us to understand the Bible well and to see the way all sixty-six books speak of your amazing salvation! Fill our lives with an unquenchable thirst for YOUR WORD!

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YOUR ENEMY IS NOTHING. Habakkuk 1:8.

Throughout the Bible God uses the bad guys to correct the good guys. God uses Egypt to grow Israel. Babylonian captivity reproves Israel. The Philistines, Arameans, and Persians teach His people to obey. Habakkuk describes the terrifying Chaldeans:

“Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead. They come from distant lands. They fly like eagles, swooping in to devour” 1:8.

Enemy horses faster than leopards? More fierce than wolves? Flying like eagles? Sounds like Ring-Wraiths in the LOR movies: swift, shadowy figures racing to do violence. And the forces of evil are legion. The Enemy of God and his armies are more powerful than any human army—and more terrifying.

But God is more powerful still. Don’t be scared into thinking God and the devil are equals. Don’t think God is “a little” stronger than the devil, as if they are heavyweight boxers, but God has a twenty-pound advantage. God has an infinite advantage.

God’s power is eternal, never-ending. The devil is more powerful than you and me, but he is FINITE. His tiny measure of power cannot be compared to God’s unlimited power. And he knows it. Satan has seen close-up the infinite majesty of God. He knows fighting God with his demon-army is like asking a weatherman to stop a hurricane with an umbrella. It is pointless. God’s dominance over the enemy is total. They are not rivals, equals battling for control. If you could see the presence of God filling up the universe from horizon to horizon, the devil would not even be a dot in the distance.

The devil is so infinitely small compared to God that he may as well be invisible. He is nothing.

God will crush the enemy like thousands of boots in an army battalion stomping on the petals of a single daisy. There will be no contest. There IS no contest.

God, remind us that Your enemy is INFINITELY SMALL. We praise You for Your sovereignty and your infinite power over all things.

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Spirits and the Spirit. Habakkuk 2:4-5

I read an interesting pair of lines today:

“The righteous one will live by his faith, Moreover, wine betrays.” Habakkuk 2:4-5.

Will you walk by faith, or will you be powered by alcohol—which will betray you? I have read Habakkuk a dozen times, but never caught this. It reminds me of another interesting passage:

“Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you, but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18.

In Greek, this second passage is clearly parallelism: “Do not be filled with spirits, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Don’t find your joy in drink, but in the Holy Spirit. If you are worried or scared or grieving, don’t drown your problems with alcoholic spirits, but take your needs to God’s Holy Spirit.

That makes sense, right? What better place to go with your problems than the throne of God?

This is my concern with the booming vineyard industry in America. All these middle-aged soccer moms with their ‘Carpe Vino’ shirts, tea towels, and throw pillows have missed the only REAL solution to their problems. I understand that alcohol brings a kind of relief. The Bible says as much: “Give beer to one who is dying… let him drink so he can forget…” Prov. 31:6. But if you are NOT dying, why choose something that will not satisfy—and comes with so many other risks? (Are you SURE you will never be “that guy” that drives after having too many? You can NEVER be sure if you drink away from home.)

Proverbs actually says more: “It is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire beer…. Give beer to one who is dying… so he can forget….”

I choose to see myself as the KING in this passage. I don’t drink and I don’t desire it. Why should I? I’m not dying, am I? Are you?

Do not drink spirits, but fill yourself with the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is not black and white on this subject. It is complicated. But if you want to drink, I challenge you to build a case for it from the scripture.

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P.S. My attempt at a comprehensive statement on drinking: Drinking is a nuanced issue with plenty of gray areas and room for reasonable minds to disagree. Remember the history of Prohibition in the United States: many churches and denominations took rigid positions on one side or the other–and those positions tend to persist a century after Prohibition was repealed. My conclusion is: Jesus drank wine and miraculously provided it to others. Who am I to say it is wrong? Yet dozens of Bible passages warn of the ill effects of drinking. We must do as Paul says, “let each man have his own conviction” (Romans 14:5) and “judge not” (Matthew 7:1). Finally, If you drink often, consider fasting often. Fasting moderates appetites, ensuring we will “Be not drunk on spirits, but filled with the Holy Spirit” Ephesians 5:18. https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2023/04/06/its-not-if-but-when/

MOUNTAINS. Psalm 121, 125.

“I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth.” Psalm 121:1-2.

These lines are well-known. You may recognize them from various songs. They convey the idea that when you are hurting and broken, you look to the horizon, to a place far from your current struggle, like snow-capped peaks that you know are several days’ journey away. You look to the mountains and pray and ask yourself who will help you.

And the answer comes: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.” He is so much bigger than the mountains, the oceans, the rivers and forests. God is the One who created it all. He is your help.

And when you lean on Him, YOU will become as solid as those mountains.

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, it cannot be shaken; it remains forever.” Psalm 125:1-2.

Do you trust God? Are you trusting Him with your problems right now? When you trust God, He can make you as solid as a mountain—and as sure-footed as the deer that scale the mountains. You will not stumble.

“The Lord is my strength, He has made my feet like the feet of a deer, And makes me to walk on mountain heights.” Habakkuk 3:19.

Pray. Dear God, remind us to ALWAYS bring our problems to You. You are our only answer, our only hope. Our help comes from You. You give us strength and faith and You will make us confident and steady as a mountain. In You, we cannot be shaken. Thank you that when everything around us falls apart, when everything else fails, You will never fail. You give us steady feet like a deer and You will bring us to the mountain heights where there is plenty of green grass. Thank You for being our Protector and Provider. We love You! Help us love Your word and study it daily.

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You Worship Better When Things Are Hard. Habakkuk 3:17-19.

I love it when life is good, when I can sit back with family and friends and smile at how wonderful life is. Bills are paid, I have a little money in the bank, everyone is healthy and happy, work is done and we can relax and be thankful.

And that’s real thankfulness. It’s genuine. But prayers of thankfulness are easy when you have so much to be thankful for. That does not test your faith or challenge you at all.

But when times are tough and you are thankful—that’s when you know you are growing in the Lord.

When you have no money, no food, poor health and failure at work, can you still sing worship songs?

Can you talk to Jesus about how much you love Him even though you are hurting?

That kind of faith is so much deeper. When you praise God in the hardest times, then you know you really love Him.

Jesus told the disciples that of all the people giving money at the temple, the poor widow exceeded them all, though she gave only a fraction of a penny. “They all gave out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, has given all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44.

Have you ever given when you had so little? It is a sweet, special thing. Have you ever told God how much you love Him in spite of your academic setbacks?

Have you ever said, God, these are all my problems, but I love you anyway, I trust you with my whole life? That can be such a special time with Him because it lets you know where your heart is—it shows whether you love God Himself or only the things He can do for you. Do you seek His heart, or only His hand?

Pray through this powerful passage in Habakkuk chapter 3—even when every source of food is compromised, the prophet says he will praise God anyway.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, though the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights!” Verses 17-19.

Ask God to help you praise Him in the hard times.

Ask Him to remind you to give when you can’t afford it. Ask Him to give you the faith to love Him and praise Him and trust Him even in the hardest times. Are you suffering? Do you face challenges? Talk to Him about that. Praise Him in spite of the problems. Remind Him (and yourself) how much you love Him, no matter what disappointments come your way.

And be thankful for the challenges—nothing else can strengthen and prove your faith like adversity. And nothing will give you the same heart of humility that God blesses. There is so much to be thankful for when you suffer!

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Serve God Now, While You Are Young! 2 Kings 23:25

Before Josiah, there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him. 2 Kings 23:25.

And he was crowned king at the tender age of 8!

The time to serve God best is when you are young! Don’t wait! Don’t tell yourself, I’ll read the Bible when I’m older. I’ll tithe after I have a real job. I’ll serve God after I have more time, or after I’m through having fun.

If you postpone serving God, you will never serve God. You will live a compromised life and miss out on the adventure and all of His great rewards.

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The Death of King Josiah. 2 Kings 22:19-20.

Today I read about Josiah, the boy king. He was a hero, destroying idol worship and reviving the observance of Passover.

When Josiah was 18, workers found the book of the law. It was read to the king, and he tore his clothes, realizing the nation had disobeyed God. But God was merciful:

“Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord… and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you, therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.” 2 Kings 22:19-20.

Wait. What? Josiah’s going to die? That’s not fair! Usually the man repents and God has mercy. When Israel worshipped idols, Moses prayed and God was merciful. Josiah did the same and his reward is death?

Josiah accepted this news with courage, worshipped God, and continued to destroy idolatry wherever he found it. And when he was 39, he was killed in battle. Unfair?

No, it’s not unfair when you recognize that HEAVEN IS INFINITELY BETTER THAN EARTH. If we could see it, we would be in a rush to get there (death is not that bad!).

Consider God’s perspective. You will die in peace, never seeing the disaster to come. Sometimes I think about my grandparents—what would they think about America today? They would be shocked and horrified. Things you and I have gotten used to, they would rightly consider terrible evils. Our world becomes more evil daily, and death is one way God spares His children. Imagine if Washington, Madison, and Hamilton had lived to see the nation torn apart by Civil War? They would have been devastated! Death was God’s way of sparing them. It is the same for some of us: because God loves you, He may bring you to heaven to spare you the pain of seeing His wrath fall on your family or your nation.

Finally, remember that death is not really DEATH. You will never stop being alive. In fact, in Heaven you will be MORE ALIVE than you are on earth.

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the LIVING.” Matthew 22:32.

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Seek God While You Are Young! Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Twenty-somethings raised in the church are growing up to be the nicest adults. They have the best intentions. They are sensitive to everyone’s triggers. They are so sincere!  They have not been drunk since college. They are not trying to score heroin on the street at midnight. Most of them have never seen a prostitute and don’t know any criminals.

They treat their parents well. They may be living with a boyfriend or girlfriend, but they use protection. They believe in marriage, but when the time comes, they will look for a “venue,” not a church. They drink, but call an Uber if they’ve had too much. They vape a little, but they’re discreet. They may use THC, but they don’t talk about it in front of mom and dad—why upset them? They consume antioxidants, and if they are not vegan, they have friends who are. They adopt dogs from the shelter. They’re open to hybrid cars and they try to recycle. They workout, save money, and plan to be loving parents when they reach the right place in their careers. They don’t go to church much because the pickle ball club plays on Sundays, and after all, they can always stream a sermon, so what’s the big deal?

And why read the Bible when you already know how to be a good person? And building their online brand takes so much time…

The problem with these nice young people is that Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. Who is? They are. It is all about Self: selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-care. And it’s not entirely their fault. My generation has raised the younger generation to seek happiness above all other considerations.

But this is a massive loss, a crushing blow to the world of the future. Why? Because young people–and only young people–have the power to make the world a better place. Every great revival or revolution in history started with young people. Young people have passion and energy and the stubbornness to see things through. When those traits are employed for the Kingdom of God, amazing things happen. Yet America has raised a generation of young adults that don’t realize they would be happier if inspired to serve a cause bigger than themselves!

Today’s young adults have small dreams: money in the bank, well-kept lawns, and children who play select sports year-round.

We are in a time of great APOSTASY: we are falling away from God. And if young people have no time for God, how will their children know Him?

“In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem [of idol worship]” 2 Chronicles 34:3.

King Josiah was only 16 when he began to seek God, and he changed the nation!

Paul gave Timothy specific advice about how the young pastor could make a difference in five areas:

“Let no one look down on you because you are young, but rather set an example by your 1)SPEECH, 2)CONDUCT, 3)LOVE, 4)FAITHFULNESS, and 5)PURITY” 1 Timothy 4:12.

The time to give your life to Christ is now. The time to seek Him and surrender ALL to Him is while you are YOUNG! Being a teen or a young adult is exciting, but you must give those critical years to God.

“Don’t let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor him in your youth before the evil years come—when you’ll no longer enjoy living.” Ecclesiastes 12:1 (TLB).

Love Jesus. Bow before Him and make Him your LORD. Put your WHOLE LIFE in His hands. Then live for him and let your life be an example to others. Like Josiah, you can make a difference. Young people can often make the greatest difference of all!

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A GOD WHO SINGS. Zephaniah 3:17.

I played my first baseball game at eight. I was years behind.  My teammates on the Fireballs had been playing together since tee ball.  But there was no tee at my first game. I had to hit a ball that was moving. It was dad’s pitch, but it may as well have been Nolan Ryan.  Still, the moms sitting behind the backstop in their lawn chairs cheered like I was Babe Ruth.  I knew I was bad at it. But the moms and dads cheered for me anyway.  They were so supportive.  And when I began to get hits, everyone was genuinely excited. Nothing beats a great cheering section when you’re a kid. 

And this you know—adults need cheering too.  We should strive to be better encouragers—of both the children and adults in our lives.

But here’s what you may not know. NO ONE CHEERS FOR YOU MORE THAN GOD. He loves you, He delights in you, He believes in you!

Dennis Jernigan is a singer-songwriter who has a gift for communicating this truth. Allow me to quote his paraphrase of Zephaniah 3:17:

“The eternal self-existent God, the God Who is three in one; He Who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful and valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe, and to bring you victory. He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for Himself in you and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you. He cannot contain Himself at the thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you … and has placed you above all other creations and in the highest place in His priorities. In fact, He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing! All because of you!”  Zephaniah 3:17 (paraphrase by Dennis Jernigan).

Jernigan comes to worship from a place of brokenness. He has the most tender, honest heart, and I remember hearing his music and praying that my heart would always remain tender enough to be moved by his lyrics. He explains that God cheers over us, He rejoices over us. He DELIGHTS in us. He enjoys us the way a parent enjoys a child. And Jernigan wrote a song about the way God cheers for His children: “When the Night is Falling.”

I have been singing church music my entire life. I know the lyrics to hundreds of hymns and Christian songs. But “When the Night is Falling,” a little-known song by Dennis Jernigan, is one of the most anointed songs I have ever heard.

Click to hear a song about a GOD WHO SINGS, and as you do, give God a few minutes to sing over YOU: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JADMJVDTwA

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P.S. One day years ago, I too cobbled together my own paraphrase of Zephaniah 3:17, basically an “amplified” version that included all my favorite verbs and nouns. The pic above is that handwritten version.

GOOD LANGUAGE. Zephaniah 3:9

I have NEVER addressed a college professor by his or her first name. Unless the professor insists on it, doing so is “taking liberties.” It is disrespectful. The same is true of pastors, physicians, judges, and coaches. We pay them the respect due their position. Anything else is disrespectful.

I watched a show last night in which the “host” insisted on addressing Barack Obama as “Former President Obama,” rather than the time-honored (and universally accepted), “Mister President.” When Obama commented, the smart-alecky host actually argued about it—which made him look stupid and childish. He was disrespectful.

As the show went on, the host interviewed dozens of high-level government officials and scientists, each of whom spoke to him in the most sophisticated and professional terms. And he responded to them with his deliberately-shocking potty mouth. The man is not unintelligent, but his insistence on discussing sublime topics with crude speech made him sound like a little boy in junior-high. Bad language—particularly in the presence of a polished, professional speaker—does not make you look grown-up. It makes you look childish. It is a sign of disrespect.

Paul writes about language:

“There must be no filthiness, or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting [for believers], but rather, giving of thanks” Ephesians 5:4.

Your language should reflect the grace, purity, and light in your heart.

Anything else is not fitting—it is not respectful or worshipful of the God who is inside you at that very moment. James says your tongue is a fire that was lit in hell, and that fire will burn down your whole life. This is serious stuff! Read James 3.

“For I will then restore pure speech to the people so that all of them may call on the name of Yahweh and serve Him” Zephaniah 3:9.

You cannot serve God without pure speech.

God, purify our speech. Bring to our attention not only the vulgar, but the hateful, the gossip, the slander, the judgment. Make our speech worthy of those who have been redeemed and forgiven.

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