The Lord is my shepherd indeed. Jesus Christ, who came in flesh to dwell among us, was prophesied to be our shepherd (Micah 5:4,5). When He was on the earth, He testified Himself that He is a good shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11).
Since the Lord is our shepherd, we are His sheep. What may be some characteristics of the sheep that the Lord leads? First, we are known individually by the Lord. The good shepherd calls His own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3). The Lord knows us personally and has even engraved us on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). He does not see us as a mere herd, but knows each one of us individually and laid down His life for each of us. Second, we as His sheep know the Lord and He knows us, the same way that God the Father and God the Son know each other (John 10:14). Do we really know the Lord that well? The book that lets us know the Lord the best is the Bible (John 5:39) and the person who helps us understand the Bible is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, I Corinthians 2:9,10). Because the Lord is the object of our love, we should be able to read and meditate on the Word of God as sweeter than honey, even honey from the comb, just as the psalmist did (Psalm 19:7-10). Third, the Lord's sheep know His voice and follow Him (John 10:4). The Lord's sheep can distinguish between His voice and a stranger's voice (John 10:5). The difference between a voice and a mere sound is that the voice is unique to its owner and lets the hearer know of the owner. We must discern the Lord's voice. We must discern the truth and follow the word of the Lord in obedience. The Lord leads us to green pastures and quiet waters and restores our souls. We must trust that He will fill our needs with goodness; and trustingly we must follow Him.
"Lord, you are my Good Shepherd. Lead me; I will follow You. In Jesus' name. Amen."
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Psalm 24:7-10
In this passage, it is obvious who the entrant is. It is the King of glory, mighty and strong. He is the Lord Almighty. Then, who are the gates that the King of glory wishes to enter?
Who else, but those who are described in the earlier verses of the same psalm? They are those with clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to idols or swear by what is false, but seek the face of the God of Jacob and receive blessings from the Lord and vindication from God the Savior.
Our Lord is a patient King. He does not barge into us. Rather He patiently waits outside and knocks on the door of our hearts. If anyone hears Him and opens the door, He will come in and eat with him, and he with Him (Revelations 3:20). The Lord Almighty will have fellowship and relationship with mere men. Though our sins are like scarlet and red as crimson, we will be forgiven (Isaiah 1:18) and He will consider us clean and pure and white as snow. He will bless us and vindicate us.
But if the door does not open, He patiently waits. He is so patient, considering a thousand years like a day (II Peter 3:8,9). He wants everyone to repent and not perish, but there will be an end to His waiting and the day of reckoning will "come like a thief" (II Peter 3:10). It will be at the appointed time, though no one knows the time, but God the Father (Matthew 24:36).
Before the day of Judgment comes, we need to harken. Lift up your heads, o ye gates. Open the door of your hearts. Accept your King to reign in you. Then the kingdom of God will be established in you and you will be His temple (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19).
Who else, but those who are described in the earlier verses of the same psalm? They are those with clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to idols or swear by what is false, but seek the face of the God of Jacob and receive blessings from the Lord and vindication from God the Savior.
Our Lord is a patient King. He does not barge into us. Rather He patiently waits outside and knocks on the door of our hearts. If anyone hears Him and opens the door, He will come in and eat with him, and he with Him (Revelations 3:20). The Lord Almighty will have fellowship and relationship with mere men. Though our sins are like scarlet and red as crimson, we will be forgiven (Isaiah 1:18) and He will consider us clean and pure and white as snow. He will bless us and vindicate us.
But if the door does not open, He patiently waits. He is so patient, considering a thousand years like a day (II Peter 3:8,9). He wants everyone to repent and not perish, but there will be an end to His waiting and the day of reckoning will "come like a thief" (II Peter 3:10). It will be at the appointed time, though no one knows the time, but God the Father (Matthew 24:36).
Before the day of Judgment comes, we need to harken. Lift up your heads, o ye gates. Open the door of your hearts. Accept your King to reign in you. Then the kingdom of God will be established in you and you will be His temple (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19).
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Lord Will Provide (여호와 이레)
Because of the limitations of human languages, we often fail to express sufficiently the love and grace of the Lord. One such example is the expression that "my prayer has been answered." On first impression, it appears to imply that when we pray, the Lord hears our prayer and then allows our requests to come true. But I do not think that is the right order of events.
More than 35 years ago, when my family was immigrating to the US, many friends and kins came out to the Kimpo airport and worshipped together at the airport. During the worship service, Rev. Yoon Chan Kim, who was then the pastor of Pyoungahn Presbyterian Church in Seo-So-Moon in Seoul, delivered the message (if I remember correctly) that God, who is called "The Lord Will Provide", will send His angel before us (Genesis 24:7) and prepare our way in the US. The message was about the works of our God who knows and prepares our needs before we ever pray.
Needless to say, prayer is important and we must pray continually (I Thessalonians 5:17). But it is also important to recognize that when we pray and our prayer is answered, we are not receiving something that God had no prior plan of giving to us. Rather, we are receiving what God had planned to give us all along. There are several examples of this in the Bible. In Genesis 28, Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau. At Bethel, he saw in his dream a stairway whose top reached up to the heaven. In verse 15, God promised to Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." God had already made the promise to Jacob, but later in verse 20, Jacob offered a prayer of a vow that if God stayed with him and brought him back to home safely, then He would be his God. Jacob was praying for a promise that he had already received from the Lord. Likewise in II Samuel 24, God had already decided to stop the plague in verse 16 and later David built an altar and prayed about it. And in Daniel 10:12, the angel of the Lord told Daniel, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them."
In the wilderness, the Israelites were led with the pillars of fire and of clouds by the Lord. In Numbers 10:33, it is said that the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before the people to find a place for them to rest. Indeed, even in our life journey, I believe that God goes ahead of each of us His children and prepares the way for us. He knows our needs and fills them (Matthew 6). I can verify this, because in my 35 years of immigrant life (actually in my 50 years of life), God has repeatedly demonstrated that He provides for me.
When we first arrived in the US, we unloaded our luggage and settled in a town called Bellflower, CA. At the time, Father had already passed away and our family consisted of Mom, me, Kelly in 5th grade, and Esther, who was not even a first grader. I did not speak English well and there was not much I did well in the new country. But God prepared for me a history teacher, who took a special interest in me from my first day at school. I think her class was my first class at the Bellflower High School. When I entered her class, she asked me a few questions (which I could not really answer, since I did not fully understand the questions) and told me to come and see her after school. When I went to see her, she gave me a copy of the textbook and told me to use it as if it were my own, writing on it in Korean and studying with it. And upon hearing that I was a Presbyterian, she said that she was one too and that there are not many Presbyterians in southern California, while there were many Baptists. She took the time to drive me to a Presbyterian church near my apartment and introduced me to the youth minister. Because of her, we were then visited by an elder from the church and we attended the church for a while.
Within a few months, we moved to New York City and I, of course, had to move to another high school. My mom, who was a nurse, was able to get a job as an RN, on the first day of seeking a job and found an apartment across the street from the hospital as well. It was also the same block where my new high school was located. There God also prepared for me a teacher who treated me with much favor. He was the science department chair, Mr. Robert Weinberger. After my regular classes were over, I met with him daily and did extra studies. I also assisted him, as if I were a teacher's assistant. He arranged for me to take classes at nearby City Colleges and this provided a firm foundation for my later studies at Yale. At Yale, I was able to obtain both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in 4 years.
As I look back at my life and reflect on how I studied in medical school and became an anesthesiologist, how I met my life journey partner and together have raised 3 children, how I conducted research, published papers, and was promoted to an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, how I spent my time in San Jose as a department chair, and how I have come to Columbus and am continuing my journey, I have to confess that it has been a repetition of God providing for me time and again. God provided for me to meet good people and stayed with me through good times and tough times. To name but a few, I am grateful for Mrs. Geun Pyo Hong, My cousin Paul Kim, Rev. Eun Sik Park and his family, Dr. Edward Lowenstein, Rev. Hye Sung Kim, Rev. Jae Yoon Kim, Deaconess Myung Sun Sung, ... ; the list goes on and on. Above all, I am most grateful for my mother who relied on the Lord only in raising us three children and for my wife, whom God prepared for me and whom I met after prayer to meet the one God prepared for me.
It is impossible for me not to believe that God knows me best and prepares for all my needs. I believe that God knows what is best for me and intends to give it to me. My hope is that I may discern His good, pleasing and perfect will and present my prayer and petition accordingly. I pray that I receive the best gift of being filled with the Holy Spirit and live a life in obedience to God.
More than 35 years ago, when my family was immigrating to the US, many friends and kins came out to the Kimpo airport and worshipped together at the airport. During the worship service, Rev. Yoon Chan Kim, who was then the pastor of Pyoungahn Presbyterian Church in Seo-So-Moon in Seoul, delivered the message (if I remember correctly) that God, who is called "The Lord Will Provide", will send His angel before us (Genesis 24:7) and prepare our way in the US. The message was about the works of our God who knows and prepares our needs before we ever pray.
Needless to say, prayer is important and we must pray continually (I Thessalonians 5:17). But it is also important to recognize that when we pray and our prayer is answered, we are not receiving something that God had no prior plan of giving to us. Rather, we are receiving what God had planned to give us all along. There are several examples of this in the Bible. In Genesis 28, Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau. At Bethel, he saw in his dream a stairway whose top reached up to the heaven. In verse 15, God promised to Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." God had already made the promise to Jacob, but later in verse 20, Jacob offered a prayer of a vow that if God stayed with him and brought him back to home safely, then He would be his God. Jacob was praying for a promise that he had already received from the Lord. Likewise in II Samuel 24, God had already decided to stop the plague in verse 16 and later David built an altar and prayed about it. And in Daniel 10:12, the angel of the Lord told Daniel, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them."
In the wilderness, the Israelites were led with the pillars of fire and of clouds by the Lord. In Numbers 10:33, it is said that the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before the people to find a place for them to rest. Indeed, even in our life journey, I believe that God goes ahead of each of us His children and prepares the way for us. He knows our needs and fills them (Matthew 6). I can verify this, because in my 35 years of immigrant life (actually in my 50 years of life), God has repeatedly demonstrated that He provides for me.
When we first arrived in the US, we unloaded our luggage and settled in a town called Bellflower, CA. At the time, Father had already passed away and our family consisted of Mom, me, Kelly in 5th grade, and Esther, who was not even a first grader. I did not speak English well and there was not much I did well in the new country. But God prepared for me a history teacher, who took a special interest in me from my first day at school. I think her class was my first class at the Bellflower High School. When I entered her class, she asked me a few questions (which I could not really answer, since I did not fully understand the questions) and told me to come and see her after school. When I went to see her, she gave me a copy of the textbook and told me to use it as if it were my own, writing on it in Korean and studying with it. And upon hearing that I was a Presbyterian, she said that she was one too and that there are not many Presbyterians in southern California, while there were many Baptists. She took the time to drive me to a Presbyterian church near my apartment and introduced me to the youth minister. Because of her, we were then visited by an elder from the church and we attended the church for a while.
Within a few months, we moved to New York City and I, of course, had to move to another high school. My mom, who was a nurse, was able to get a job as an RN, on the first day of seeking a job and found an apartment across the street from the hospital as well. It was also the same block where my new high school was located. There God also prepared for me a teacher who treated me with much favor. He was the science department chair, Mr. Robert Weinberger. After my regular classes were over, I met with him daily and did extra studies. I also assisted him, as if I were a teacher's assistant. He arranged for me to take classes at nearby City Colleges and this provided a firm foundation for my later studies at Yale. At Yale, I was able to obtain both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in 4 years.
As I look back at my life and reflect on how I studied in medical school and became an anesthesiologist, how I met my life journey partner and together have raised 3 children, how I conducted research, published papers, and was promoted to an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, how I spent my time in San Jose as a department chair, and how I have come to Columbus and am continuing my journey, I have to confess that it has been a repetition of God providing for me time and again. God provided for me to meet good people and stayed with me through good times and tough times. To name but a few, I am grateful for Mrs. Geun Pyo Hong, My cousin Paul Kim, Rev. Eun Sik Park and his family, Dr. Edward Lowenstein, Rev. Hye Sung Kim, Rev. Jae Yoon Kim, Deaconess Myung Sun Sung, ... ; the list goes on and on. Above all, I am most grateful for my mother who relied on the Lord only in raising us three children and for my wife, whom God prepared for me and whom I met after prayer to meet the one God prepared for me.
It is impossible for me not to believe that God knows me best and prepares for all my needs. I believe that God knows what is best for me and intends to give it to me. My hope is that I may discern His good, pleasing and perfect will and present my prayer and petition accordingly. I pray that I receive the best gift of being filled with the Holy Spirit and live a life in obedience to God.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
On hearing God
"I am thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me,
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee."
"I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord,
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford."
These are two of the hymns that I have sung, growing up. Both sing of the Lord's voice, implying that we are hearing His voice. Lately I am hearing many Christians talk of their experiences of hearing the Lord's voice. They say that they are instructed to do this or not to do that, etc. Sometimes it seems to be implied that hearing His voice is a barometer of how close a relationship one maintains with the Lord. In some ways this may be right. In the relatively desolate days of Eli the priest, it is said that "the word of the Lord was rare" (I Samuel 3:1). And Jesus said that His sheep know His voice (John 10:4).
I think what is needed is discernment to recognize when the Lord speaks to me, so that I know how to distinguish what He is telling me from some other impression or deception that I may be persuading myself to believe as the legitimate voice of the Lord. To do that, I would like to consider (1) how the Lord spoke to men in the past, (2) whether He still speaks to men in the same manner or, if not, how He does now, and (3) how to have the discernment to know when He speaks to me.
First, let's examine how the Lord spoke to men in the past. In Hebrews 1:1-2, it says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." It appears that the ways God spoke to men have changed over time.
In the days of Adam and Even on down to the patriarchs, God spoke to individual men and women directly. He spoke to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:8-19), Cain (Genesis 4:6-15), Noah (Genesis 6:13-7:5, 9:1-17), Abram/Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-17, 15:1-21, 17:1-22, 18:1-33, 21:12-13, 22:1-18), Abimelech (Genesis 20:3-7), Isaac (Genesis 26:2-4, 24), Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15, 35:1, 9-13, 46:2-4), Laban (Genesis 31:29), and, of course, Moses (Exodus 33:11). Some of these people are our forefathers in faith, but some of them are not exemplars -- such as Cain, Abimelech, or Laban. In speaking to these people, God spoke of both blessings and judgment and rebuke. Sometimes He spoke in dreams or visions; other times, He appeared in person and spoke face to face; and, other times, He was heard in voices only. He always spoke in sentences and clauses rather than single words or phrases and often carried on a conversation. That is, it was unmistakable to the person hearing the Lord, that it was the Lord speaking to him or her, rather than his or her own imagination or some other source.
Later on, God spoke to the nation of Israel through prophets, who thus served as the Lord's spokesmen. There are so many examples of this throughout the Bible. "Thus saith the Lord" is a very often-repeated phrase in the Bible. Not everyone in Israel was a prophet, as can be surmised from Moses' comment (Numbers 11:29); not everyone in Israel was permitted to hear the voice of the Lord. Moses explained that at Mount Horeb, the Israelites were afraid of hearing the Lord directly and asked to be told via an intermediary, a prophet, and thus the Lord promised to provide "a prophet from among their brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). The prophet was then to speak in the name of the Lord, everything that the Lord put in his mouth and nothing else. God used many prophets and finally raised the Greatest Prophet, Jesus Son of God (Acts 3;18-22). If an ordinary man wanted to hear the Lord, he would have to go to the prophet and hear what the Lord said through the prophet. For example, King Hezekiah sent his officials to Isaiah to hear what the Lord said (Ii Kings 19:1-6).
When Jesus came to the earth in flesh, He made a "dwelling among us" (John 1:14). As God Incarnate, Jesus lived among men and spoke directly with men. He called His disciples His "friends" and told them everything He learned from His Father (John 15:15). With Christ, the mystery that had been hidden for ages in the past was revealed to His saints, us believers (Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:26,27). The mystery, which is Christ in us, was unveiled and revealed to us (Colossians 1:26,27). I believe that the prophetic words that God wanted to speak to us are now complete and there is nothing more to be added to what has already been revealed in the Bible (Revelations 22:18).
If there is no more mystery to be unveiled and if all the revelations have been made known, does God still speak to us? The answer is a resounding YES. Jesus promised another "Counselor", the Spirit of Truth, who lives with us and is in us the believers (John 14:16,17). This Counselor, "when He comes, will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). The Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth, will not speak on His own, but speak only what He hears, and will tell us what is yet to come (John 16:13). So in these last days, God still speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, and as Paul did (Ephesians 1:17-19), we should pray to receive the Spirit of truth and revelation -- pray to hear Him speak to us about all truth.
If God now speaks to us by the Spirit of Truth who resides in us, how are we to discern Him from another spirit or even our own auditory hallucination or imagination or fascination? There are those around us, who John Calvin described as "fanatics" and "giddy men, who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Spirit, despise" the Word (Institutes of Christian Religion. i.IX.1). They contend as if the Spirit would reveal something to them, that has not already been revealed or is not confirmed in the written Word of God, the Bible. That is not so and that cannot be so. As Calvin points out, even Paul, who had much to boast about visions and revelations and was taken to the third heaven (II Corinthians 12:1-2), admonishes Timothy to devote himself to the "public reading of the Scripture" (I Timothy 4:13), since the Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16,17). "The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scripture and He cannot vary or differ from Himself. He must ever remain just as He once revealed Himself" in the Bible (Institutes of Christian Religion. i.IX.2). Any man or spirit who teaches something other than what is the revealed truth in the Bible is to be condemned (Galatians 1:8). The Holy Spirit is certainly not going to contradict Himself. Rather the Spirit efficaciously confirms the written Word of God.
In the same way, the inner teachings of the Spirit are confirmed by the written Word of God. Confirmation of what we think is spoken by the Spirit should be by comparison with the Word. The covenant that the Lord makes with us has been put in our minds and written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33) and the Spirit of Truth lets us discern it. The Spirit and the Word are inseparably together and speak to us in unison.
Yes, even now, God speaks to us. He speaks to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit reveals to us what He speaks to us in the Word. The Spirit of Truth is the Counselor who gives us understanding and discernment of what is written in the Bible.
I can sing:
"Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of Life,
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of Life.
Words of Life and beauty,
Teach me faith and duty,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life."
And it told Thy love to me,
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee."
"I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord,
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford."
These are two of the hymns that I have sung, growing up. Both sing of the Lord's voice, implying that we are hearing His voice. Lately I am hearing many Christians talk of their experiences of hearing the Lord's voice. They say that they are instructed to do this or not to do that, etc. Sometimes it seems to be implied that hearing His voice is a barometer of how close a relationship one maintains with the Lord. In some ways this may be right. In the relatively desolate days of Eli the priest, it is said that "the word of the Lord was rare" (I Samuel 3:1). And Jesus said that His sheep know His voice (John 10:4).
I think what is needed is discernment to recognize when the Lord speaks to me, so that I know how to distinguish what He is telling me from some other impression or deception that I may be persuading myself to believe as the legitimate voice of the Lord. To do that, I would like to consider (1) how the Lord spoke to men in the past, (2) whether He still speaks to men in the same manner or, if not, how He does now, and (3) how to have the discernment to know when He speaks to me.
First, let's examine how the Lord spoke to men in the past. In Hebrews 1:1-2, it says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." It appears that the ways God spoke to men have changed over time.
In the days of Adam and Even on down to the patriarchs, God spoke to individual men and women directly. He spoke to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:8-19), Cain (Genesis 4:6-15), Noah (Genesis 6:13-7:5, 9:1-17), Abram/Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-17, 15:1-21, 17:1-22, 18:1-33, 21:12-13, 22:1-18), Abimelech (Genesis 20:3-7), Isaac (Genesis 26:2-4, 24), Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15, 35:1, 9-13, 46:2-4), Laban (Genesis 31:29), and, of course, Moses (Exodus 33:11). Some of these people are our forefathers in faith, but some of them are not exemplars -- such as Cain, Abimelech, or Laban. In speaking to these people, God spoke of both blessings and judgment and rebuke. Sometimes He spoke in dreams or visions; other times, He appeared in person and spoke face to face; and, other times, He was heard in voices only. He always spoke in sentences and clauses rather than single words or phrases and often carried on a conversation. That is, it was unmistakable to the person hearing the Lord, that it was the Lord speaking to him or her, rather than his or her own imagination or some other source.
Later on, God spoke to the nation of Israel through prophets, who thus served as the Lord's spokesmen. There are so many examples of this throughout the Bible. "Thus saith the Lord" is a very often-repeated phrase in the Bible. Not everyone in Israel was a prophet, as can be surmised from Moses' comment (Numbers 11:29); not everyone in Israel was permitted to hear the voice of the Lord. Moses explained that at Mount Horeb, the Israelites were afraid of hearing the Lord directly and asked to be told via an intermediary, a prophet, and thus the Lord promised to provide "a prophet from among their brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). The prophet was then to speak in the name of the Lord, everything that the Lord put in his mouth and nothing else. God used many prophets and finally raised the Greatest Prophet, Jesus Son of God (Acts 3;18-22). If an ordinary man wanted to hear the Lord, he would have to go to the prophet and hear what the Lord said through the prophet. For example, King Hezekiah sent his officials to Isaiah to hear what the Lord said (Ii Kings 19:1-6).
When Jesus came to the earth in flesh, He made a "dwelling among us" (John 1:14). As God Incarnate, Jesus lived among men and spoke directly with men. He called His disciples His "friends" and told them everything He learned from His Father (John 15:15). With Christ, the mystery that had been hidden for ages in the past was revealed to His saints, us believers (Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:26,27). The mystery, which is Christ in us, was unveiled and revealed to us (Colossians 1:26,27). I believe that the prophetic words that God wanted to speak to us are now complete and there is nothing more to be added to what has already been revealed in the Bible (Revelations 22:18).
If there is no more mystery to be unveiled and if all the revelations have been made known, does God still speak to us? The answer is a resounding YES. Jesus promised another "Counselor", the Spirit of Truth, who lives with us and is in us the believers (John 14:16,17). This Counselor, "when He comes, will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). The Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth, will not speak on His own, but speak only what He hears, and will tell us what is yet to come (John 16:13). So in these last days, God still speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, and as Paul did (Ephesians 1:17-19), we should pray to receive the Spirit of truth and revelation -- pray to hear Him speak to us about all truth.
If God now speaks to us by the Spirit of Truth who resides in us, how are we to discern Him from another spirit or even our own auditory hallucination or imagination or fascination? There are those around us, who John Calvin described as "fanatics" and "giddy men, who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Spirit, despise" the Word (Institutes of Christian Religion. i.IX.1). They contend as if the Spirit would reveal something to them, that has not already been revealed or is not confirmed in the written Word of God, the Bible. That is not so and that cannot be so. As Calvin points out, even Paul, who had much to boast about visions and revelations and was taken to the third heaven (II Corinthians 12:1-2), admonishes Timothy to devote himself to the "public reading of the Scripture" (I Timothy 4:13), since the Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16,17). "The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scripture and He cannot vary or differ from Himself. He must ever remain just as He once revealed Himself" in the Bible (Institutes of Christian Religion. i.IX.2). Any man or spirit who teaches something other than what is the revealed truth in the Bible is to be condemned (Galatians 1:8). The Holy Spirit is certainly not going to contradict Himself. Rather the Spirit efficaciously confirms the written Word of God.
In the same way, the inner teachings of the Spirit are confirmed by the written Word of God. Confirmation of what we think is spoken by the Spirit should be by comparison with the Word. The covenant that the Lord makes with us has been put in our minds and written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33) and the Spirit of Truth lets us discern it. The Spirit and the Word are inseparably together and speak to us in unison.
Yes, even now, God speaks to us. He speaks to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit reveals to us what He speaks to us in the Word. The Spirit of Truth is the Counselor who gives us understanding and discernment of what is written in the Bible.
I can sing:
"Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of Life,
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of Life.
Words of Life and beauty,
Teach me faith and duty,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life."
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Psalm 23:6
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6)
A new year has begun. Indeed a new decade has embarked. This will be my 6th decade. Sixth decade!
As I look back at the 5 decades that have gone by, I can only be thankful and praise the Lord for His unfailing faithfulness. True to his word and promise, He has been with me and protected me, even when I strayed away or tried to stray away.
I can recall the day, when as a little boy I was struck in the head with a rock from another kid in the neighborhood. My head was bleeding and grandma was frantically taking me to the hospital. But the rock missed me in the important, sensitive parts and I recovered just fine.
I can recall the day, when as a youngster I unwisely was running across the road. A truck hit another car, in order to avoid hitting me. The cars were damaged, but I was protected.
I was taken into a locked cell by an older student of my junior high school, for playing around the tennis court that he was leveling. He told me to hit first, so that he can then "retaliate". But the Lord protected me and I came out unscathed.
After coming to the US after junior high, I have met so many angelic people, whom God had prepared for me. On the first day at the high school, I met a history teacher, who loaned me a copy of the textbook so that I could write on it with Korean translation and who took me to a nearby Presbyterian church and introduced me to the youth minister. When we did not yet have a car, God prepared people who gladly gave us rides. Mr. Weinberger, chairman of the science department at Flushing High School, is my teacher forever. I am so indebted to him. He took me aside as if I was his private student. He taught me extra things and sent me to programs so that I would be better prepared for college. Mrs. Han was there when I was in college. Dr. Lowenstein, Deaconess Seong, my aunt, ... And, of course, my family.
Surely goodness and love have and will follow me all the days of my life. Lord, I praise and thank you.
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6)
A new year has begun. Indeed a new decade has embarked. This will be my 6th decade. Sixth decade!
As I look back at the 5 decades that have gone by, I can only be thankful and praise the Lord for His unfailing faithfulness. True to his word and promise, He has been with me and protected me, even when I strayed away or tried to stray away.
I can recall the day, when as a little boy I was struck in the head with a rock from another kid in the neighborhood. My head was bleeding and grandma was frantically taking me to the hospital. But the rock missed me in the important, sensitive parts and I recovered just fine.
I can recall the day, when as a youngster I unwisely was running across the road. A truck hit another car, in order to avoid hitting me. The cars were damaged, but I was protected.
I was taken into a locked cell by an older student of my junior high school, for playing around the tennis court that he was leveling. He told me to hit first, so that he can then "retaliate". But the Lord protected me and I came out unscathed.
After coming to the US after junior high, I have met so many angelic people, whom God had prepared for me. On the first day at the high school, I met a history teacher, who loaned me a copy of the textbook so that I could write on it with Korean translation and who took me to a nearby Presbyterian church and introduced me to the youth minister. When we did not yet have a car, God prepared people who gladly gave us rides. Mr. Weinberger, chairman of the science department at Flushing High School, is my teacher forever. I am so indebted to him. He took me aside as if I was his private student. He taught me extra things and sent me to programs so that I would be better prepared for college. Mrs. Han was there when I was in college. Dr. Lowenstein, Deaconess Seong, my aunt, ... And, of course, my family.
Surely goodness and love have and will follow me all the days of my life. Lord, I praise and thank you.
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