Psalm 8:1
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Hebrews 12. When I moved into the patch described by verses 25-29, the Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind with a thought and a curiosity: Not only do we refer to past actions of our GOD as a basis for our appeals to Him, He also refers us to His past works as a basis for His appeals to us today. The curiosity: In what way does His statement, “yet once more,” signify the removal of those things that are shaken?
Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Hebrews 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Hebrews 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
We are exhorted to “refuse not him that speaketh” (Hebrews 12:25). The Spirit is referring to the men God used to speak His message, who “spake on earth.” He reminded us that those who refused the earthly speaker did not escape judgment: Consider Moses, the speaker, and Korah and his clan the refusers (Numbers 16:30-37, remembered in 26:9-10, and Jude 11—Core). Upon that history, we are warned today to “refuse not him that speaketh.”
We are further warned not to refuse Him that speaketh from Heaven, whose voice “shook the earth.” Indeed, it opened and swallowed up the “refusers.” Jesus is the “Word,” and if we dare not refuse him that speaketh on earth, we had much more seriously be careful not to refuse the word that was “in the beginning,” Who was the “Word” that was “with God,” and “was God” (John 1:1): namely, Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Consider the damnation determined against those who refuse to receive our witness, nor heart our words:
Matthew 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Matthew 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Along the still waters, I pondered the thought that inspired devotional reflection: how often I have noticed the saints appeal to God for something in the present based on what He has done in the past. We are not the first to be frustrated that God does not appear to do today what He did for the saints of yesteryear. Great saints, like David, and the Prophets, sometimes pined to see God work in their day like He did for His children in the past. How often do we in Scripture hear a rehearsal of God’s great miracle at the Red Sea, or during their travels through the wilderness? The Spirit spoke to my heart: Did you notice that those who lived through that experience complained and murmured throughout? Complaining does not stem from what is or is not happening to you or around you; it originates from within you and is always rooted in a lack of appreciation for what God has already done, or is doing. Gratitude! It comes up repeatedly in my devotions lately.
I want God to do today what He did for and through the saints in the book of Acts. Often, I have thought that if we did what they did, God would do again what He did. No doubt, we should emulate the work of the saints, as modeled for us in the Acts, if we expect to see the Spirit emulate the works He did then. Yet, the Spirit pointed again to the fact that Israel murmured in the midst of wonders. The Spirit speaks to us: “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10). The Spirit pointed out to me that GOD also appeals to us based on what He has done in the past. He expects us to remember and believe (Matthew 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?). In His rebuke, He said our present faith is premised upon God’s past actions. Our ability to understand and rightly apply His present word to us through Scripture requires attention to His past actions, as recorded in Scripture, and as experienced (Matthew 16:7-11).
Do you have a testimony of GOD working marvels in your life? Have you been appropriately grateful for His works in your life? If anything grieves Him, it is a lack of gratitude. Be thankful for what He has done. Nothing encourages faith in what God will do like gratitude for what He has done. Ingratitude is a subtle thief. It steals present manifestations of His glory. No parent is motivated to respond favorably to the requests of an ungrateful child.
I cannot go into what insights He gave to me concerning the curiosity I mentioned above. Let’s go on into the valley.
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His cross, I was overwhelmed by how deeply I felt my gratitude for the proof of His love to me there fell short. I sang, “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me,” and the refrain: “To God be the glory for the things He has done.” (To God Be the Glory, Crouch—1971). I presented this body, and my life, to Him as nothing more than my reasonable sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). It’s not enough, but it is all I have to give! The Spirit spoke: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed as we went together into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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