The Lord Who Doeth All These Things

“The Lord Who doeth all these things.” …
“Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”
Acts 14:27 - Acts 15:18

The meaning of such repeated phraseology cannot be mistaken. God is here presented as the one agent or actor, and even the most conspicuous apostles, like Paul and Peter, as only His instruments. No Twenty verses in the word of God contain more emphatic and repeated lessons on man’s insufficiency and nothingness, and God’s all-sufficiency and almightiness. It was God that wrought upon man through man. It was He who chose Peter to be His mouthpiece, He whose key unlocked shut doors, he who visited the nations, who turned sinners into saints, who was even then taking out a people for His name, purifying hearts and bearing them witness; it was He and He alone who did all these wondrous things, and according to His knowledge and plan of what He would do, from the beginning. We are not reading so much the Acts of the Apostles as the acts of God through the apostles.

A.T. Pierson

Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner

(Exodus, xvii.15)

By whom was David taught
To aim the deadly blow,
When he Goliath fought,
And laid the Gittite low?
Nor sword nor spear the stripling took,
But chose a pebble from the brook.

Twas Israel's God and King
Who sent him to the fight;
Who gave him strength to sling,
And skill to aim aright.
Ye feeble saints, your strength endures,
Because young David's God is yours.

Who order'd Gideon forth,
To storm the invaders' camp.
With arms of little worth,
A pitcher and a lamp?
The trumpets made his coming known
And all the host was overthrown.

Oh! I have seen the day,
When with a single word,
God helping me to say,
"My trust is in the Lord,"
My soul hath quell'd a thousand foes
Fearless of all that could oppose.

But unbelief, self-will,
Self-righteousness, and pride,
How often do they steal
My weapon from my side!
Yet David's Lord, and Gideon's friend,
Will help his servant to the end.

-William Cowper-

Marching Orders

It is not difficult to look around this world and think, what can I do? I try to proclaim Christ’s message yet my efforts seem so small. With major organizations and most of the universities of this country producing theory after theory and book after book suppressing the truth of Christianity. Radio and TV spending millions of dollars to produce quickly paced emotionally charged stories and programs that glamorize pre-martial, extra-marital, and homosexual sex. Not to mention teaching our children that the name of the Lord is merely a word that is to be used in vain to curse someone or make a joke. With all of this and the struggling nature of many small churches, we may start to wonder what can be accomplished, but before you begin to doubt, remember these promises that God made to the Israelites which still apply to God’s children…

You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified. Deut. 9:1

No man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you. Deut. 11:25

It is true that today we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, but the wrestling is no less real, and the promises are no less true. But lest you despair and think you are not godly enough for God to fight for you, or lest you become proud and think that the Lord owes this to you because of your godliness, remember it is only by His grace that his Children will prevail and only by His Justice to His enemies will fail…

It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you… Deut. 9:5

For… He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Deut. 7:10

Take the truth of Christ to the world and remember, if the Lord is with you, who can be against you. He holds the hearts of kings in His hand. Stand strong in the faith ‘being careful to observe the commandments of the Lord’ (Deut. 8:1). Teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deut. 6:7). For against the Church the gates of hell will not prevail.

-Doug Eaton-

God Strengthens His People - John Piper

If any king ever had the right to display all his glory by stepping on the backs of a rebellious people, it is God. But what does he do? He displays his glory by making his people strong. “Now unto him who is able to strengthen you . . . be glory forevermore . . . .” God magnifies his glory by making you strong with his gospel. God feels no threat from your strength at all. In fact, the stronger you are in faith and hope and love through the gospel of Jesus Christ, the greater he appears. God does not secure his strength by keeping his people weak. He magnifies the glory of his strength by making his people strong. “Now unto him who is able to strengthen you . . . be glory.”

-John Piper-