November 19
Ezekiel 39
It will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD. This is the day of which I have spoken (39:8). I’ll remind you that out of approximately 2,500 prophecies in the Bible, 2,000 have happened. Two thousand predictions! What are the odds? Dr. Hugh Ross is a mathematical genius, and he calculated the odds of 2,000 biblical prophecies coming true at 1 in 102000 (that’s 1 followed by 2,000 zeroes). It would be easier for someone to find a specially marked french-fry under a picnic table somewhere along I-30 without giving them any hints where to start looking. The odds of all those prophecies being fulfilled is less than the number of seconds that the universe has existed. These probabilities exceed the limits of possibility, but not for God. His possibilities are not limited like ours.
You and I predict what will happen based on our best guesses, and we’re often wrong. When God declares something will happen, it’s as though it already has happened.
James 2 (cont.)-3
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? (2:20). I imagine that many people find James’s language offensive. When James, a First Century Hebrew, called someone foolish he meant something quite different than when an English speaker uses the term twenty centuries later. James means someone who is purposefully ignorant of God’s word. A fool in the biblical sense is one who turns their back to wisdom like a man who day-after-day, year-after-year chooses to forage for pennies on a railroad track instead of working. He lacks sense though he has a few cents.
James’s claim comes from a divinely inspired understanding of theology, and a basic understanding of logic. If one claims to have faith but no tangible action follows it, that indicates that they actually have faith in something other than what they claim. One cannot have faith in God and then have nothing to show for it. My proposition is according to God’s word and is consistent with what we observe. Faith in God without godly deeds is no more possible than water without wetness.
For James, the matter was solved through the accounts of Abraham and Rahab whose actions proved their faith. For others who need something more, we offer neuroscience proving that belief leads to action in the direction of that belief. Therefore, when we see no action, we know that something was believed that caused either inaction or action in another direction. For instance, when someone says they believe it’s best to obey God and God says to know the Bible, but they do not read it, they actually believe something else. When one says they believe in God, but their actions are deceptive, one wonders why they are elected to Congress, or why we should believe anything they say.
On the other hand, those who learn God’s word, seek to know Him, have His Spirit, and trust His ways grow in faith and deeds, and they become wise. The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere (3:17).
Psalm 118
God shows us who He is by His deeds. Experience with Him shows that God’s love endures despite our sin. While He laughs at humanists who believe people can solve the world’s problems, He continues to love them. We can love them too, though I admit it’s not the easiest thing I ask of myself.
Proverbs 28:2
This one’s a bit scary as it sounds like us. A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order. Let’s face reality, we will never have order as long as unity means unifying around a party line. Unity in the Bible is with God, and that’s the kind of unity that yields peace. We see it played out all over the world as nations go to war with themselves over their multiplicity of leaders. There’s no war where Jesus is King.
