“You sent to John, and he bore witness of the truth. I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was a burning and a shining lamp, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. I have greater testimony than that of John. The works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. The Father Himself, who has sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe the One He has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think in them you have eternal life. These are they who bear witness of Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:33-40

Jesus desired that His fellow Jews believe in Him and be saved, but many did not. Jesus pointed out that they weren’t just rejecting His claims to be the Son of God and their Messiah and Savior; they were also rejecting the witness of John and of God the Father.

For a time, at least, many of His Jewish hearers believed the witness of John the Baptist and rejoiced in His message calling on all to repent and announcing the coming of the Messiah and that the establishment of His kingdom was at hand.

What did John the Baptist say of Jesus? John 1 records his testimony. In John 1:29, John the Baptist said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” And, in v. 32-34, we read, “Then John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “The One on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and have borne witness that He is the Son of God.’”

But Jesus didn’t need the testimony of man, not even the testimony of a great prophet like John the Baptist, to prove that His claims were true. Jesus said, “I have greater testimony than that of John. The works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36).

Think about it. Who could do the miracles that Jesus did if God did not send Him? Jesus healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, opened the ears of the deaf, enabled the crippled to walk, cast out demons, and even raised the dead to life again. And Jesus was doing the work the Father sent Him into the world to do — He was preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and then going to the cross to atone for the sins of all.

Jesus’ hearers did not hear God’s voice or see His form because they did not recognize Jesus, the very Son of God in human flesh, who had come into this world to redeem them. Not only did God the Father testify of Jesus at His baptism and again later on the Mount of Transfiguration that He is the beloved Son of God (Matt. 3:17; 17:5), but the Scriptures, given by inspiration of God — the same Scriptures they searched and studied — testified of Jesus, of His person and His work, but they did not believe.

Jesus’ words were true: “You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (v. 40). And, of course, these words of Jesus still ring true today. We have heard of Jesus’ miracles and His teaching. The Scriptures we hear and study testify of Him that He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” “No one comes to the Father except through” Him (John 14:6) — He is the Son of God and the only way of salvation! But do we repent of our sins and look to Jesus and His cross in faith that He indeed has atoned for our sins, that in Him we have redemption and forgiveness, that through faith in His name, we have the everlasting joys of heaven?

If we don’t come to Jesus, we do not have life but will be condemned and cast out of His kingdom when He comes again to judge the living and the dead. Now is the time to hear and heed the witness of God concerning His Son and listen to Jesus!

Grant that I hear and heed the testimony of Your Word, O God, that I repent of my sins and look to Jesus and His cross in faith that I may have life and not be condemned on the day of Christ’s return. In His name, I pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart will rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be on us, just as we hope in You.” Psalm 33:20-22

Rather than placing our hope and confidence in the plans of men and of nations, believers place their hope and trust in the LORD, who created the heavens and the earth with His almighty Word and still preserves them (cf. Psalm 33:6-9).

The Levites professed this in Nehemiah 9:5-6 when they said: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Let them bless Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all. And the host of heaven worships You.”

And, it is as the psalmist writes in Psalm 33:10-11; 16-19: “The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations; He restrains the purposes of the people. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations. … No king is saved by a great army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; it will not deliver by its great strength. The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”

Therefore, we believers wait on the LORD and trust in Him to watch over us and keep us. We trust in Him to care for our every need. We rejoice in Him and His merciful goodness toward us.

And, above all, we pray with the psalmist (Psalm 33:22): “Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be on us, just as we hope in You.”

We know that we are sinful and unclean — that we deserve none of the blessings the LORD God showers upon us — and so we pray that God’s lovingkindness, His mercy, would be upon us. We pray that instead of dealing with us according to our sins and shortcomings, He would deal with us in grace, forgiving our sins and accepting us as His dear children.

And how can God do that? For the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ! Jesus lived a perfect and holy life in our stead in His thoughts, desires, words and deeds, and He went to the cross and suffered the just punishment for our sins, making full atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world, that God might deal with us in mercy and forgive our sins when we look to Jesus and His cross in faith.

“Jesus Christ the Righteous One … is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).

For Jesus’ sake, God’s lovingkindness and mercy are upon all who place their hope in Him and His sacrifice for the sins of the world. And, because of Jesus, our hope is not in vain!

“Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be on us, just as we hope in You.” Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“No king is saved by a great army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; it will not deliver by its great strength. The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:16-20

In what should we place our trust? Can a mighty army or powerful weapons of war save us from our enemies? Can we, by our own great strength, escape the assaults of those who would harm us and take away our property or life?

The Bible teaches us that it is foolish to trust in these things, for without the LORD’S help, we would all perish, no matter how great our strength or how powerful and sophisticated our weapons of war may be.

History shows us that the mightiest have fallen, and the Bible provides numerous examples of the LORD giving victory to the smallest and weakest of armies (cf. Judges 7; 1 Sam. 14; Gen. 14). Consider also what the LORD did for His people when He brought them into the land of Canaan. The walled and fortified cities could not stand against the armies of Israel because the LORD fought for His people.

Shall we place our trust in our own strength, in the guns in our homes, or in the mighty armies or sophisticated weaponry of our nation? Such would be vain and foolish, for no earthly strength can deliver us from our enemies if the LORD is not with us!

In what should we place our trust? God’s Word tells us: “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine” (Psalm 33:18-19).

Our trust should be in the LORD God who made the heavens and the earth, who “spoke, and it was done,” who “commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:6,9). Certainly, He who created all things by His almighty Word can protect and defend us against the greatest of enemies!

And the LORD promises to watch over those who honor and respect Him as their Maker and hope in His mercy. He has redeemed us in His Son, Jesus Christ, and His help and protection are upon those who trust in Him to mercifully forgive their sins for the sake of Christ’s blood shed for them on the cross.

God has delivered our souls from death by sending His Son to suffer death in our stead and rise again so that we might have spiritual and eternal life through faith in His name (cf. John 3:14-16; Col. 1:12ff.; Eph. 2:1ff.).

The Bible also says: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

Since God has so loved us that He sent His Son to redeem us and has adopted all who trust in Christ as His children and given them eternal salvation in His Son, will He not also protect and defend those who trust in Him against their enemies and provide for their earthly needs, even in times of shortage and famine? Certainly so! (Cf. Matt. 6:31-33.)

Therefore, with the Psalmist, we say it is vain and useless to place our trust in great numbers or strength; all of these have failed. But the LORD will never fail those who place their trust in Him! “Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield” (Ps. 33:20).

Dear LORD God, teach us to place our trust in You alone to grant us eternal salvation and to watch over and keep us in this life. In the name of Jesus our Savior, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He restrains the purposes of the people. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance.” Psalm 33:10-12

Whose purposes and plans will stand? We sometimes forget that when nations and people devise plans and policies that oppose the will of the LORD God, who created the heavens and the earth, they will ultimately fail (cf. Gen. 11:1-9; Psalm 2). It is as the psalmist writes: “The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He restrains the purposes of the people.”

Thus, the attempts of our own rulers to throw off the Bible and its truths will ultimately fail. When our own people rebel against the God who has revealed Himself to us in the Bible, He restrains their purposes and will judge them for their erring ways.

On the other hand, “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.” God’s will and His purposes will stand forever. His plans to judge this world will come to pass — no one will escape His judgment! And His plans to grant pardon and forgiveness to all who flee for mercy to Christ Jesus and His cross and place their faith in Him will also be fulfilled in all generations.

Despite the attempts of people and rulers to silence the preaching of the Gospel, it continues to sound forth; and people, by the gracious working of God’s Spirit through His Word, continue to come to faith in Jesus. They trust in God to forgive all their sins and count them righteous in His eyes for the sake of Jesus’ holy life in their stead and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all.

Even though people and nations refuse to believe it, Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. He will establish an eternal kingdom in which only righteousness dwells, and all who trust in Christ as their Savior will live forever with Christ in this kingdom. But those who reject Christ and continue to oppose Him and His Word will be cast out and suffer His wrath and punishment forever. They will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his evil angels (cf. John 3:18, 36; Rev. 21:8).

Yes, it is true: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance.” It is indeed a blessing to trust in the LORD and to believe His Word, and the nations and peoples who do so will be blessed. God watches over and protects His people in this life, and He grants to them the eternal joys of heaven in the age to come!

However, the nations and peoples who reject Him and His Word forfeit God’s care and blessing and bring upon themselves God’s curse and judgment! Sad to say, we now see this happening in our own nation and land. Unless we as a people repent and turn back to the LORD and His Word, things will only continue to grow worse.

We thank You, O God, for ruling over all things, frustrating the plans of the wicked, and establishing Your purposes. Despite the opposition of this world, You sent Your Son to redeem us and win for us salvation through faith in His name. You continue to reach out to the world with Your Word and call Your chosen ones to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus and His cross. Grant that we turn from our erring ways to You in faith and partake of Your mercy and Your everlasting blessings for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He puts the depths in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6-9

When we consider God’s creation, we have every reason to fear and honor the LORD God, who made all.

The LORD God spoke the word and called all things into being. He simply said, “Let there be,” and “there was” (cf. Gen. 1).

It is amazing to remember that “by the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.”

He laid out the heavens and all the stars. He spoke the word; they came into being! By His word, they continue to exist. “He … upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3).

And who formed the seas and created the depths? It is the LORD God who created the heavens and the earth.

It is as stated in Nehemiah 9:6: “You alone are the LORD. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all. And the host of heaven worships You.”

And the psalmist calls upon us to honor and praise this God for his amazing works. As the psalmist says, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Do you fear the LORD and stand in awe of Him? Do You give Him the honor due unto His name for creating the heavens and all that is in them — for stretching out the vast universe and placing the stars in it and preserving it all? The more we learn about the universe and its stars and galaxies, the more reason we have to stand in awe of our Creator!

And how do we fear and honor Him? We acknowledge Him as our Maker, and we humble ourselves before Him. We accept His Word to us and repent of our sinful and rebellious ways, looking in faith to the redemption He provided for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous demands of God’s law for us and then took upon Himself our punishment that we might be pardoned, forgiven, and restored to fellowship and communion with God, our Maker, through faith in Christ Jesus and His cross.

Almighty God, we stand in awe of Your great power and wisdom. You created the heavens and stretched them out as Your fingerwork. You also created the world and everything in it. You spoke, and it came to be! By Your Word, all stand fast! You gather the waters together into the seas; You store them in the depths. Forgive us for failing to recognize Your great power and glory and to honor You as our God and Maker. Forgive us for the sake of the Son, Christ Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again so that we might trust in Him and receive mercy. In His name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]