"Is"

    The last time I did some ciphering, the world "seems" was 60% larger than the word "is" (in their number of letters).  In the life of faith, this proportion plays out in similar measure.

   "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

    "Righteous judgment" may be defined as the Word of God.  It declares that which actually is.  "Appearance", conversely, constitutes the way things seem.  As we live our lives, that which seems to be true often looms large in our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.  God's "is", on the other hand, presents itself quietly with the "still, small voice" long ago heard by the prophet (I Kings 19:12).  "We walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).  Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ requires the sensitivity and courage to make our stand based on the still and the small of "Thy Word is truth" rather than the boisterous noise and gaudy neon lights of "seem".  Indeed, anyone who ever sneers at salvation by faith and the subsequent life lived through Christ as being "easy believism" has never actually tried the real thing.

   The Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.  It sometimes seems, however, that He still lies in the tomb.  Apply these statements to the everyday, practical realities of life.  Apply them to the realities of this day, and of this very moment.  God's "is" quietly speaks its truth to our hearts.  The "seems" of the world, the devil, and the flesh, however, gleam and scream with sights and sounds that appeal to our senses and immediate mental and emotional responses.   "Is" or "seems"?  Righteous judgment or appearance?  The choice is always ours, the choices of faith in the life of faith.  May we join the Psalmist and the New Testament writer in their unequivocal affirmations of the "is"…

"Thy Word is true from the beginning, and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever."

(Psalm 119:160)

"He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

(Hebrews 11:6)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Godliness with contentment is great gain.

(I Timothy 6:6)