Yes, I wrote the title of this entry that way on purpose. Your first thought most likely was that I'd be expounding on the "mark of the beast". Well, in a way. Satan never comes up with anything original and operates almost exclusively by copying godly patterns in order to deceive. For some reason he's getting the most press on marking the back of the hand and the forehead, but in truth it is an imitation of God's work. It's God who first establishes that His people are identified by a mark on those places, which represent "these words of mine on your heart and on your soul". We are to be so marked by His Word.
(more…)

"Fear", "serve", "cling", "swear". It's an interesting list, isn't it? The most mature Christian role models in our life probably immediately come to mind when we think of someone who truly swears by the name of God and clings to Him. But they didn't achieve these qualities instantly. The path to their acquisition first wind through fearing (i.e., respecting and revering) God and serving Him and Him alone. The natural result of biblically reverential service is to cling ever harder to Him, to trust in no other name but His. All of these combine to produce a result of both faith and knowledge in one's life: "He is your God". But there's also another result that we may not have consciously set out to achieve, and yet must also be present: "He is your praise".
(more…)

"He humbled you and let you be hungry". What?!?! That can't be right, can it? God ALLOWED hunger? And even when He provided earthly nourishment by giving the manna, He still had another reason behind it? It would appear that God is concerned not just with the feeding of physical life on earth, but with the eternal soul as well.
(more…)

What exactly does it mean to "put the Lord your God to the test"? The reference to Massah provides the context, referring to those times in the wilderness when the Israelites began to hunger and thirst, and thereby inferred that God was not going to meet their needs. They reached the limits of both their patience and endurance, and essentially defined whether or not God was faithful. If He met there needs by such-and-such time, then He was faithful; otherwise He was not. Their "test" came down to a measurement of whether God acted according to their deadline.
(more…)

What are the characteristics of the godly human heart that God identifies as the most important? Reverence and respect for God because of Who He is—"that they would fear Me"—and obedience because of what He says—"and keep all My commandments always". Isn't something missing here? If we were to identify the best qualities of our children, family, or friends, would the first two mentions be, "They respect and obey me"? Or would we measure such relationships first and foremost by how much they love us?
(more…)

One of the methods proven to render the Word of God ineffective is to change it by adding something to it or by taking something away. The Pharisees are the classic example of adding to the Word of God, piling on layers of additional meaning and definition until it ultimately results in something entirely different. One example Jesus gave is that their myriad additions had actually resulted in the erroneous teaching that the commandment to honor one's parents could be set aside. One of the actual commandments literally spoken and written by God Himself was nullified through their endless additions to the Law. (Mark 7:9-13) The Sadducees are the classic example of taking away from God's Word, treating it so casually as to come to believe that there was no resurrection, no life after death, no heaven or hell. (Luke 20:27) One method exaggerates God's Word into something never intended, the other deflates it into something not to be taken seriously.
(more…)

It seems that we often do not see the process as equally important to the goal it's working towards. Intellectually we know it takes a lot of practice to become a competitive athlete, a lot of work to be professionally successful, or significant commitment to achieve the ends of just about any project of any type, but there seems to be times when we just want to do away with the process and go straight to the end. But those who are successful ultimately always praise the process that allowed them to achieve the result. In reaping the rewards of the goals, they come to appreciate the path and effort it took to get there. A repeated biblical teaching is that the process isn't just as equally important as the goal, but is often MORE important.
(more…)