by Eric Holter on February 10, 2005
“My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.”
Proverbs 24:13
This year my wife discovered and introduced me to at a terrific show on the Food Network called “Good Eats” It’s a cooking show. It’s informative and instructional like other cooking shows but it is so much better because its host, Alton Brown, provides extremely interesting historical and scientific information about the process of cooking. On top of that, the show is very entertaining, fun, silly, and captivating.
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by Eric Holter on August 5, 2004
“…And the fast of the … months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts…”
Zechariah 8:19
John’s disciples asked Jesus one day why His disciples did not fast. In essence Jesus’ answer was that while He was with them the feast was at hand – it’s ludicrous to fast when a feast is at hand. But Jesus knew that He was going to His father and that this temporary season of feasting would end for his disciples and that yes – then, they would fast.
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by Eric Holter on July 10, 2004
“Thy testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul observes them.
The unfolding of Thy words gives light;”
Psalms 119:129-130
The Bible is chock-full of references to light. From the beginning of Genesis of all the way through, God uses light as a means of describing and identifying Himself to us. The Apostle John sums it up in 1 John 1: 5 “God is light.” Jesus pointed out one fundamental characteristic of light in the “sermon on the mount.” Light shines forth, reveals, draws attention to, illuminates, and focuses attention. When a play begins the house lights are turned down and often one very strong light is centered on the stage calling all attention to just one person. The Bible is such a spotlight, it draws attention to one character – it shines intensely on Jesus Christ. As thoroughly saturated as the Bible is in its references to light, so thoroughly does it call our attention to its main subject – God. God never stops calling attention to Himself all throughout His Word.
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by Eric Holter on July 5, 2004
“Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.”
“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:14-15, 17
At, first, when I read verses like these in Zephaniah, verses that extol me to shout with joy, or to rejoice and exalt with all my heart, at first my heart rises with the possibility of such an astounding and consuming joy in God. Quickly following this spark, however, sadness often comes because my heart, in fact, is not like this. Such exuberance of joy and gladness displayed in such active expressions as shouting for joy are not typical of my emotional currents. Yet the occasion that calls for such joyful, glad celebration has been more completely delivered to me than it had been for those to whom these verses were originally written. They originally promised a physical deliverance from armies of oppressors. I have been given a greater deliverance; I have been delivered from sin. All God’s judgments have been thoroughly taken away from me. He has utterly defeated my enemies. Why shouldn’t my heart rejoice and shout joyfully since I have received, in full, these promises?
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by Eric Holter on April 20, 2004
“Great are the works of Lord;
They are studied by all who delight in them.”
Psalms 111:2
God’s works reveal God to us. As we seek out, inquire of, investigate, and carefully study God’s works we will come to rejoice in the glory of God. Such study can never be merely academic. Rather, it is like the investigation of an archeologist who is compelled and captivated by solving an ancient mystery. It is like Indiana Jones risking all to lay hold of a golden treasure. Careful inquiry into the works of God is a doorway to beholding the awesome glory and beautiful wonders of God Himself. God’s works exist for this very reason, to make known His power, His righteousness, His grace, His compassion, His holiness, His justice and His truth. As we examine His works we come to discover Him, and O what an overwhelming delight, to discover the living God!
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by Eric Holter on March 20, 2004
“Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually.
Remember His wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth,”
“He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
They afflicted his feet with fetters;
he himself was laid in irons;
Until the time that his word came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.
Psalm 105: 3-5, 17-19
Among God’s wonderful stories, which display His glory and make my heart glad by demonstrating His strength, is the story of Joseph in prison. I can imagine Joseph sitting in chains, unable to leave his cell or move about freely. His feet were afflicted in his fetters, he was in misery. Day after day, month after month, year after year he looked at the same dreary walls. His heart must have sunk within him. He must have cried out “Why?” “Why am I stuck here, why must I sit here, chained in this cell?”
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by Eric Holter on November 25, 2003
Pierced by the Word, John Piper. Chapter 1 “Jesus is the one being for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act.”
The God-centeredness of God, his self exalting purposes and works are clearly and constantly evident in Scripture. That God does all things for the praise of his glory is abundantly clear. Logically, it makes sense that God places infinite value on that which is infinitely valuable, that is Himself. So God is supremely and absolutely self exalting.
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by Eric Holter on November 8, 2003
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
I am to do works that are seen by men. There are a host of dangers in obeying this command, not the least of which is doing anything for praise from men rather than praise from God. The solution to this problem is here in the verse, do these good works “in such a way” that they bring glory and praise to God. How do I do this? If I consider doing a good work, for instance giving food to the poor, I can potentially have any number of motivations for this work that do not have anything to do with God. I can be trying to salve my conscience. I might want to be seen as a good person. If I were politically motivated, it could be a means of building my community service resume. I could also be truly concerned for the condition of poverty and desire to relieve it, without any view to God’s glory in it. With so many possible motivations in my heart behind a particular good work, how are others who might see this good work to see God’s glory in it, and give praise to the Father? There needs to be a way (in such a way) that can distinguish every good work I may do from the many good works done every day by people who care nothing about God. My works need to be different. They need to be done in such a way that God’s glorious nature is manifest, seen, and praised.
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