Reporting to the Master

I have some thoughts on Mark 6:30 that I wish to convey to you.

Mark 6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

Our Lord had sent out His disciples to preach, to heal, to raise the dead, and to cast out devils (MAR 6:7; MAT 10:5-8). The disciples did as they were instructed. Now in our verse above we see those disciples coming to our Lord and reporting to him what they had done and had taught. I see here a great principle we need to incorporate into our lives.

We are certainly familiar with telling the Lord our sins, the things we do wrong. But do we also tell the Lord the things we do and say that are good, that are in obedience to His commandments? For example, when the prophet Isaiah informed King Hezekiah that he was going to die, Hezekiah confessed to God the good that he had done in his life.

Isaiah 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Or consider the prayer of David. Observe in the bold print David’s report to God of the good he had done.

Psalms 26:1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

Or consider the example of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 13:10 And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.
11 Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
12 Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.
13 And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.

In the world of business, it is expected that men give an account to their superiors as to what they have done with the responsibility and resources they have been given. It is no less true in the realm of service to God. In the great Day of Judgment we shall all give an account of ourselves to God.

Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

It would be a good idea for us all to get a head start by doing that know. Like the disciples, learn to report to your Lord all things, both what you have done, and what you have taught. In his comments on Mark 6:30, G. Campbell Morgan said it well: “Regularly to do this would be to make us more than ever careful in all our doing, and all our teaching.”

And, now, O Lord, I have written this devotional to impress upon my readers the importance of being accountable to Thee. Behold how I love these Thy people and how I yearn that they live unto Thee. Remember this good deed that I have done and wipe it not out. Through Jesus Christ our Lord I pray. Amen.

Omnipresence

I skipped sending a devotional to you last week. Some weeks I am too busy to do one. Also, I do not want to overload you with e-mail. Some of you get so much e-mail that these devotionals could become just one more thing to read, which could in turn reduce their effectiveness.

My thoughts today are upon the omnipresence of God, that attribute of God that makes God present everywhere at all times. The Psalmist David describes this attribute of God in the following verses.

Psalms 139:1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 ¶Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

David begins by dealing with God’s omniscience, the fact that God knows everything. Then he blends the thought of God’s omniscience with the thought of God’s omnipresence. It follows that if God is everywhere all the time, then God always knows everything that is happening, because He is there to see it happening. Because God is everywhere all the time, there is no place I can get away from Him. And since He is everywhere at all times, there is nothing I can think, say, or do that He is not aware of. It is as God said in Jeremiah 23:24:

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

The awareness that God is present everywhere should have two effects on us. First, as children of God for Whom God cares as our heavenly Father, it should bring us great comfort to know that God is omnipresent. Since God is everywhere all the time, God is always there to help and relieve us. We are never beyond God’s reach in any place or situation we may be in. Wherever we are, God is there. But it is also true that wherever our enemies are, God is also there to restrain them. Our security lies in the fact that God is everywhere at all times.

And God’s omnipresence should have another effect upon us. It should serve as a deterrent to sin and a motive to obedience. Whenever you are tempted to sin, consider that God is right there watching your thoughts, hearing your words, and seeing your actions. How many sins we would avoid if we more diligently maintained an awareness of God’s presence! Are there sins that you commit that you would not commit if you knew that your brethren or your pastor were watching? If so, then why do you commit them when God is watching? Is God less than your brethren or your pastor? Or is it that you do not really believe God is present everywhere at all times watching everything you do? Just remember this:

Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

We do well to continually remind ourselves as did righteous Job.

Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

The fact that sin is committed in the very presence of God makes it all the worse. Observe how the prophet Nathan charged David with his sin:

2 Samuel 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

What David did, he did in the sight of God. When David confessed his sin, he acknowledged that he had sinned in God’s sight, which served to justify God’s verdict against him.

Psalms 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

How does one claim innocence before the person that was there and saw him commit the crime?

The awareness that God is ever present seeing all we think, say, and do, should spur us to avoid sin and obey God’s commandments. This is just the effect this awareness had on the Psalmist.

Psalms 119:168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

I close with this reminder: God is everywhere at all times; yea, God is here right now watching me as I write this and watching you as you read it. Be aware and beware!