BJU Press Blog

Stewart Custer

MARVELOUS

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It is easy to see how marveling can be a precursor to worship. Luke 4:32 tells us that the response of Jesus’ listeners to His words was that “they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” Marveling is not something we do while multitasking. It engages the observer’s full attention and evokes an emotional response. When last did you or I stop to marvel at God’s gracious words or works?

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“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works” (Psalm 9:1). “Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city” (Psalm 31:21). “Remember his marvellous works that he hath done” (Psalm 105:5a). “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22–23). “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God” (1 Peter 2:9–10). “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 15:3).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: Remember His marvellous works.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (June 8 reading).]

LOVE

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It certainly goes without saying that Christ’s coming to earth brought us the most vivid picture of love that the world has ever seen. But it was when He left and returned to the halls of heaven that we received the power to exercise His love. Love has first place in the list of His fruits of the Spirit. It is for the believers to give and to enjoy.

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The Lord said, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2). “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1:22). “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light” (1 John 2:10). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: Walk in love as Christ has loved us.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (June 1 reading).]

LIGHT

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Life on earth began with and is sustained by light. When God said, “Let there be light,” He bore testimony to us that He is the only source of light and life. The apostle John declares in 1 John 1:5 “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

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God said, “Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). “In thy light shall we see light” (Psalm 36:9). “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me” (Psalm 43:3). “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). “Ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Golden thought: The Lord is my light.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (May 25 reading).]

LAMB

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Only one man has ever justly presented himself as both shepherd and lamb─the God-man, Christ Jesus. As the Lamb without spot or blemish, He alone can be both the keeper of His sheep and the worthy sacrifice for their redemption. God tells us to “behold the Lamb.” In doing so, we find nothing wanting.

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“And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm” (Isaiah 40:11). “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). “John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19). “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. . . .  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him” (Revelation 22:1, 3).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: Behold the Lamb of God!

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (May 18 reading).]

KINDNESS

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If any single attribute would have set the Lord Jesus apart as He walked this earth, it surely would have been His consistent kindness. Since the fall of man, selfishness has eclipsed kindness until we are quite surprised to see the latter. Kindness quickly singles out the Christian in a jaded world and causes the unbeliever to turn a curious eye.

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“Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city” (Psalm 31:21). Solomon says of the wise woman, “In her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26). “Turn unto the Lord your God: for he is . . . of great kindness” (Joel 2:13). “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, . . . kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12). “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:4–5).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: God showed me His marvelous kindness.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (May 11 reading).]