The Father's Grace

Christian Devotionals and Podcasts
by
J R Dickey

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Warning From Prison

2 Tim 3:1-5

As Paul was in prison, he looked to the future and sent to his young protégé, Timothy, the following admonition:

But know this, that in the last days perilous (used in describing wild animals, raging sea, and the Gadarene demoniacs) times will come:

For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Tim 3:1-5)

Doesn’t sound very uplifting, does it? It’s a list of spiritual failures and there is a stern warning at the end. This is what I think is important for us to understand. You see, many commentators have treated this prophecy/prediction as speaking of the degenerating of the entire human race but I don’t think that is the point. Now, I can heartily agree that the societies of man are in a downward spiral, and they do exhibit these negative traits more and more but the last three statements make it clear that he’s not referring to people in general but rather specific people within the Church.

“lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” clearly indicates people with a choice – that “rather” is very telling. Those outside the Church are not instructed to love God.

“having a form of godliness but denying its power” cannot be referring to the world so to speak as they have no “form of godliness” but those in the Church indeed practice every Sunday (indeed every day) having a “form of godliness” and we have often seen it. I suggest that the power of godliness is godly love which is sometimes in short supply.

“And from such people turn away!” cannot be talking about the people of the world otherwise we would have to terminate the Great Commission. Jesus said, "But go and learn what [this] means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Mat 9:13) and, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Mark 2:17)

Paul speaks to this in another letter:

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." (1 Cor 5:9-13)

With that being said, I’m convinced that this “last days” passage is warning us about certain segments of the Church. And when you consider what Jesus said to the last days Laodicean Church in the Revelation, it makes sense:

"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—" (Rev 3:14-17)

With this all in mind, let’s consider the list of failures in the last days church above.

“lovers of themselves” – many churches today engage in many different ways in trying to satisfy the insatiable self-centered appetite. In fact, you can consider this as the underlying characteristic of the whole list as it is the driving motivation behind the flesh or the ‘fruit of the flesh’.

Of course, it is the complete opposite of the fruit of the Spirit which we find in Gal 5:22,23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Notice, Spiritual love heads this list just as self-love heads the failure list. Thus, it is clear that the last days church is basically going through the Christian motions in the flesh – they have left Christ outside. So, if the warning is to turn away from those within the Church having the characteristics of spiritual failure, where do we turn in these last days? In closing, I’ll quote Jesus as He finished speaking to the ‘Church Age’:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' " (Rev 3:20-22)

TURN TO JESUS, TRUST IN JESUS

Broken

Rom 8:18

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Co 11:24)

There are a lot of people in our societies who are truly broken and then there are many who, absorbed within their own self obsession are always playing ‘the victim card’ for everyone to pity them. Of course, broken people often are the victims of a terrible event or circumstance.

And there are so many kinds of brokenness partly because our societies, our faith, our relationships are themselves so broken. Often, it tends to isolate us emotionally.

Jesus knew that in His own brokenness He was truly alone among men; He was forsaken for us. The Psalmist spoke prophetically of Him –

Reproach has broken my heart,

And I am full of heaviness;

I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;

And for comforters, but I found none. (Psa 69:20)

But Christ also said, “… He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” (Jn 8:29) So while men rejected Him, Jesus took comfort in the Father’s presence which was continuous until the cross where He carried all our sins and as a result was alienated from the Father, temporarily. There, He cried out - And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mat 27:46)

That’s meaningful for us because we know that His ultimate brokenness- being forsaken by the Father was swallowed up in victorious resurrection from the grave. He busted the chains of death and depression and defeat for us all.

And as a result, we have such wonderful promises as:

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart

and saves such as have a contrite spirit. (Psa 34:18)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise. (Psa 51:17)

He knows the pain of brokenness and He knows you. If you will believe in Him, what He did for all of us on Calvary and that He rose again, He will live within you and sustain you. In fact, it is in your brokenness that He will shine through.

As a matter of fact, there’s a story in the OT in Judges chapters six and seven that pictures this beautifully; it’s all about Gideon and I’ll paraphrase. While hiding in a winepress, the Angel of the Lord approached him and commissioned him to lead the army of Israel to defeat the hoards of Midianites and Amalekites who were invading. Gideon swallowed hard so to speak but obeyed. He amazingly gathered together 32,000 soldiers but God told him they were too many. Gideon ‘swallowed hard’ again (and again) until finally after sending most of the troops home, he was left with just 300 men.

All the masses of enemy troops were in the valley, like the sand by the sea, virtually innumerable. Well during the night, Gideon gave clay pots to all of his men which each held lit torches inside, he divided them into three groups of 100 and instructed them to surround the valley on the hills and upon his signal, break those pots and hold them high, sound their trumpets and shout ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’

Well, this crazy battle tactic worked as when they did this the hoards of the enemy in terrifying fear turned on each other and then fled wildly with the whole army of Israel in pursuit. The battle was won. The punch line here is that when the pots were broken, the light shined forth.

And that’s what can happen with us as well in our own brokenness – Jesus in us can shine forth if we let Him.

But that’s not the whole story. Brokenness can be a blessing, but brokenness is not the end. In the Gospel of John we read:

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, “Wilt thou be made whole?”

The impotent man answered him, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.”

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. (John 5:2-9)

You see, we are all broken. We are born broken – we are born in sin and born to die. Of course, we also experience things in life that can break us physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually. But God’s plan of redemption is to make us whole – not just better, not just repaired, not just refreshed, but whole, new, wonderfully new. And the kicker is that this redemption is not just for us, for mankind. It’s for the entirety of creation, seen and unseen, heaven and earth. The Bible says:

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." (Rev 21:3-5)

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. (Isa 65:17)

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2Pe 3:13)

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Rom 8:19-22)

You see, the whole story is the story of everything being made whole – in Christ. After turning away from the Promised Land in cowardice, the Hebrew nation wandered in the wilderness for 38 years and it was then Joshua (same name as Jesus) who led them in. Not coincidentally, that’s the same time that the lame man above had been sitting by the pool of Bethesda helplessly. In like manner, we are helpless to make ourselves whole, but brokenness is not our end, wholeness is, forever.

So be hopeful for you can trust Jesus and Father God and His Holy Spirit to do what they have promised to do – to make everything new and whole – all of creation, heaven and earth and all of us who live with Him (and IN Him!) It won’t be long. As Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings (brokenness) of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Ro 8:18)

Like Him

Rom 8:28-30

From the earliest days of mankind’s presence on earth, Satan has been working to convince us that God is withholding something from us.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

"but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:1-5)

The clear implication was that God did not want us to be like Him. A lie. Possibly born out of jealousy. For Satan himself pridefully wanted to be like God and it cost him.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [How] you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!

For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa 14:12-15)

But God has always intended just the opposite. We can see that in how He dealt with Adam and Eve as well as what He says about us who believe in His Son:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Rom 8:28-30)

Notice the past tense above. God knew the outcome from before the beginning. Of course, we didn’t. Adam may have thought, ‘This is tough, having to work so hard just to live.’ That’s because God cursed the ground for his sake. But as we all know, working hard was what Adam and many (if not all) of us need, to develop character and help us appreciate what we receive from the loving hand of God.

Eve learned to invest in her children, teaching them to reverence God and she learned the value of humility. When she was wanting to be like God initially, it may have been for different reasons but she was indeed, as a result of God’s judgement, learning godliness from her Maker.

In fact, most believers, if they were to list God’s character attributes would say – Holiness, perfection, kindness, forgiveness, and mercy and these very attributes are those He calls on us to embrace and manifest:

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Lev 11:45)

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph 4:32)

“Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luk 6:36)

That is, He’s telling us to be like Him. Unfortunately, even as believers we often still don’t ‘get’ Him – we get hung up on the power, the miracles, the radiant glory and we forget the most excellent things – the love, the mercy, the graciousness, that is the ‘Who attributes’ of His character as opposed to the ‘What’ attributes.

But that’s going to change because we have this promise:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

There are some who desire godliness or who try to manifest godliness out of pride – to be seen of men. But God wants us to be like Him in love, in mercy, in grace, in humility and so on. This is Who we will see then.

Sin-filled hearts of prideful men can only be impressed with power, radiant glory – that’s what knocked down the madman Saul who was seeking to persecute believers.

As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 9:3-5)

But humble, broken sinners like Mary are impressed with Who He is.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” (John 20:16,17)

You see, He is the radiant glory and the power but He is also the grace and mercy and love because He’s complete, He’s perfect and He calls us to be the same:

“Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:48)

And for that to be possible, He had to put on flesh, become one of us, experience the totality of being human and do so perfectly, completely without sin:

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Heb 2:17)

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb 4:15)

Yes, contrary to the devil’s lies, God does want us to be like Him, like His Son, and that is a complete, i.e. perfect package deal.

Being Small

Mat 18:3

You really can’t ‘do’ small. But this morning, I was impressed that ‘being’ small in your own estimation is something God can and will work with. So, what does ‘being small’ mean?

Well, first of all, it’s not really so much a physical characteristic. It’s not being tall or short or numerous or few. Rather it’s a character attribute that walks hand in hand with humility and lovingkindness.

It also goes with submission and obedience to the one you esteem greater than yourself. King Saul stood head and shoulders taller than all the rest of his countrymen, but when he ‘did his own thing without God’ Samuel the prophet said to him, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Sam 15:17) You see, the problem was Saul did not want to be small in anyone’s eyes.

Look around you. Everyone, yes virtually everyone has this same mindset naturally. I say virtually because once in a while someone with a unique character fashioned by hardship or trial develops the godly ‘being small or little’ attitude. The Psalmist had it. He wrote in Psalm 119, “ I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.” (Psa 119:141)

And then, of course, is the example of Christ - Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phi 2:5-8)

And though God is big, really big; His hand’s span stretches across the universe, He also expresses Himself to us surprisingly ‘small’ - for instance, in dealing with a dejected, depressed Elijah, “— and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)

You see, with God, there are no size hang ups. He’s perfectly at peace, perfectly God either way, big or small. But when he reaches out to us, it is often with the little things. Even in providing the heavenly manna in the desert wilderness with Israel, — And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. (Ex 16:14)

Of course, this foreshadows Jesus for He told his followers, “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:50,51)

Thus, it’s clear that ‘being small’ is a quality God uses. But it’s not just ‘being small’ but it’s the being period, being what God desires and that’s the difference between religion and a genuine relationship with Him.

Being is not the same as doing because being is God’s work, not ours. It goes all the way back to the beginning. God’s first command was a ‘be command’ - And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Gen 1:3) Then He followed with seven more - And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ... And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ... And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ... And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. ... And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (Gen 1:6, 9, 14-15, 22, 28)

So, when the Lord tells us, “…Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1Pe 1:16 KJV) He is NOT telling us to do anything but rather to allow Him to do His work in us, to submit to the work of His Spirit. I think ‘being small’ in my own estimation is in fact part of that submission.

Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 18:3) So ‘being small’ is a big deal; it’s a key to entering God’s kingdom.

Challenged

Job 1:12

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. (Eze 14:14)

This verse along with its companion, Eze 14:20, identify three notably righteous men in the Old Testament. For me, one of them is particularly interesting – Job. He is the only man in the Bible for whom we have a recorded challenge by Satan to God.

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

So, Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

"Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

"But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:8-11)

And amazingly, God accepted the challenge.

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So, Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:12)

Why? I’ll get to that, but first –

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" (Job 1:13 – 19)

In a single day, Job was devastated. Everything was taken from him including his beloved children. But Satan lost the challenge because:

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped.

And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. (Job 1 20-22)

But Satan wasn’t done with Job, and neither was God. Once again, he came before the Lord:

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause."

So, Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 2:3-5)

Challenge number two; and once again, God accepted:

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” (Job 2:6)

And for the next 37 chapters, poor Job suffers intensely. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)

His pain was so great that he cursed the day of his birth. On top of that, he was counselled by three ‘friends’ that his suffering was because of his abundant sin.

One of Job’s responses to them concerning God was, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:” which is a wonderful display of trust but then he added, “Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.” (Job 13:15) which was a display of why God accepted Satan’s challenge.

As righteous as Job was, God knew that there was something at work inside that needed to change. Not only that, but his trials produced a wonderful hope:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God,

Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

Repeatedly, Job groans and moans and yet he defends himself and his righteousness to his friends. Then finally, in chapter 38, God speaks directly to him:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” (Job 38:1-4)

After this God gave him an additional 52 questions that really put Job on the spot and to which he remained silent. Then God finished:

Moreover, the LORD answered Job, and said:

"Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it." (Job 40:1,2)

Dutifully, Job answered:

"Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.

Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further." (Job 40:4,5)

But God wasn’t not done:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

"Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:6-9)

And He followed with 18 more questions to Job as well as a short lecture on His power.

Job was overwhelmed and saw both God and himself in a new light. He meekly replied:

"I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.'

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:2-6)

And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

"Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." (Job 42:7,8)

So, Job’s friends did as God commanded. And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10)

What a story! So why did God accept the challenges and allow Job to suffer such anguish? Now, I don’t want to say I know because no one truly knows the mind of the Almighty. So, I’ll offer an observation.

It would appear like Job felt that he lived a righteous life and so he viewed his tragedy with some humility and some indignation. It also appeared that his indignation grew to the point of declaring, “Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”

But in the end, his ultimate declaration was, “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” And, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

So, in the end, Job came to the place of sincere humility and thus the true righteousness that God knew would come forth. So, once again, we have learned through blessed Job, the true nature of our Father – He loves us and is FOR us even when it seems convincingly that He’s not. As believers, we all have a mortal enemy who seeks to demean and destroy us and turn us against the Lord. But God knows us and knows what He’s doing in our lives, for this is true:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)

Third Day

Hos 6:2

Have you ever wondered why Jesus rose from the grave on the third day? Of course, the easy answer is because it was prophesied. But why did God choose three? Is it symbolic of the Trinity’s victory over evil, over death? I do think it has something to do with God Himself.

Let’s look at the mentions of “third day” in the scripture and see what we can glean:

So, the evening and the morning were the third day. (Gen 1:13) This is the first mention and if you look at what happened on the third day of creation, it clearly points to LIFE.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. (Gen 22:4) Abraham was told by God to go to Mt Moriah and there to sacrifice his son, his beloved son to the Lord. Abraham journeyed there and attempted to fulfill God’s command but was stopped by God’s Angel at the last instant. This mention then speaks to OBEDIANCE.

And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. (Gen 31:22) Jacob had spent many years in the deceitful, oppressive world of Laban. Then he decided to go home to his father’s house in the promised land. This mention then speaks to ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE.

Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. (Gen 34:25) Dinah had been taken captive, raped and then her brothers brought VENGENCE UPON THE EVIL.

Now it came to pass on the third day, [which was] Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. (Gen 40:20) Joseph, who is a prophetic type of Christ, was imprisoned in Egypt, the prophetic type of the world. During that time, two of Pharaoh’s servants were imprisoned with him. Soon, they both had dreams that Joseph interpreted for them – the butler was to be released but the baker got death. This speaks to divine JUDGEMENT (symbolically) that happened on the third day.

Then Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God: (Gen 42:18) If you remember the story of Joseph, you know that his brothers heartlessly sold him into bondage and slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. After his miraculous rise to virtually supreme power, his family was forced to journey as well to Egypt to obtain food due to a severe famine. He recognized them but they were clueless about him. In their eyes, he was the PM of all Egypt second only to Pharaoh. Now, Joseph wanted to test them, so he was tough on them and threw them in prison for three days, then on the third day he brought them out and let them all go except the most violent brother Simeon. He told them to bring back their youngest brother. This mention speaks to TESTING AND MERCY.

Now, there are other mentions which speak to AWESOMENESS OF THE ALMIGHTY, HOLINESS, PURIFICATION, A COVENANT OF PEACE, AND REDEMPTION. But this last verse is a powerful prophecy:

After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. (Hos 6:2) Clearly, this speaks to the RESURRECTION and note that it is in the plural. Hosea was praying for Israel, so this speaks to Christ, His church and the Jewish people as well.

So, you can see that “third day” has some powerful linkage to the overall plan of God. As such I think Christ rose on the third day because that is in total harmony with the rest of scripture and proclaims loudly Almighty God, Lord of All, Three in One, Holy, Holy, Holy.

Days of Noah

Mat 24:37

When asked about His return, Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Mat 24:37) In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood:

Exploding population (Genesis 6:1).
Sexual perversion (Genesis 6:2).
Demonic activity (Genesis 6:2).
Constant evil in the heart of man (Genesis 6:5).
Widespread corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11).

Thanks to David Guzik.

As many forms of perversion are pressed upon us from the media and the government, in schools, from ‘doctors’, even in some churches, we must remember that we were told it would happen. So what about those days of Noah? Let’s take a look at Genesis.

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. (Gen 6:1,2)

There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Gen 6:3)

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5)

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (Gen 6:11,12)

The phrase sons of God clearly refers to angelic creatures when it is used the three other times in the Old Testament (Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7). The translators of the Septuagint translated sons of God as angels. Those ancient translators clearly thought sons of God referred to angelic beings, not to people descended from Seth.

Jude 6 tells us of the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own habitation. Jude goes on (Jude 7) to tell us they sinned in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh. Here in Genesis 6, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, there was an unnatural sexual union.

We can deduce why Satan sent his angels to intermarry (either directly or indirectly) with human women. Satan tried to pollute the genetic pool of mankind with a satanic corruption, to put something like a genetic virus to make the human race unfit for bringing forth the Seed of the woman — the Messiah — promised in Genesis 3:15.

Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually: This says a lot. It means there was no aspect of man’s nature not corrupted by sin. If you look at crimes per 100k, it would appear that it is relatively stable but that’s an intentional deception as the total crimes have tracked with the total population which has more than tripled worldwide in the last 70 years.

Moral depravity: According to a recent Gallup poll, 54% of Americans say the state of moral values in the country is “poor”—a record number. Some 83% say they believe morals are in decline. They aren’t alone: Survey data from a study published this week in Nature suggest that people in more than 60 nations share a general sense that people are less moral now than they used to be. The study, based on more than 12 million surveys administered to people around the world between 1949 and 2021, argues that people have felt this way for at least 70 years.

Evil thoughts continually: Overall, recent data shows that the U.S. experienced its largest-ever recorded annual increase in homicides in 2020, compared to 2019, according to statistics from the FBI. The homicide rate rose nearly 30% in 2020 and increased again by 5% in 2021.

Now, I could go on and on, but we all know that these stats are only the tip of the iceberg. We have all seen how addiction to technology produced tools and media have isolated us and mutated our thinking. We are all revved up, angry and impatient, utterly and totally self-absorbed.

I’ve lived, worked and or traveled in almost 40 countries and I can tell you, these things are more or less ubiquitous. Our societies do resemble those described in scripture as being in Noah’s day.

Timing

John 11:5,6,14,15

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (John 11:5,6)

Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.” (John 11:14,15)

Now, most of you know this story. Jesus knew this little family of two sisters and a brother, and He cared deeply for them. The incident is the seventh miracle of John’s Gospel.

Why did He wait? There’s a theory out there; it goes possibly, Jesus waited four days because He knew the Jewish superstition of that day that said a soul stayed near the grave for three days, hoping to return to the body. Therefore, it was accepted that after four days there was absolutely no hope of resuscitation. Clearly, this theory is conjecture – it comes from the ‘tradition of Ben Kaphra’ which is traced to about 200 years after Calvary and could easily have been invented by the Jews in response to their inability to explain Christ’s resurrection – i.e. that He wasn’t really dead.

So, I’m definitely not inclined to buy into the Ben Kaphra theory but it is obvious that Jesus was attuned to the timing of this miracle. He specifically waited two days after He heard the news and arrived on the fourth day after Lazarus died. The text makes it clear that He cared intensely. The delay was not the result of apathy.

In fact, He was definitely not apathetic -He cared so much “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” (John 11:33) “The verb rendered ‘groaned’ is an unusual one. It signifies a loud inarticulate noise, and its proper use appears to be for the snorting of horses. When used of men it usually denotes anger.” (Morris)

It means that Jesus wasn’t so much sad at the scene surrounding the tomb of Lazarus. It’s more accurate to say that Jesus was angry. (Gusik)

So, He cared and He arrived exactly when He intended. In John’s Gospel there are three times when someone dear to Jesus asked Him to do something (see also John 2:1-11 and 7:1-10). In each of these three cases, Jesus responded in the same way – He waited. But this is the time He waited a specific amount of time.

Why the wait?

Clearly, the Lord does things on His schedule, not ours. He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, hailed as King exactly on time, on “this your day” (see our lesson of that name.) When he knew Lazarus was dead, He waited two days and when He raised him from the grave, it had been four days.

Now, as I prayed about this and asked the Lord for insight, He reminded me of the verse, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Pet 3:8) And thus, I wondered if the reason for the delay was a picture, a prophetic picture. I’ll explain and you can decide if you agree or not.

Jesus waited two days after He knew in the Spirit that Lazurus had died. Now Laz was someone Jesus loved but He waited two days before responding. Now, the name Lazarus means “who is helped by God” and this is amplified by the following verses:

Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psa 70:1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.

Psa 71:12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.

Psa 109:26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:

Psa 146:5 Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

Isa 41:10, 13 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ... For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Could this be a picture of Christ waiting for about 2000 years to help Israel? To raise them from the dead so to speak as in Ezekiel 37? Of course that passage portrays the rebirth of the nation as a whole so what about their resurrection at the “end of days” as spoken in Daniel 12?

If you consider the Jewish or Hebrew people beginning with Abram and accounting for the time until the present day you have around 4000 years or four prophetic days. That is you can link both the two days and the four days to the raising of Lazarus which could picture the raising of the Jewish people – see Dan 12:2,3,9,10,13.

So I suggest that if indeed we see the second coming of Christ in the not too distant future, it could be that He waited to help Lazarus in order to picture and to fulfill prophecy concerning God’s good will for Israel. What do you think?

The Fellowship

Phil 3:10

I’ve been leading a small group of newer believers and we’re going over foundational lessons on our mutual faith. The other day, one of them posed an honest question. I’ll tell you what it was and how I answered. We were discussing why Jesus and only Jesus could pay the debt for all our sins. I’ve written about that in another posting entitled One Perfect Man. Anyway, he asked, “Why didn’t God the Father just come Himself?” Good question.

I answered, “He did,” and talked about the wonderful mystery of the Trinity, three in one and I also mentioned how Jesus responded to the disciple Philip when he said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?” (John 14:8,9)Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?

But something happened yesterday, when I was ‘at the altar’. I was contemplating the love of God and He reminded me of something very, very special to me personally because He shared it with me not long after my youngest son went home to be with Him just two days after his 17th birthday. In the depths of grief, I heard Him say to me, “Now we share a very special fellowship – the fellowship of suffering.”

Paul wrote something similar, speaking of Christ, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Phi 3:10) But I knew that it was God the Father, Abba, Who had spoken to me. And, it struck me yesterday that sending His Son was a demonstration of the greatest love ever.

I remembered that when Gabriel was on the verge of passing that I earnestly asked God that if possible, could He take me instead and Abba showed me that knows that sentiment.

So yes, God was present in the Son – it’s called the Incarnation - so He did come Himself. Jesus was fully God and fully man. But all the cosmos knows that in sending Jesus, His beloved Son to suffer and die for us, God demonstrated a love for us that was only equaled by Christ’s love for Him. It is a love above all loves indescribable and eternal.

If you have lost a child, you may relate to this and if not, I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you that God loves us more than we can ever imagine not because of us but simply because it’s Who He is.

The Scars

John 20:24-28

You know, Jesus, after His resurrection, kept His scars, the piercings in His body. We know that because of what He said to Thomas who at first doubted His resurrection.

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing.”

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24-28)

Of course, we know He didn’t have to keep those scars. He chose to do so. Clearly, we see in the scriptures that after His resurrection, He had the ability to appear any way He chose. For instance, on the road to Emmaus or on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

But why? What’s the purpose or picture?

The Old Testament spoke of them:

For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet; (Psa 22:16)

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zech 12:10)

These and other scriptures pictured that Christ would be crucified but why keep the scars?

To answer this, we need to dig some more into the OT law and history. First, we need to review the story of Passover. You remember that as the Hebrew people were about to be delivered out of Egyptian bondage and slavery, they were instructed by the Lord through Moses and Aaron to kill a lamb – to each family a lamb – and to place its blood on the two door posts and the cross beam above.

Of course, most of us are aware that this preceded the judgement of death of the firstborn that came on all of Egypt and where the blood was placed and the fact that it was from a spotless lamb pictured the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary Who saved us all from eternal death. The blood was placed on the doorposts as a picture of the Cross – where His body was pierced. Go ahead and read Exodus 12 for the details.

Then turn to Exodus 21.

“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.”

“But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.” (Ex 21:2-6)

What this shows is that the servant who paid the debt owed to his master, if he chose to remain connected to his family and in service to his master would choose to be pierced and to make that linkage crystal clear, that piercing took place in the same place as the Passover lamb’s blood – on the doorpost. And it was a scar that he kept as a sign of his commitment.

In the same way, Jesus, who said he came in the form of a servant (Lu 22:27), paid our debt of sin. Being pierced for us because He chose to remain connected to us and to forever be in relationship/service to our Father, thus He sits at the right hand of the Almighty. And He kept those scars as a sign of His commitment, an eternal commitment. Hallelujah!

Discipleship

Matt 7:13,14

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”

“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mat 7:13,14)

We need to understand that this life as a sincere Christian disciple has two parts outlined clearly by Jesus; first, we are saved by faith in Jesus, that is, His death on the cross that paid for our sins, His resurrection from the grave that proved His sacrifice was acceptable to Almighty God and His ascension to the throne of God where He is seated at the right hand. Second, we then live by faith in Him; following and thus learning and learning and still learning to look to Him at all times – to develop increasing trust in Him in all circumstances.

The first part secures our salvation forever; the second results in greater degrees of fruit, greater love, greater relationship… In this, in the Gospel, the rightness of God is revealed as we go from faith to faith. Paul put it this way, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Rom 1:16,17)

The gate is narrow because there is only one way to enter, faith in Christ. This is not the same gate as the ‘pearly’ gates into the heavenly city, but it does lead to them. This is the gate of discipleship. The consequent path or way on the other side of this gate is characterized as difficult. The Greek word literally means to press as in pressing grapes and is a metaphor for trouble, affliction and distress. It’s difficult because that’s what God uses to shape and develop our eternal character, our glorious resemblance to our Lord Jesus - “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor 3:18)

It's a difficult life, a difficult path or way, because it involves denial of selfishness. “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mk 8:34)

It’s on this path that, though it is difficult, teaches us obedience. If you will follow Jesus, that is believe AND follow, go through the gate and walk the path, you will learn as He learned – “…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Heb 5:8)though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Now, Jesus said that few would find it. I encourage you, be one of the few. Enter the gate and walk the path; believe and follow – all by faith.

The Joy of Your Lord

Hebrews 12:2

"...looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2)

What was that joy? I’ve heard a lot of preaching and theories on it and they sound good but I still want the full assurance of understanding because that joy, THAT joy, gave Christ the will to go through the cross, the shame and rise absolutely victorious over death and the devil.

Let’s see if we can learn more from the scriptures about this wonderful thing called joy:

- Clearly, it’s not the temporary happiness that can come from the human heart; it’s supernatural, entirely spiritual and is a product (fruit) of the Holy Spirit - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Gal 5:22,23a)

- If for no other reason, Jesus was filled with this joy because He was filled with God’s Spirit and He claimed it as His own and something He could share - “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

- And you can see that He was not ‘stingy’ with it. He wanted His joy in His followers to be full – that is, to the max which could mean that it will continue to increase throughout eternity; He even spoke to Father God about it - “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13)

- And knowing our propensity to view all His promises as fleshly rather than heavenly, Paul said, “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17)

- And this joy is not just for His Bride, the mostly gentile Church, but for Jewish believers as well form we see these promises for them (and presumably all believers) during the millennial reign of Christ –

o Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’
Therefore, with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation. (Isa 12:2,3)

o And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isa 35:10)

o “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isa 55:12)

Eternal joy is what heaven, God’s presence, is all about. It’s a wonderful promise. All He wants is for us to be faithful to Him, to continue believing and thus producing His spiritual fruit in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Christ spoke a parable and summed it up this way – “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Mat 25:21)

You can have this joy now, like a sapling that will grow and grow and grow. Open your heart to Christ, ask for His forgiveness for your misdeeds and trust in Him.

Never Stop Trusting

Rom 8:38, 39

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38,39)

This verse points out that there are many entities engaged in attempting to “separate us from the love of God” so it behooves us to understand this term separate. It means to depart as when a man or woman departs from their spouse. Of course, there’s only one reason anyone would depart from the perfect loving spouse Jesus, that’s doubting His love.

You see, this potential departing or separation is not a matter of distance but a matter of relationship. To get mankind to doubt God and specifically to doubt His love has been the goal of Satan and all these evil entities ever since man was created. And he knows that until Jesus, it was an effective weapon against God’s children. Apart from the power of faith and trust given by the Holy Spirit, no one can honestly believe that God loves them. Before salvation, all we can see is our sin, our flesh, and it stinks.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Lu 5:4-8)

It’s evident that Peter typified this struggle from here in the beginning of his relationship with Christ all the way to the shores of Galilee after the resurrection. (See John 21)

But God’s love for you is because of Christ and when you are saved, you are IN Christ. God no longer regards your sin, your failures. They are paid for in full and His love is unwavering; it’s eternal.

So when you fail, and you will fail; you will fall short, don’t listen to the enemy’s sniveling lies that you’ve alienated God or that He’s disappointed in you because you’re just so bad. He wants only to get you to doubt God’s love for you. Don’t you buy it! Even when you blow it. Confess your failure, your sin, change your mind, your direction (i.e. repent) and focus on God’s grace, goodness, and promise of forgiveness. Christ is totally committed to you!

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Heb 13:5) and..

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (John 6:37)

At Home

Rom 8:28-30

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Rom 8:28-30)

“Now here God is speaking of things concerning me that are not yet fulfilled. For you do not yet see the glorified Chuck. I am not yet in my glorified state. That is a yet future experience that I am to have. But yet, God puts it in the past tense, which to me is quite interesting. But even as He spoke to Abraham concerning his seed in the past tense, because He knew that Abraham was going to have a son whom He did foreknow. And because God has the foreknowledge, He can speak as Paul said of things as existing even though as yet they do not exist, because He knows they are going to exist. And so God speaks, and this is what thrills me, He speaks of my being glorified, because God knows He is going to do it. He is going to complete that work in me. He which has begun a good work in me shall surely continue to perform it. And so I rest in the fact that God has already spoken in the past tense of my future state of glorified together with Jesus Christ. I have got it made.” – Chuck Smith

I love what Chuck said here, but I’ll take it a step further – I’ll suggest that not only does God have foreknowledge to speak of seemingly future events in the past tense but in the eternal realm, time exists in a different fashion – it’s a “heavenly thing” that Jesus gave Nicodemus a taste of when he told him, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” (John 3:12,13)

In other words, I don’t think Romans 8:28 – 30 speaks of our predestination, our call, our justification and our glorification in the past tense only because of His foreknowledge but because sometime “before time began” (see 2 Tim 1:9) He accomplished it and in heaven it is settled; somehow, it’s actually done. Of course, in this life, in our realm of time and space, He is always at work in us “to complete” what he has begun (see Phi 1:6).

Sir Isaac Newton said of God, “He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, his duration reaches from eternity to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity.” God is the one “who inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15, nkjv). Creatures inhabit time. Jesus, as the God-man, inhabits both. – C.S. Lewis Institute

Jesus said concerning the believer, “My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Now one author wrote that this is indicative of the heavenly city descending out of heaven and remaining with mankind on the new earth. That’s a nice thought but this verse specifies an individual believer, not the whole planet. I recall that Jesus also said, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:19,20) and…

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:20-23)

This oneness, this unity with Christ and the Father and the Spirit, this is our home and it’s right now if you’re born again. You see, when you are born again, you are thenceforth a spiritual creature – a new creation, and your home is of course, a spiritual home. Did you get that? When you are born again, you are IN God and He is IN you – it’s an eternal unity, a home unconstrained by time or space – eternal and infinite just as God.

Will you have a physical body? Yes, Christ did after He rose from the grave, but it was a spiritual body as well. Remember, we will be “conformed to the image of His Son.”

We have so much to be thankful for now and so much to look forward to as well, forever!

Dead Body Walking, Live Spirit Waiting

Rom 8:6-10

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom 8:6-10)

Man classifies death as the separation of man's consciousness from his body. But the Bible says that if your consciousness is separated from God, that is, you don't have a real consciousness of God, (and Paul goes even further by saying that this condition is actual enmity against God) then of course you are truly dead. The mind of the flesh is death, because it is a consciousness that being separated from God is absorbed simply with the things of the body and its needs.

And let’s take this a step further – he writes “you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit…” That is, you, the real you, your soul, is not contained by your body, not when you’re born again, but is rather in the Holy Spirit such that when the flesh gives up and dies, you, being in the Spirit are instantly in the ‘face to face’ presence of God. Further, when you are in the Spirit, the Spirit is also in you – take your time to wrap your mind around that. Your spiritual ‘container’, if you would, the Spirit of God simply waits for that sin-filled disaster called your flesh to kick off.

I know first hand what it’s like to hold the hand of someone you love when physical death comes and I can tell you, you know instantly when they are gone, finally free. They are no longer in that body but fully alive.

And notice how he concludes – the body is dead, present tense, because of sin, but the Spirit, which holds you, is living. In fact, it is itself life. And that’s present tense also. How does it feel to be in life?

So don’t get all bummed out by your tendency to stumble and err. It’s that dead flesh. As Paul wrote, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind (soul) I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Rom 7:25) Your salvation is present tense!

One Perfect Man

John 3:36

What does it mean to be a Christian? Of course, there’s an answer well worded and ‘tuned’ by knowledgeable theologians that many if not most believers may agree on but not everyone. Then there’s an answer that sounds like it was developed for a Christian men’s or women’s retreat – simple and well-polished. Then there’s the answer you’d get from a street corner philosopher – really off but sounds interesting. Many answers, many points of view.

Each denomination or movement has its own version of the answer – what to believe, how to behave. Someone looking for the answer could get really confused.

To better understand the truth of the matter, we need to go back to the beginning to establish a foundation for it. Beginning in Genesis, scripture tells us that the first man, Adam, a perfect man, in that he was originally sinless, rebelled against God’s command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now, Eve, his spouse indeed ate first but she was deceived by the serpent. Adam did not have that excuse. He chose on his own.

When he did that, sin along with its wages - death, entered into the human experience, into our most basic element, our genome if you would. It became a fundamental part of our fleshly existence just as it is with the devil. With that came a shift in our allegiance or subservience. Satan then moved and motivated mankind spiritually and physically. And, because God said we would die if we ate that fruit, that’s exactly what has since transpired ever since until another perfect Man showed up, Jesus Christ. Consequently, He changed everything. The Bible records:

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life;” (John 3:36)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47)

“To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43)

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Rom 10:4)

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,” (1 John 5:1)

As you can see from these and many other verses, belief in Christ is the key to eternal life. So being a Christian is first and foremost a matter of sincere belief. However, as we all know, someone can say they believe but in sincerity, they don’t. So, we look to other verses which say:

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;” (John 14:12)

“But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.” (Luke 8:13)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal 5:22,23)

From these and many other verses, we see that true belief leads to outward evidence of that belief.

OK, but why Jesus? Why not belief in Moses or Elijah or David or Peter or John or anyone else? The answer is quite simple actually. You see, the debt or the wages of that original sin was initiated by one perfect man, Adam. The consequences of that was an ensuing immeasurable weight of countless sins, iniquities and trespasses by the whole human race. This was a debt or penalty no human could pay off because no human after Adam was sinless – no one since that time has ever had the base requirement of perfection, of sinlessness.

Now, God knew this from before the beginning of time and so at the appointed time God came in the form of a man – the God-Man, Jesus Christ. He was entirely perfect and sinless and He paid the debt owed for all our sin, all our rebellion against God, for all time. Too good to believe? No, indeed belief based on trust or faith in God’s Son, faith in His goodness, His pure and unwavering character – that’s it.

One perfect Man showed up from heaven and our devotion, our faith in Him and what that produces in our lives is what makes us Christian.

Thoughts Along a Shady Country Lane

1 John 3:3

No words can sufficiently laud the infinite beauty, glory, power, majesty of Almighty God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Perfect in unity, perfect good, perfect wisdom, perfect plans, perfect perspective. Amazing mercy, love, kindness, …

And when we see Him, we shall be like Him for we shall behold Him as He is (1 John 3:2)

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) …if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. (1John 2:10) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1 John 3:1) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:3)

Something to understand here. This is not encouraging a self-improvement program. No sprinkling of hyssop, no ten steps to purity. The translation is accurate but it makes all the difference how you read it. This is not an if then statement; it is not a action that is initiated by the believer driven by his/her hope. Rather, it is the hope itself that purifies the believer.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, (Heb 6:19) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Pet 1:3)

Isn’t He Wonderful!!

The Ugly 'P'

Pro 29:23

There’s this great group of guys I meet with to talk about the things we’re learning from the Lord. A few days ago, we got on the topic of pride and I mentioned C S Lewis’ statement on it:

“The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility...According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Well, one of the guys who is especially frank and honest (which I love) blurted out, “But God gave me pride and I can’t get rid of it.” And if we consider what the Bible has to say concerning this, you can understand his frustration:

Therefore, pride serves as their necklace;

Violence covers them like a garment. (Psa 73:6)

Lesson: Pride is associated with violence

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverse mouth I hate. (Pro 8:13)

Lesson: If we reverence the Lord, we will hate pride

When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom. (Pro 11:2)

Lesson: Pride leads to shame

Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall. (Pro 16:18)

Lesson: Pride precedes destruction

A man's pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor. (Pro 29:23)

Lesson: Pride brings dishonor

The pride of your heart has deceived you, (Oba 1:3)

Lesson: Pride leads to self-deception

…not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (1 Tim 3:6)

Lesson: Pride caused the fall into condemnation of Satan

“when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; (Deut 8:14)

Lesson: Pride will cause you to forget the Lord

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you. (Eze 28:17)

Lesson: God cast Satan to the ground because of pride

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!

For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa 14:12-15)

Lesson: Pride deceived Satan into thinking he was greater than he was and led to his downfall

Though the LORD is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar. (Psa 138:6)

Lesson: God distances Himself from the prideful

Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;

Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. (Pro 16:5)

Lesson: A prideful heart is an abomination

Hear and give ear:
Do not be proud,
For the LORD has spoken. (Jer 13:15)

Lesson: The prideful don’t hear the Lord

Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith. (Hab 2:4)

Lesson: The prideful are not upright

So now we call the proud blessed,

For those who do wickedness are raised up;

They even tempt God and go free. (Mal 3:15)

Lesson: This is when we just look at the flesh, the outward appearance

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.” (Jam 4:6; 1 Pet 5:5)

Lesson: Grace goes to the humble

So why does God save us and then still leave us with this and other ugly flesh characteristics to deal with? The Apostle Paul agonized, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24) and said, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Rom 7:19)

Well, I’ll suggest that it has to do with helping us to grow in trust of God’s grace and learning to walk humbly. Let me illustrate:

The Bible says that the firmament, that is nature, shows His handiwork (Psa 19:1). This is clearly evident in its beauty, its majesty and its intricacy, but also in the spiritual lessons God displays if we’ll pay attention.

In nature, there’s a wonderful parallel to observe – the lowly caterpillar. Here he goes, inching slowly towards a tasty leaf. And when he finally gets there, he just eats and eats – feeding himself seems to be the only goal in his pitifully limited life. From one leaf-binge to another, he slowly creeps.

But then, suddenly, he gets it into his little caterpillar mind that there’s more to life than chlorophyll and he puts himself in a real predicament – dangling by a thread so to speak. You see, he realizes he’s ‘out on a limb’ and it’s time to ‘turn over a new leaf’, to ‘branch out’ (sorry). Anyway, he takes this whole new course, this leap of faith – and there’s a radical change.

Yet to those watching, it’s a conundrum, a mystery, a seeming blunder because he's now living in a chrysalis – a very ‘limited’ life in the world’s eyes – no leaf parties, no upward mobility. I mean, life is over, right?

Still, while his fat-cat(erpillar) buddies scorn or laugh or scratch their little caterpillar heads, a metamorphosis is taking place – a dramatic transformation. Within that shell, a whole new creature is being formed (2Cor 5:17). And when the time is right, a struggle begins inside.

At first, the shell – what’s left of the old caterpillar resists. But then, there’s a crack … then another. Slowly, and with tremendous effort, this beautiful new creature emerges – fighting and struggling, then resting, then fighting and struggling. You almost feel sorry for him.

Finally, as he breaks free of the old caterpillar shell, he spreads forth his beautiful new wings. Drinking in the sunlight of a new world, he flies over the old world of leaves and twigs. On the breath of God’s Spirit, so to speak, in the light of His Son, he now looks for flowers – a whole new diet, a new life, a new freedom – completely unimaginable to the old caterpillar. But the struggle to emerge was very important.

A scientist studying this phenomenon cut open the chrysalis just as the butterfly began to emerge, and guess what happened? Instead of helping it, he actually impaired its ability to fly. He found that in the course of the struggle, the breaking loose (that is, dealing with the old caterpillar), the veins of the new butterfly’s wings were filled with the fluid that causes them to stiffen and expand. No struggle, no flight – a new creature but no lift-off.

And so, it is with us who believe in Christ. Upon getting saved, we indeed change. Christ is in us and we are in Christ! Though the world perceives us as ‘constrained’, we are constrained by love (2 Cor 5:14) and an inward transformation now begins. As we grow in the Lord, we start to sense the hardness of the old man and the closer we come, by relationship, to the Lord, the more we detest its influence. We want to be free from it.

But the struggle is vital for in it we learn to make good choices – to resist evil and to cling to good and when we fail, to confess it to the Lord and trust in His promises – to walk humbly with Him, sharing His ‘yoke’ (see Mat 11:29). Thus, our eternal character is shaped. We are humbled by the honest assessment of our old flesh, and we are strengthened as the living waters of God’s Spirit course through our spiritual ‘veins’, preparing us to fly. And fly we will!

So, don’t be discouraged when the ‘old man’ rears its ugly head. Fight the good fight (1 Tim 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7). You will emerge one day soon into a whole new world with a new body, a new perspective, a new life – that for which you were born!

God of Peace - Part 2

John 14:27

I think we fail to recognize the importance God places upon peace. Oh, peace between nations – sure; peace between individuals – naturally. But the big one, the most critical one, is peace with God Himself. Now, Jesus shed some light on this when He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) That is, He distinguished between the peace the world gives and the peace He gives.

You see, worldly peace can be broken in a day and often is. The peace between nations and people is tenuous at best. It doesn’t last because the people who contrive it are themselves broken. But Christ’s peace, that which we have through the Prince of Peace, is unbreakable because it is based upon His righteousness. In fact, the Psalmist tells us, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Psa 85:10)

And what’s more, the quality of His peace is far greater than the world’s:

His peace brings a true sense of safety – “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psa 4:8)

His peace brings a wonderful sense of contentment – “And you will go to thy fathers in peace; you will be buried in a good old age.” (Gen 15:15)

Christ’s peace also means relationship and unity with God Almighty – “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Ro 5:1)

In fact, much of the OT law was dedicated to expounding on the Peace Offering (see Leviticus) which was also called the Fellowship Offering because it was the only offering that included the worshiper partaking of the sacrifice along with the priests. It symbolized and celebrated the fellowship God desires with us when sins have been atoned for.

You see Christ’s peace that He gives freely to us is actually code for unity with the Father. And He loves this unity so much, the scriptures call Him the “God of Peace” five times. Far more than any other descriptor.

You can also think of peace as the polar opposite of evil, just as light and darkness are opposites – “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” (Isa 45:7)

And as God thinks on you, He looks forward to being united with you – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11)

So of course, Jesus wanted to give us this peace, His peace, not the world’s. But speaking of the world, the Psalmist wrote, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psa 37:11) Yes, abundant peace, because – “Of the increase of his (Christ’s) government and peace there shall be no end…” Isa 9:6 Praise God!

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Num 6:26

God of Peace - Part 1

John 14:27

Enormous winds had erupted suddenly upon the sea and in a matter of minutes the once calm water became a roiling vortex of deadly waves breaking over every side of the ship. The men on board were losing their minds in fear for their lives. They were convinced they would not survive this raging storm. Screaming, yelling, bailing wildly; the waves were winning. It was like they were under some supernatural attack and they were freaking out.

All except one man, lying on a pillow in the stern, sleeping. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Only a few minutes previously, peace didn’t mean much to them. They probably didn’t even think about it. But when storms rage around you, storms of any kind, peace suddenly becomes critically important and valued highly, really highly. It’s true for all of us.

Of course, the peace that is opposite to the raging storm is easy for us to comprehend but there is a much more needful peace that most people do not sense or understand. I’ll try to explain.

When mankind first sinned, he in effect rebelled against God and unwittingly took the side of Satan in his cosmic battle against the Most High. Yes, good and evil are at war all the time. And mankind, ever since Eden, has been on the losing side, fighting against the God and Father who loves us.

Now Jesus came to redeem our souls and thus resolve the conflict between us and the Almighty. Most people don’t even know they’ve been in conflict along with Satan, against God. Many would say, “I don’t even know if I believe in God.” Which is exactly the point.

You see, it’s a spiritual war which manifests itself in our world through, disbelief, and the consequences of Satan’s weapon – sin. Hatred, pride, lust, deceit, and so on that lead to conflicts of all sorts and of course, war. But Christ’s sacrifice paid the debt we all owed for all time and settled the issue for those who believe. Paul wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Ro 5:1)

You see, calming the storm on Galilee was a visual aid for all of us of His peace. In Him we have this peace, an eternal peace that cannot be disrupted or destroyed. Jesus told us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)

Yes, you’ll have peace with God but now you will get tribulation from the dark side – the world, and of course, Satan. But there’s reason for joy because Jesus vanquished evil and His peace is forever. He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jn 14:27)“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

If you’re in this battle, if you’ve recognized the raging storm, then you value the peace that comes only from the God of peace. If you’re blind to the battle, you’re living on death row blind to your prison and deaf to the screams of the gallows, following your doomed commander into hell.

Wake up and walk in the Light where rightness and peace are in perfect harmony. In Christ - Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psa 85:10)

Know God

John 17:3

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

Now Jesus never told us that there are seven steps to eternal life or a minimum donation needed or a portion of the Law that we must follow or some specific traditions. It’s recorded in the New Testament that several times people approached Him asking, “What good deed must I do?” or “What do I have to do?” because our first reaction to the offer of eternal life is that we think we have to earn or merit it somehow; and sadly, even after having surrendered our will, our heart to Christ, we often get caught up in trying to be holy or righteous by embracing a personal moral code (based on scripture of course) – we still don’t get it. Christianity is NOT a self-improvement program.

Jesus was blunt, and to the point about eternal life – you simply have to KNOW father God and His Son, Jesus Christ. So, this begs the question, how does one know God? Is there a special phrase to say or a church membership or some tests to pass?

Think about it. How do you know, really know anyone? We’re not talking about a casual acquaintance like your buddy that you wave to once in a while. This isn’t a trick question. Who do you really know? I mean, who knows you, knows how you think, what’s important to you, all your ‘secrets’? Many if not most of you are thinking, ‘I’m not sure I know anyone quite that well, at least not since I grew up.’ That‘s usually because most if not all of the people we know in life are not unconditionally trusted.

But God can be trusted unconditionally and the first step in that trust relationship is accepting the fact that He sent His only begotten Son to take the pain, guilt and punishment for all, yep, ALL our misdeeds. When you truly accept and believe that, you’ve opened the door to knowing God and knowing Jesus. Just as you would expect, knowing comes from spending time in relationship, time spent listening to Him, talking with Him, doing what He says in His word both written and spoken. Knowing comes when you finally realize that He’s IN you and you exist IN Him. Knowing comes from many, many, many hours of sincere prayer.

If you’ve ever been under fire with your squad or pounded by an IED or spent weeks in rehab you begin to know those closest to you much better than your other buddies. And this is good news because knowing happens pretty naturally when the stage is set for it. The stage being set for knowing God is by believing what He did for you on Calvary’s cross. Knowing starts with believing, it’s developed by trusting and obeying.

And the consequence of knowing God, knowing Jesus – that’s eternal life, right now, present tense. Jesus didn’t say “This will be eternal life…” He said “This IS eternal life…

THE Promise

Titus 1:1,2

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began (or time began, or times eternal); (Tit 1:1,2)

Now, eternal life is referred to in the scriptures as a gift (Rom 6:23) as an inheritance (Mark 10:17) and here as a hope and as a promise. The term eternal life is a new testament thing but in the old testament we find everlasting life (Dan 12:2) or live forever (Gen 3:22) or life evermore (Psa 133:3) and a few other terms.

But, the interest I have in our verse is that it says that God promised it before the world or time began. This is intriguing because it begs the question – who did he promise it to? The angels and of course the Godhead are already eternal beings so I suppose (and yes, I know that’s not a very good thing to do) He was making a future promise or commitment to mankind.

Clearly, man was not created yet but what this demonstrates is God’s foreknowledge and graciousness. It is reasonable to postulate that this wonderful promise was made before He created the physical cosmos which exists in the realm of time and space. It is also reasonable to conclude that since this promise is recorded in our scriptures, that God’s intended recipients of eternal life is mankind.

Now, Jesus told us, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) And, “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) In other words, eternal life means you must know God and you can only know God, that is come to Him, through Jesus.

All that is to say that it seems that not only did God plan to give mankind eternal life before time began but He also knew before time began how He would deliver this gracious gift. In fact, in Christ’s revelation, it speaks of, “…the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev 13:8)

That is, because eternal life was promised before “times eternal”, this whole drama we mistakenly call life is really the setting for God to demonstrate to all creation who He is – His ability, His trustworthiness, His desire to bless, His goodness and rightness, His faithful promise. You see, all Satan’s toilet bowl propaganda will ultimately be shown to be utter lies and one day they will be gone forever.

Rest

Mat 11:28-30

Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so, the man became a living being (soul). (Gen 2:7)

In the beginning, God made man in His image and so, among other things, he was triune like the Lord. The dust, which became flesh, the breath or Spirit of God which became man’s spiritual link to God and the consequent soul of man which came about from the first two.

Then when man sinned, and his own spirit died; his sinful flesh ruled his soul - he became a prisoner of sin. However, by being born again through faith in the risen Christ, God’s Holy Spirit takes up residence once again in men and women and we are freed from the prison of sin.

There remains though throughout our lives a new dynamic – a conflict:

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Gal 5:17)

This battle is for influence over the freed soul of man. The good news is that Christ paid the price for all sin and the flesh is doomed to die. But in this life, there is a consequent tension of conflict that can give the soul unrest. Paul expressed it this way:

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Rom 7:21-25)

And so, like Paul, as we seek to know, to follow and to serve our Lord, this tension of the soul can result in a sense of “wretchedness” and/or an elation of thankful confidence in Jesus. That latter sense is a rest, not for the body necessarily, but for the soul. That rest is what we learn from ‘plowing’ with Jesus. Notice I did not say plowing (ministering, or laboring) for Jesus. Big difference. When we are yoked with Him, plowing with Him, side by side, we learn this heavenly rest of complete confidence in Him. We learn to do it all just as He does – with lowliness, gentleness and true humility.

Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. (Mat 11:28-30)

When we fail, when we sin, that sense of wretchedness is the natural outcome because we are inhabited by the divine Spirit of God but that wretchedness is useful. Now Satan wants to use it to get us to stop plowing because of prideful shame but God will use it to remind us to abide in Christ’s gentle and lowly heart knowing our only hope is in him – He will deliver us from “this body of death”. That’s where we find rest for our souls. Eternal rest. Hallelujah!

The Twin

John 20:28

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Why did this verse hit me so hard this morning? I’ve read it many hundreds of times before but this time it just grabbed me. I teared up.

Jesus told Thomas to stop doubting and believe. You see, just after His resurrection Christ miraculously rose from the dead and appeared to the ten disciples who were apparently hiding behind closed doors. But Thomas wasn’t there. The only one not present and we don’t know why. Perhaps he was depressed or confused. None of the disciples believed Mary when she told them of meeting the risen Lord, so Thomas wasn’t alone in his doubting.

But there was something more to it, I think. Whether or not the other disciples had believed Mary, they were ecstatic and told Thomas joyfully, “We have seen the Lord.” So, he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) This wasn’t just disbelief, it was a defiant posture, seemingly rooted in a hurting heart.

Now, everyone among them had been hurt; they all loved Jesus. So why did Thomas act the way he did. Earlier, he had voiced his devotion - Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” (John 11:16)

Like Peter, it seems that Thomas was a passionate man, passionate in devotion, passionate in bitterness. So, for Jesus to show up to everyone EXCEPT him, it may be that he was also passionate in disappointment.

Have you ever been forsaken, left alone? When people do that to us, we hurt. When people we have loved do that, we hurt profoundly. But when our Lord appears to have done that… that’s when our hearts can be crushed, and it could be that this kind of pain was weighing on Thomas. Nevertheless, he desperately desired to be restored in his heart.

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing.”

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

His sudden realization of truth made Thomas the first person to explicitly acknowledge Jesus’ divinity. And, church history tells us that Thomas went on to be an absolutely devoted apostle, carrying the Gospel as far as India and dying a martyr’s death. So with Thomas, maybe you relate to his pain and his passion. Jesus does, and so do I.

In One Another

John 14:9, 20; 17:21, 23

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?” (John 14:9)

“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)

“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23)

The four verses above characterize the tone of what Jesus emphasized to His disciples as He headed to the cross. During this time, it seems that His heart was deeply concerned that they would understand the oneness He came to impart to us from God the Father.

Many if not most believers have never recognized this, just like Philip, that if you are truly born anew, Christ is IN YOU and YOU are IN CHRIST via the presence of His Holy Spirit. You’re not just believing in Him, you actually are living in Him and He in you.

That disgusting ‘body of death’ that you’re dragging around is indeed dead because of sin. It’s filled with it. But YOU, the born anew you is already alive in Christ. You’re in that body to learn to walk humbly, aware of your faults, to learn to truly trust in God’s word, His love, grace and mercy, and to prepare you to appreciate the new body Christ will give you at His revealing. Paul wrote that it is, “…God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (or down payment).” (2 Cor 1:22)

Oneness, perfect or complete unity. Not a loss of identity but rather a fuller identity – kind of like when you’re in a really good marital relationship – a fuller identity, just as with Christ and the church. Ultimately, it will be a oneness that brings the fullest identity, all the parts living together perfectly again in our Creator.

“that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” (Eph 1:10)

Several Amazing Things

Dan 9:24 - 27

“Seventy weeks (sevens) are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.” (Dan 9:24 KJV)

“So, you are to know and have insight that from the going out of a word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (i.e. 69); it will be restored and rebuilt, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.

“And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will make sacrifice and grain offering cease; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (Dan 9:25-27 LSB)

In this passage, the word translated as ‘weeks’ is literally ‘sevens’ so the prophecy starts with a declaration that 70 sevens have been determined or pre-established and in the first 69 sevens several awesome things will be accomplished.

First, he says, “To finish the transgression” or literally, the rebellion or break away. You see, mankind broke away from God back in the Garden of Eden and the Lord said that within this period, the rift would be healed – mankind (including the Jewish people) would be reconciled with our loving creator—the revolt ended, the rift healed.

But for this to happen, the next promised occurrence had to take place – “To make an end of sins” or literally offences and their penalties. All of man’s offenses before a just and holy God had to be paid for – all past, present and future offences. And furthermore, the slate had to be wiped clean so the true reconciliation of man with God could take place.

That is, not only would all offences and their penalties be satisfied but it would be as if they never occurred in the first place – “to make reconciliation for iniquity.”

Then he added the kicker – not only would the rift be bridged, offences and penalties ended, and reconciliation produced, but then, a perfect future is guaranteed, for he said that “everlasting righteousness” would be brought in – eternal rightness in everyone and everything! Wow!

Now, there was a realization of these things when Jesus went to the cross, died for our sins and then rose again. However, there will be a second fuller realization at the conclusion of the church age, that is at the rapture. Then there will be a third even fuller realization when “all Israel will be saved” upon Christ’s second coming. And finally, there will be a final and complete realization after the millennium when God makes all things new.

So, what about when he said that vision and prophecy would be sealed or locked up and that the Most Holy would be anointed?

Well, the last prophecy in the Bible chronologically is the entire book of Revelation. At the conclusion it says, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev 22:18, 19)

Therefore, it is clear that the book was sealed and locked – nothing to be added and nothing to be taken away and since it is mostly about the Jewish people and the holy city (the NEW Jerusalem) just as in Dan 9:24, it seems that the verses in Revelation fulfills that part of Daniel’s prophecy.

Finally, throughout scripture, some things are described as holy and some even as most holy but only one thing is termed “the Most Holy” and that is the Holy of Holies – the most inner sanctum of the temple where the High Priest would enter just once a year. This is how the LSB version of the Bible translates “the Most Holy”.

It contained the Ark of the Covenant underneath the Mercy Seat, both of which are perfect representations of Jesus. So how was the Most Holy anointed? The earthly was anointed yearly with sacrificial blood of bulls and goats but the reason the prophecy is special is because the heavenly ‘Holy of Holies’ or THE Most Holy was once and for all time anointed with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Heb 9:12)

A final note: a careful study of Dan 9:24 – 27 reveals that Christ rode into Jerusalem on the donkey’s back after 69 of the 70 sevens TO THE DAY. The 70th seven is the up coming seven year tribulation. God’s Word is perfect and trustworthy!

Curling with Faith

Acts 3

You know, it may be that Peter recalled needing a helping hand. Here’s the story:

And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” (Mat 14:26 – 33)

Eager to display his faith in the Lord, Peter stepped out of that boat and indeed walked on the water but then he saw the wind and waves and fear stifled his faith. He knew he didn’t have the spiritual strength he needed and he began to sink. There was no way for him to rise up himself. In mercy, Jesus responded to his desperate need, reached out, caught his hand and lifted him up. Like a one-arm curl.

Sometime later, after Jesus Himself rose up from the grave, Peter and John witnessed another certain man in desperate need of help. He had been sinking under the waves of brokenness his whole life and now sat or laid, at the main gate of the temple in Jerusalem. There were people everywhere, but few if any paid any heed to his pitiful plight. He had been born lame.

The man saw the two disciples and asked for a coin or two. He never expected what he got:

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.

And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”

So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:1-8)

Now, Peter was an ‘expressive’ guy – he ran past John into Christ’s empty tomb; he jumped into the sea to meet Jesus on the shore after the resurrection; he felt things deeply. He was just wired like that. So it’s easy for me to think of him ‘leaping and praising God’ in his heart right along with this healed beggar. He absolutely knew the power of God and with this he had experienced it ‘on both ends’ so to speak.

And in that power, seeing the amazed crowds gathering, he spoke.

So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.”

“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:12 – 16)

He made it clear right up front that he didn’t heal the lame man, it was faith in the name of Christ – the one who lifted Peter up lifted the beggar up too. Faith in Him will lift you up as well.

Try or Trust

1 Thes 5:23, 24

Try or Trust

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2,3)

To “be like Him” is indeed a glorious promise for every sincere Christian. But the second part of this verse can be for some a mystery. That is, just how do we purify ourselves just as He is pure. Misunderstanding this led some desperate folks in the Middle Ages to beat themselves supposedly into submission to the spirit. They tried very hard to be pure in this way even if they had to ‘help God out’. If you’ve studied church history, you may recall that even Martin Luther got caught in this practice.

Now, purifying means cleansing and refers to the spiritual cleansing of the heart by faith. When the early church leaders were concerned about all the Gentiles coming into the assembly, Peter stood to address them and reminded them that God “…made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:9) And James wrote, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (Jam 4:8) In other words, do not doubt. Have unwavering faith.

So, purification, for the Christian, is a matter of faith. And then, there’s the notion of sanctification which is closely related. Fundamentally, this latter term means to set apart to special (usually "godly") use; in the OT it especially pertained in this way to the priests or items in the temple. For example:

· Leviticus 21:6-8 "They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore, they shall be holy. You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy."

In the New Testament - the word sanctify is the verb form of the word for "holy"; "to make holy" gives the idea; something that is "holy" is set apart from common use; it is the idea of becoming more like God who is holy. For example:

· Revelation 4:8 "And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

Now, sanctification is a wonderful principle but like purification, it can be misunderstood. Let me explain:

The Bible speaks of sanctification in three ways, and it is important you know which way it is being spoken of in which passage! These have been described as past, present and future sanctification or as initial, progressive and ultimate sanctification or other terms like these.

Sanctification has a definite beginning the moment someone has been born anew in Christ. You can refer to:

· Acts 20:32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

· 1 Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Next, sanctification increases as we mature in our Christian life. You can refer to:

· Romans 6:6,7, 11-14 "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. So, you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for [weapons of] righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you.

· John 17:17-19 "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth."

· 1 Peter 1:13-16 "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

· 2 Corinthians 3: 18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Next, sanctification is never complete in this life.

Sanctification of our souls is complete at death. Refer to the following:

·Though God sees only His Son in us, we experience the problem of sin through our life. It’s like the "hangover" of our fallenness: 1 John 1:8 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

· Yet, at death our souls are instantly in heaven with "the spirits of the righteous [people] made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23).

· Our souls are fully sanctified in the presence of God since nothing unclean (not even mostly clean) can ever stand before Him (see Revelation 21:27).

Sanctification of our bodies takes place at the Lord's Return.

· Philippians 3:20-21 "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

· At His coming, every Christian will be given their resurrection body that shall fully "bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:49).

Now, here’s the stumbling many believers need to understand.

God (especially the Holy Spirit) is the one who sanctifies us.

· 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."

· Ephesians 5:25-27 "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

Unfortunately, many of us think that as with the Jews trying to keep the Law, the onus of sanctification falls on us and so we end up trying to be holy and failing and trying again and again and again… The point of the Sermon on the Mount was that we can’t make ourselves holy. Some Christians even walk away from the faith because they think they have to be good enough, holy enough and they just keep failing.

Listen, you cannot be good enough, holy enough, perfectly sanctified by your own efforts. The good news is that God’s got you. If you are born again, Christ is in you and His Spirit will accomplish all that He has for you. Refer again to 1 Thes 5:23, 24.

Having said that, we are given commands that we must heed in order to continue the sanctification process in this life. Refer to:

· 1 Thessalonians 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality."

· Romans 6:19 "I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification."

· Romans 6:22 "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life."

However, understand that your initial, progressive and ultimate sanctification is all the work of the Spirit of God – call on the Lord and trust Him. Don’t try, but rather trust.

(Thanks to Grace Fellowship Church for some of this.)

Lowest of the Low

Luke 1:26 - 38

When the long-anticipated time came for God to redeem His people, the fulfillment of promises going all the way back to Eden and reinforced over the millennia many times, He ignored Judea, the historical ‘heartland’ of His focus and came to Galilee, a place of Jewish contempt largely because of their view of the ‘half-breed’ population as ‘mongrelized’ and thus inferior.

He zeroed in on a place so lowly and remote, it was not even mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud or in the historical writings of Josephus. When Nathanael said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) to Philip, he wasn’t kidding. Not only was it a ‘nothing place’ but it had the reputation of being overrun with foreigners and being corrupt. Hughes writes, it was a “shoddy, corrupt halfway stop between the port cities of Tyre and Sidon,” and “ was overrun by Gentiles and Roman soldiers.”

God ignored the temple in Jerusalem and the lavish home(s) of the high priest(s) and chose rather the humble abode of a truly humble 12 – 14 year old Mary.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are…” (1 Cor 1:27,28)

God just doesn’t think like us, does He? His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isa 55:9) and yet He goes to the ‘lowest of the low’ to find a mother for His Son. It doesn’t jive with our inclinations because our fundamental human characteristic (sorry, humanists, is not goodness) is pride. It is the primary fruit of sin and being infected with it, we cannot do the good that we would like to (Rom 7:18,19). Tragically, our primary driver in all situations is pride or some form of it.

Pride was Satan’s downfall. It undergirds all other menaces such as hate, violence, lust and such. “The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility...According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” C S Lewis

“For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” “That raises a terrible question. How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshiping an imaginary God.” C S Lewis

For that reason, only broken or humbled people can truly appreciate God’s choice, God’s relationship with the ‘Lowest of the Low’.

The Physician's Account

Luke stayed with and was loyal to the Apostle Paul during his second imprisonment all the way to the end. Just before his death, Paul wrote to Timothy, “Only Luke is with me.” (2 Tim 4:11) He was a historian, a theologian and a physician. Not a Jew, his character appears humble and self-effacing but his Gospel is by far the most lengthy and includes many events that the others do not.

His first words can lead one to surmise that he was a diligent researcher, but we must bear in mind that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Tim 3:16) so his scriptural account, the Gospel of Luke, is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work, not simply an academic exercise.

Kent Hughes writes, “Malachi had assured those who loved God that “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2) Isaiah had promised that before “The glory of the Lord will be revealed,” there would come, “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:5,3) Malachi spoke similarly as he penned the final words of the Old Testament: “’See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.’” (Malachi 4:5)

This is where Luke picks up some 400 years afterward. I’m sure that after some 350 years or so, many thought God was done speaking but actually, the best was yet to come – a marvelous “Sunrise from on high”.

His story begins with an ordinary country priest, one out of about 8000 at the time who were in the region. His name was Zechariah which means “the Lord has remembered”. His wife Elizabeth was also of priestly descent. Tragically, this humble couple was childless and quite elderly. Poor Elizabeth had borne this shame for decades. Barrenness carried a moral stigma for in Jewish thinking of the time, it was not the fate of the righteous; but the couple had not lost hope for the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his prayer was heard.

Now, it came to pass that Zechariah was chosen by lot to offer incense in the temple and suddenly, he was at the pinnacle of his personal history. The honor was the grandest in all his earthly existence. Many never got that blessing.

As he began, something happened that terrified him and there’s a very interesting parallel in the book of Daniel. The angel Gabriel appeared to both men at the time of sacrifice. Both men were terrified and speechless. Daniel’s encounter involved the revelation of future messianic times while Zechariah’s signaled the beginning of these times.

Gabriel opened with a mindblower for Zechariah, “Your prayer has been heard.” And, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name of John” which means “God has been gracious”.

He added, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” Huges comments, “The Baptist would have a great heart. Jesus would later say of him, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Next to Christ, Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son would develop a soul second to none, not even Abraham, Joseph, or Daniel.”

Furthermore, he added, “And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” This is fascinating as it seems to be unique in all of scripture. And, it was fulfilled, it seems, when in verses 39 - 41 of the first chapter we read, “Now Mary (who had just found out she was pregnant with Jesus) arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

At that point, Elizabeth erupted in praise and Mary spoke forth a ‘song’ of praise as well. This is another example of the poetic creativity (comparing and contrasting) of the Lord for Elizabeth was elderly and Mary was just 12 – 14 years old. Elizabeth was carrying the greatest man in human history apart from Christ and of course, Mary was carrying Christ. Both women had gotten the news, directly or indirectly, of their pregnancies from the angel Gabriel. And both had been foretold in scripture.

Three months later, Mary returned to her home and John was born. His birth, unconventional naming and the consequent opening of Zechariah’s speaking ability caused quite a stir. “Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.” (v65,66)

Then Zechariah, empowered by the Holy Spirit prophesied and rejoiced that the long-awaited time of God’s promised deliverance was at hand. He celebrated the “Dayspring from on high” – the Messiah, and John’s role in preparing the way before Him.

Now, much of this is only presented to us in Luke’s gospel so I’m grateful that the physician was led by the Spirit of God to give us this account. Now read Chapter 1 for yourself.

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Statement of Faith

WE BELIEVE that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, and therefore inerrant, Word of God. It is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.

WE BELIEVE that the one true God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power, and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs, and providentially directs all that exists and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name. Psalm 104; Psalm 139; Matthew 10:29-31; 28:19; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9-12; 4:4-6; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6.

WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally a great angel, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God's presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. Matthew 12:25-29; 25:41; John 12:31; 16:11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9; 20:10.

WE BELIEVE that Adam was originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of his disobedience, Adam's posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. Genesis 1-3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9-18; 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3.

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that He was conceived and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered himself as a penal, substitution sacrifice for sinners. By the blood of His cross He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints. Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 7:25; 9:13-15; 10:19; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 John 2:1-2.

WE BELIEVE that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God's sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 3-4; 8:1-17,31-39; 10:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9.

WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom also we are sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. Subsequent to conversion the Spirit desires to fill, empower, and anoint believers for ministry and witness. We also believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today and are designed to testify to the presence of the kingdom and to empower and edify the church to fulfill its calling and mission. Matthew 3:11; John 1:12-13; 3:1-15; Acts 4:29-30; Romans 8:9; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18.

WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances of the church to be observed until the time of Christ's return. They are not a means of salvation but are channels of God's sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Matthew 26:26-29; 28:19; Romans 6:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; 1 Peter 3:21.

WE BELIEVE that the church is God's primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We also affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the gospel and do all the works of the kingdom. However, final governmental authority in the church has ideally been entrusted to men. Matthew 16:17-19; Acts 2:17-18,42; Ephesians 3:14-21; 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5,9-10.

WE BELIEVE that God has called the church to preach the gospel to all nations, and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the kingdom of God. Isaiah 58:6-12; 61:1; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 4:18; 21:1-4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:8.

WE BELIEVE in the literal second coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to the earth personally and visibly to consummate His kingdom. Psalms 2:7-9; 22:27-28; John 14:12; 17:20-26; Romans 11:25-32; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28,50-58; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12; Revelation 7:9-14.

WE BELIEVE that when the Christian dies he/she passes immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great Triune God. We also believe that when the unbeliever dies he/she is consigned to hell, there to await the day of judgment when he/she shall be punished with eternal separation from the presence of God. Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:25-29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26; 3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-22:15.

The Father's Grace

Christian Devotionals and PodcastsbyJ R Dickey

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2 Tim 3:1-5

Broken

Rom 8:18

Like Him

Rom 8:28-30

Being Small

Mat 18:3

Challenged

Job 1:12

Third Day

Hos 6:2

Days of Noah

Mat 24:37

Timing

John 11:5,6,14,15

The Fellowship

Phil 3:10

The Scars

John 20:24-28

Discipleship

Matt 7:13,14

The Joy of Your Lord

Hebrews 12:2

Never Stop Trusting

Rom 8:38, 39

At Home

Rom 8:28-30

Dead Body Walking, Live Spirit Waiting

Rom 8:6-10

One Perfect Man

John 3:36

Thoughts Along a Shady Country Lane

1 John 3:3

The Ugly 'P'

Pro 29:23

God of Peace - Part 2

John 14:27

God of Peace - Part 1

John 14:27

Know God

John 17:3

THE Promise

Titus 1:1,2

Rest

Mat 11:28-30

The Twin

John 20:28

In One Another

John 14:9, 20; 17:21, 23

Several Amazing Things

Dan 9:24 - 27

Curling with Faith

Acts 3

Try or Trust

1 Thes 5:23, 24

Lowest of the Low

Luke 1:26 - 38

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Christian Devotionals and Podcasts
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J R Dickey

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Warning From Prison