I went from Job, to John and then to 1 Thessalonians 5 today in my study of His word. In Job 22:2, Eliphaz asks if a man can be profitable to God. Can he add anything to God? As I read these verses, I thanked God that His purposes do not rest with me. God accomplishes His purposes in spite of me. He is complete without me. He has, however, called me as His bondslave and desires me to be a vessel set aside for His purposes....to bear fruit for Him. My God gives me the opportunity to be a vessel through which He works. What a privilege! He doesn't need any of us, but in His gracious love, He has chosen to accomplish His purposes through us...and then rewards us accordingly!!! My job is to rest in Him and be obedient...the results are up to Him.
John 15 speaks of abiding. To abide means this:
A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): - abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.
This is our job as Christians....abiding in Him...Abiding brings a life of: fruitfulness (15:5), answered prayer (15:7), living in His love (15:10), and fullness of joy (15:11). My job is to abide in Him...to stay present with Him. In order to stay present with Him I cannot walk in my own ways, but must stay on His path. Scripture tells us that all the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to those who abide and obey. John 15 also tells us that without Him we can do nothing. Without Him, we wither and die and are without hope. In Him we are a tree planted by the rivers of water whose leaves never wither, and that whatever we do will prosper! Truly our hope now and forever is in Him.
We, as believers, are set aside for His purposes, and in order to accomplish these purposes we must abide, that is, "stay close to" Him....How do we stay close? We stay in His will...we obey His word. We sit at His feet and learn from Him. 1Thessalonians 5:16 and 17 gives us three short exhortations declaring the will of God to us. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (Me!)
Rejoice because God has forgiven your sins and you now have the sure and certain hope of eternal life with Him.
Pray without ceasing that His work would be done in you and through you. Pray that you would stay in His presence always and live in communion with Him. Pray that truly in Him you would live, move and have your being.
In everything give thanks because...IT IS NOT UP TO YOU! It is not your battle nor is it your burden. Your job is just to obey and abide...which really are one and the same! We can give thanks also because we know that our work is not in vain in the Lord...that whatever comes to us is from Him. That nothing can happen to us except that God allows it and if He allows it, He has a purpose for it. We can rejoice because surely goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives and that He works all together for good in our lives.
Now it is easy not to rejoice and not to be thankful...it takes a concerted effort and a work of the Spirit of God in your heart to walk in the commands of 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and 17. Pray with me that by His grace and mercy that this will be your desire and as you pray He surely will give you this desire and as He does...grab the opportunity He is giving you and make a practice of doing it. Watch the blessings that come!! This is the secret to abundant life in Him...acceptance with joy of all that He has knowing that it is from Him and it is good!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
"The Majesty and Condenscension of God"
Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?--Psalm 113:5-6
Psalm 113 is a psalm of praise. Who is like our God! He who dwells on high and of incomprehensible glory, humbles Himself to care about the things that are in the heavens and in the earth. God is mindful of us! This is inconceivable! Take a few minutes to really contemplate it. Go to these verses in Psalm 113 and find some parallel ones yourself that speak of our God's humility. The Bible is replete with passages that confirm God's earnest love and care for us. His Son came into the world for the very purpose of taking our sin upon Him and dying in our place. Jesus came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He taught that the way to greatness was the path of humility.
Our flesh is so strong...even saved we forget what our God has done for us and react in pride. Many of us turn our backs to Him and stamp our feet like little children refusing to give way. Think about the arrogance of our behavior...God has stooped down from His place in heaven to offer us...His rebellious, insolent creatures reconciliation! He has ripped open the fabric of the universe to peer down and speak directly to us and many of us refuse to hear! Again, read the Bible...it is replete with His entreaties, His persuasions and His beseechings...He does not want any of us to perish but all to come to Him and receive new life! He is your Father beseeching you with much earnest to come and to live! He has shown you the way. He who dwells on high has reached down to you...raise your hand up out of the dunghill to Him and see for yourself as you walk with Him that there truly is NONE LIKE HIM!
Psalm 113 is a psalm of praise. Who is like our God! He who dwells on high and of incomprehensible glory, humbles Himself to care about the things that are in the heavens and in the earth. God is mindful of us! This is inconceivable! Take a few minutes to really contemplate it. Go to these verses in Psalm 113 and find some parallel ones yourself that speak of our God's humility. The Bible is replete with passages that confirm God's earnest love and care for us. His Son came into the world for the very purpose of taking our sin upon Him and dying in our place. Jesus came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He taught that the way to greatness was the path of humility.
Our flesh is so strong...even saved we forget what our God has done for us and react in pride. Many of us turn our backs to Him and stamp our feet like little children refusing to give way. Think about the arrogance of our behavior...God has stooped down from His place in heaven to offer us...His rebellious, insolent creatures reconciliation! He has ripped open the fabric of the universe to peer down and speak directly to us and many of us refuse to hear! Again, read the Bible...it is replete with His entreaties, His persuasions and His beseechings...He does not want any of us to perish but all to come to Him and receive new life! He is your Father beseeching you with much earnest to come and to live! He has shown you the way. He who dwells on high has reached down to you...raise your hand up out of the dunghill to Him and see for yourself as you walk with Him that there truly is NONE LIKE HIM!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Taking Pleasure in Infirmities???
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. --2nd Corinthians 12:9-10
Meditate on these verses....It is the very wise person that understands that the sufferings experienced here on earth are to be rejoiced in because it is these very sufferings that cause us to talk to our Father in Heaven...to draw close to Him. It is these very trials and afflictions that bring us to a place of dependence on Him. We begin to see our own limitations and learn to draw on His strength and rely on Him. Our humility increases and consequently our worship of Him deepens. Thorns in the flesh are gifts from our Father in heaven that we are to take pleasure in and see as opportunities to surrender and watch Him work.
Instead of seeking deliverance from your troubles...seek what you really want in them. HIM! We pray for to our God to fix our problems but He does something better as we cry out. He gives us Himself and truly delivers us from ourselves. I have found as I go through trials and afflictions that even though I have much sorrow, I have in Him even greater joy because His presence is with me...He increases and I decrease.
Sometimes in our grief and sorrow we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel...all feels dark and unnavigable. God gives light in the darkness....the dark, unnavigable tunnel with the Lord may just be the brightest and best place you can be. Ask Him to teach you to glory in your tribulations Acceptance of sorrow with joy is a beautiful place to be.
Meditate on these verses....It is the very wise person that understands that the sufferings experienced here on earth are to be rejoiced in because it is these very sufferings that cause us to talk to our Father in Heaven...to draw close to Him. It is these very trials and afflictions that bring us to a place of dependence on Him. We begin to see our own limitations and learn to draw on His strength and rely on Him. Our humility increases and consequently our worship of Him deepens. Thorns in the flesh are gifts from our Father in heaven that we are to take pleasure in and see as opportunities to surrender and watch Him work.
Instead of seeking deliverance from your troubles...seek what you really want in them. HIM! We pray for to our God to fix our problems but He does something better as we cry out. He gives us Himself and truly delivers us from ourselves. I have found as I go through trials and afflictions that even though I have much sorrow, I have in Him even greater joy because His presence is with me...He increases and I decrease.
Sometimes in our grief and sorrow we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel...all feels dark and unnavigable. God gives light in the darkness....the dark, unnavigable tunnel with the Lord may just be the brightest and best place you can be. Ask Him to teach you to glory in your tribulations Acceptance of sorrow with joy is a beautiful place to be.
Friday, July 8, 2011
He Can't Save Himself....
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. --Mark 15:29-32
Oh the irony! Here are the people as well as the chief priests and the Scribes mocking the One who did only good... Here are the chief priests finally speaking truth in regard to Jesus. He did save others...He had healed many, but instead of honoring Him for it, they despised Him for His good and returned evil upon Him.
Unbelievably, but in fulfillment of Scripture...see Isaiah 53, Psalm 2, and Psalm 22....they were mocking, reviling and crucifying Jesus, the Son of God...the Messiah, who had committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. They crucified the very Man who, had He saved Himself that day, could not have saved us. Instead, He obeyed His Father and loved us to the very end...
Jesus is our example. I look at verses like these and am overwhelmed. Jesus was cruelly and horribly treated by men, and yet, He submitted to His Father to the point of the death of the cross. He did not answer His attackers back. In fact, He offered them forgiveness...He died to save them. I am to do as Jesus did...to walk as He walked. Do you see why these kind of verses could overwhelm? This CANNOT be done in my own strength. Without Him I can do nothing BUT I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things when I surrender to the Spirit of God dwelling inside me. Jesus is not only our example...He is our strength and our power. He enables us and empowers us to follow Him. In Him we are strong and mighty...even when and especially when, we are weak. In fact, take pleasure, the Scripture says, in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions and in distresses for Christ sake. This is when the power of God will rest upon you as you cry out to Him. Pray and watch His grace abound!
The next time you are offended, think of Jesus surrounded by evil and overcome the offense with love. Overcome evil with good.
Oh the irony! Here are the people as well as the chief priests and the Scribes mocking the One who did only good... Here are the chief priests finally speaking truth in regard to Jesus. He did save others...He had healed many, but instead of honoring Him for it, they despised Him for His good and returned evil upon Him.
Unbelievably, but in fulfillment of Scripture...see Isaiah 53, Psalm 2, and Psalm 22....they were mocking, reviling and crucifying Jesus, the Son of God...the Messiah, who had committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. They crucified the very Man who, had He saved Himself that day, could not have saved us. Instead, He obeyed His Father and loved us to the very end...
Jesus is our example. I look at verses like these and am overwhelmed. Jesus was cruelly and horribly treated by men, and yet, He submitted to His Father to the point of the death of the cross. He did not answer His attackers back. In fact, He offered them forgiveness...He died to save them. I am to do as Jesus did...to walk as He walked. Do you see why these kind of verses could overwhelm? This CANNOT be done in my own strength. Without Him I can do nothing BUT I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things when I surrender to the Spirit of God dwelling inside me. Jesus is not only our example...He is our strength and our power. He enables us and empowers us to follow Him. In Him we are strong and mighty...even when and especially when, we are weak. In fact, take pleasure, the Scripture says, in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions and in distresses for Christ sake. This is when the power of God will rest upon you as you cry out to Him. Pray and watch His grace abound!
The next time you are offended, think of Jesus surrounded by evil and overcome the offense with love. Overcome evil with good.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Quit You Like Men!
This phrase is from the King James and means to be brave...to be strong...to act manly. Now if you are anything like me you probably hate when someone tells you to be strong and act like a man. There are many variations of this one saying, but they all mean the same thing...get a grip. Find your courage. You know what, sometimes, in fact many times, my courage just isn't there. As I get older, I find it weakening and faltering more and more. Losses are multiplying, sin abounds in the world around me and illness takes its toll. The things I used to be able to do to feel strong...are no longer possible. I realize more and more that I AM NOT IN CONTROL OF ANYTHING AND I HATE IT!
What is a body to do? I mean this is Scripture...and it is telling me...no, it commands me...to quit ye like a man and you know...I REALLY CAN'T. So what does God mean in saying this. I searched the Scriptures further...I had to. I came up with much that encouraged and strengthened my heart.
Beloved believer here is the bottom line...Our God does not ask us to be strong in ourselves and in our own power...He asks us to be strong in Him! He is the one who does it all. Read the following verses from Joshua, Chapter 1, verses 6,7,8,and 9.
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The key is in the last few words...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. The presence of the Lord eradicates fear and faint-heartedness. It is His courage and strength that we walk in. He is there. He is with us. He upholds us and bears us up. What is our job? We are to immerse ourselves in His Word, meditating on it day and night. We are also to be doers of it...the blessing is always in the doing. We are to stay in His will not looking to the left hand or to the right It is then that our way will be prosperous...it is then that we will have good success. Our God prepares us for whatever we will face as we diligently study His word daily. He arms us with His strength, His knowledge and His presence. It is only in Christ and His strength that we can quit like a man!
We walk by faith and not by sight. It is so easy to think we know better than God....especially when our circumstances look impossible and we have not been washing ourselves daily with His truth. Faith does not look at what is seen. Faith obeys no matter how things look from a human perspective. Faith puts its trust in God. It surrenders all! Psalm 27:14 tells us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen our heart. What a place of rest we come to when we can truly place all the issues of life in His hands. No fretting...no matter what happens we are trusting God. We are standing fast in Him! Immersed in His word and aware of His presence we cannot be thrown off balance by anything the enemy might throw at us! We fight from victory and it is not our battle...it is the Lord's.
Read with me some verses from the book of Daniel, Chapter 10...
Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”
Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”
So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
How beautiful is that? The awareness of God...His voice, His touch, His presence with us and His love for us strengthens us and brings us peace.
Be of good courage, immerse yourself in His word... be strong and stand fast for the people God has placed in our lives. We are in a battle...eternity is at stake. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight!
What is a body to do? I mean this is Scripture...and it is telling me...no, it commands me...to quit ye like a man and you know...I REALLY CAN'T. So what does God mean in saying this. I searched the Scriptures further...I had to. I came up with much that encouraged and strengthened my heart.
Beloved believer here is the bottom line...Our God does not ask us to be strong in ourselves and in our own power...He asks us to be strong in Him! He is the one who does it all. Read the following verses from Joshua, Chapter 1, verses 6,7,8,and 9.
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The key is in the last few words...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. The presence of the Lord eradicates fear and faint-heartedness. It is His courage and strength that we walk in. He is there. He is with us. He upholds us and bears us up. What is our job? We are to immerse ourselves in His Word, meditating on it day and night. We are also to be doers of it...the blessing is always in the doing. We are to stay in His will not looking to the left hand or to the right It is then that our way will be prosperous...it is then that we will have good success. Our God prepares us for whatever we will face as we diligently study His word daily. He arms us with His strength, His knowledge and His presence. It is only in Christ and His strength that we can quit like a man!
We walk by faith and not by sight. It is so easy to think we know better than God....especially when our circumstances look impossible and we have not been washing ourselves daily with His truth. Faith does not look at what is seen. Faith obeys no matter how things look from a human perspective. Faith puts its trust in God. It surrenders all! Psalm 27:14 tells us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen our heart. What a place of rest we come to when we can truly place all the issues of life in His hands. No fretting...no matter what happens we are trusting God. We are standing fast in Him! Immersed in His word and aware of His presence we cannot be thrown off balance by anything the enemy might throw at us! We fight from victory and it is not our battle...it is the Lord's.
Read with me some verses from the book of Daniel, Chapter 10...
Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”
Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”
So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
How beautiful is that? The awareness of God...His voice, His touch, His presence with us and His love for us strengthens us and brings us peace.
Be of good courage, immerse yourself in His word... be strong and stand fast for the people God has placed in our lives. We are in a battle...eternity is at stake. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Worship
To My Daughters...
I was in Genesis 22 this morning as well as Mark 14 and 1 Corinthians 2 and, of course, by sheer coincidence they all tied together. : D
According to Chuck Smith, the first mention of love in the bible is found in Genesis 22. The law of first mention is a method of biblical interpretation that takes the first use of a word in Scripture and uses it to set the pattern for its use throughout the Bible. The love spoken of in Genesis 22 is the love of a father for his son.
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”--Genesis 2:2
The first mention of love in all four gospels speak also to the love of a father for His Son. Specifically, God for Jesus. Methinks someone is trying to tell us something.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” --Matthew 3:16-17
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” --Mark 1:10-11
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well
pleased.” --Luke 3:21-22
Finally, in the Gospel of John the first mention of love bears an uncanny resemblance to Genesis 22 where Abraham was told by God to take his only son whom he loved and offer him as a burnt offering to the Lord.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.--John 3:16
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, but intervened at the last moment.
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” --Genesis 22:12
God provided the sacrifice that day for Abraham and 2000 years later in the very same spot on that very same mountain, provided again...this time by giving His only Beloved Son, as a sacrifice for our sins.
Love is obedience...It says this also in Genesis 22...
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” --Genesis 22:3-5
Abraham went in obedience to His God TO WORSHIP on the top of Mount Moriah. Girls, this is the very picture of what worship is! To worship means to literally bow down. To bow and lay down our wills for the will of our God. This is what Abraham did. Love is obedience. Worship is submitting our wills to our Father in heaven and allowing Him to do as "seems good to Him." Give him your heart, soul, body, mind and strength when you worship Him. Lay it all down before Him.
It is important to note that Abraham said "we" will come back to you again. Abraham did not know how God was going to work that out, but he believed God's promise...that in Isaac his seed would be called. He believed that somehow, if necessary, God would bring His son back from the dead to keep His promise to Abraham. He believed and stood fast, because God had promised.
This is where I stopped in my reading of the Gospel of Mark today.
“Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Jesus worshiped in the Garden of Gethsemane...He laid down His will...He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Prayer and worship are the means God has provided for us to lay down our wills and come to that beautiful place of submission. It is then that He can do exceedingly abundantly in our lives as He did in Abraham's life as well as in His Son's. Worship requires us to put our eyes off of ourselves and our circumstances and place them on Him who is able!
Now, of course, you can bow down before God, but still have a heart lifted in pride...think of the worship of the publican vs the Pharisee. The publican whose heart was truly bowed down before His Lord went away justified. The Pharisee went away unjustified, condemned and rejected by God. Pride shuts the door on effective worship.
The blessing comes to those whose heart is right before Him! Worship and prayer sanctify our troubles to our highest good. Prayerful worship unburdens our hearts and enables us to align our will with His, effectively delivering us from ourselves! True worship drives away unbelief and while not removing the trouble, enables us to better bear it.
These were the verses I read in 1 Corinthians 2....
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Paul is speaking of heaven here, but beloved believer...we have this now! Biblical hope is sure and certain. It is as certain as if it already happened. Do not be blind to the glorious, glorious fact that Christ died for you when you were against Him...when you were a sinner. Do not esteem His grace and forgiveness here in your place of sourjourn, lightly! Appreciate what you have right here...right now! Death has no sting for us...no fear. We are His. Your circumstances might not be perfect but as a believer you live, move and have your being in Him. What could be sweeter. Stand fast! Worship Him in Spirit and in truth!
Love
Mom
I was in Genesis 22 this morning as well as Mark 14 and 1 Corinthians 2 and, of course, by sheer coincidence they all tied together. : D
According to Chuck Smith, the first mention of love in the bible is found in Genesis 22. The law of first mention is a method of biblical interpretation that takes the first use of a word in Scripture and uses it to set the pattern for its use throughout the Bible. The love spoken of in Genesis 22 is the love of a father for his son.
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”--Genesis 2:2
The first mention of love in all four gospels speak also to the love of a father for His Son. Specifically, God for Jesus. Methinks someone is trying to tell us something.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” --Matthew 3:16-17
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” --Mark 1:10-11
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well
pleased.” --Luke 3:21-22
Finally, in the Gospel of John the first mention of love bears an uncanny resemblance to Genesis 22 where Abraham was told by God to take his only son whom he loved and offer him as a burnt offering to the Lord.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.--John 3:16
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, but intervened at the last moment.
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” --Genesis 22:12
God provided the sacrifice that day for Abraham and 2000 years later in the very same spot on that very same mountain, provided again...this time by giving His only Beloved Son, as a sacrifice for our sins.
Love is obedience...It says this also in Genesis 22...
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” --Genesis 22:3-5
Abraham went in obedience to His God TO WORSHIP on the top of Mount Moriah. Girls, this is the very picture of what worship is! To worship means to literally bow down. To bow and lay down our wills for the will of our God. This is what Abraham did. Love is obedience. Worship is submitting our wills to our Father in heaven and allowing Him to do as "seems good to Him." Give him your heart, soul, body, mind and strength when you worship Him. Lay it all down before Him.
It is important to note that Abraham said "we" will come back to you again. Abraham did not know how God was going to work that out, but he believed God's promise...that in Isaac his seed would be called. He believed that somehow, if necessary, God would bring His son back from the dead to keep His promise to Abraham. He believed and stood fast, because God had promised.
This is where I stopped in my reading of the Gospel of Mark today.
“Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Jesus worshiped in the Garden of Gethsemane...He laid down His will...He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Prayer and worship are the means God has provided for us to lay down our wills and come to that beautiful place of submission. It is then that He can do exceedingly abundantly in our lives as He did in Abraham's life as well as in His Son's. Worship requires us to put our eyes off of ourselves and our circumstances and place them on Him who is able!
Now, of course, you can bow down before God, but still have a heart lifted in pride...think of the worship of the publican vs the Pharisee. The publican whose heart was truly bowed down before His Lord went away justified. The Pharisee went away unjustified, condemned and rejected by God. Pride shuts the door on effective worship.
The blessing comes to those whose heart is right before Him! Worship and prayer sanctify our troubles to our highest good. Prayerful worship unburdens our hearts and enables us to align our will with His, effectively delivering us from ourselves! True worship drives away unbelief and while not removing the trouble, enables us to better bear it.
These were the verses I read in 1 Corinthians 2....
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Paul is speaking of heaven here, but beloved believer...we have this now! Biblical hope is sure and certain. It is as certain as if it already happened. Do not be blind to the glorious, glorious fact that Christ died for you when you were against Him...when you were a sinner. Do not esteem His grace and forgiveness here in your place of sourjourn, lightly! Appreciate what you have right here...right now! Death has no sting for us...no fear. We are His. Your circumstances might not be perfect but as a believer you live, move and have your being in Him. What could be sweeter. Stand fast! Worship Him in Spirit and in truth!
Love
Mom
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The God Who Redeems by Rebecca
“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!” – Psalm 25:1-22
There is a cause for the evil we see in this world today. It’s called sin. Sin is the root of all woe, and it exists as a cancerous tumor, or a festering sore. It takes what is good and twists and mutilates it into that which is not good. Its fruit is death, and its destiny is everlasting destruction.
Sin does not come from God, and neither was it part of God’s work of creation. Way back in Genesis 1:31, the Lord “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” The universe was unstained and perfect. Mankind was perfect. Sin came about in our world when mankind took one of the Lord’s good gifts – our free will – and with it chose to misuse all His other good gifts. From that one act of rebellious disobedience was born the world and the people we see today. It has been a vicious descent. And it’s going to get worse.
Sin is why King David cried out to the Lord in this psalm. He was troubled from both within and without: within, because of his own sin; without, because of the sin of others. He was distressed and in need, and he knew where to go for help: the God who redeems.
Justly speaking, the Lord should have blotted His creation out of existence at the moment Adam sinned. It had been broken; ruined; infected. Even if the Lord did not destroy us Himself, He could have simply withdrawn and allowed sin to take its inevitable course: self-destruction. But He didn’t withdraw. He didn’t judge. He knew the choice Adam and Eve would make even before He created them, and He had already prepared His response: redemption. The promise of Messiah is found even as early as Genesis 3:15. Before the curse of mankind or creation was even uttered, the Lord said to the serpent (Satan), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Adam and Eve corrupted themselves. Their descendants would be, and were, born corrupted. Creation was subjected to futility.
But God! “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
The Lord did not forsake us, not even when we turned against Him! Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The plan for our redemption was set in motion from the very moment the Lord spoke the universe into existence. The Lord knew what it was going to require; He knew it would cost the life of His spotless, beloved, uniquely begotten Son; He knew it would lead to that cross on Calvary. And He saved us anyway!
Is it any wonder that it was this same Lord to whom David cried out when he was distressed? David was struggling with his own sin, with the sin of others, and with the fallen creation around him. So he went to the God who was able to save him. The God whose tender mercies and lovingkindnesses were from of old. The God who was coming to redeem him out of his transgressions! It didn’t matter what David had done or how powerful the forces against him were. Our God is able to save to the uttermost. The only question is, will you let Him?
David let Him. The Lord does not desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance; however, He will not violate that free will He gave us. He won’t force Himself on us if we don’t want Him. It’s faith, and faith alone, that He requires of us to be saved, because it is by faith that we accept His grace and allow Him to become our Lord and Savior. We’ve all been given the capacity to choose and believe. We’re all given the opportunity – and opportunity after opportunity – to choose and believe. We’re all given the information we need to choose and believe. What our choice boils down to in the end is, which do you love more? The Light that has come into the world, or the works of darkness? Jesus says in John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Strictly speaking, the only sin that condemns a soul to hell is unbelief. The Spirit of God is in the world right now, convicting it of sin, and restraining sin’s devastating effects. His voice is to be in our conscience, in God’s word, in history, and in the testimony of His children. Rejecting that voice and hardening your heart against it is blaspheming the Spirit of God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, hardened his heart, hardened his heart; finally it was God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh made his choice. God confirmed it.
“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.” (Psalm 25:8-9) It takes humility to make the choice of David. It takes humility to bite the bullet, recognize your sinfulness, and cry out to the Lord to save you from it. Thanks to sin, personal humility is something we find repulsive. Like Pharaoh, and like the Pharisees, many of us prefer to die in our sins rather than sacrifice our hideous and unmerited pride. We refuse to believe God knows best and thus stubbornly plow straight into a pit. We spurn His precious, glorious, beautiful salvation for an eternity of self-inflicted torment.
But the “man of who fears the LORD”? David writes, “Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.” (Vs. 12-15)
The difference between belief and unbelief is literally as stark as eternity. Heaven versus hell. Life versus death. Salvation versus destruction. A deep, abiding, eternal relationship with the Sovereign Creator – from whom is all that is good – versus an equally deep, abiding, and eternal separation from Him. Could the right choice be any clearer? No one truly desires evil for themselves! Even if it is a dear love for the pleasures of sin that holds you back from God, you are selling yourself short. Pleasure is of God. It may give us passing “pleasure” to indulge in sinful behavior, such as fornication, but the actual pleasure is from the Lord. He created it. He gave us the guidelines to enjoy it in the fullest way possible. If you are not following those guidelines, you will find that simply by doing so you are driving the pleasure you pursued farther and farther out of your reach. The physical fruit of the tree in the midst of Eden was not evil; what made eating it evil was that God had said not to. Trying to have anything “good” without God is like trying to enjoy cake without the cake. It doesn’t work. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? (Psalm 34:11-12) The Redeeming God is his only answer. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him; that is, the closeness with Him that each and every soul yearns for – the realization of life and love and goodness and purpose – is only to be had when we acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. We need Him. We need Him desperately. And oh, how He answered that need! He died to show us His covenant and make our redemption possible. He wants to give us life and save us from the fruit of our sin. He wants to adopt us as His beloved children. He wants to give us the unimaginable glorious and infinite reward of His own Self. How can you possibly say no?
Believer or unbeliever, cry out with King David! “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” (Vs. 1-5)
Jesus shed His very heart’s blood to redeem us. No one who trusts in the Lord will be ashamed. What is holding you back? What keeps you from the God who loves you? Cut it off! Get rid of it! It is worth nothing. What the apostle Paul once counted as gain he later counted as loss for Christ. Be it pride, deceptive pleasures, fear, control, or bitterness, lay it at the foot of the Cross. Even if it is your very life that may be required of you, lay it down. Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake will save it. Surrender to the Lord! Be one of the humble whom He can guide in His way. Be one of those who fears the Lord and can share His secrets. Be one of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Be a child of God. Be one of those who have been released from the bondage of sin. Be one of the redeemed!
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!” – Psalm 25:1-22
There is a cause for the evil we see in this world today. It’s called sin. Sin is the root of all woe, and it exists as a cancerous tumor, or a festering sore. It takes what is good and twists and mutilates it into that which is not good. Its fruit is death, and its destiny is everlasting destruction.
Sin does not come from God, and neither was it part of God’s work of creation. Way back in Genesis 1:31, the Lord “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” The universe was unstained and perfect. Mankind was perfect. Sin came about in our world when mankind took one of the Lord’s good gifts – our free will – and with it chose to misuse all His other good gifts. From that one act of rebellious disobedience was born the world and the people we see today. It has been a vicious descent. And it’s going to get worse.
Sin is why King David cried out to the Lord in this psalm. He was troubled from both within and without: within, because of his own sin; without, because of the sin of others. He was distressed and in need, and he knew where to go for help: the God who redeems.
Justly speaking, the Lord should have blotted His creation out of existence at the moment Adam sinned. It had been broken; ruined; infected. Even if the Lord did not destroy us Himself, He could have simply withdrawn and allowed sin to take its inevitable course: self-destruction. But He didn’t withdraw. He didn’t judge. He knew the choice Adam and Eve would make even before He created them, and He had already prepared His response: redemption. The promise of Messiah is found even as early as Genesis 3:15. Before the curse of mankind or creation was even uttered, the Lord said to the serpent (Satan), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Adam and Eve corrupted themselves. Their descendants would be, and were, born corrupted. Creation was subjected to futility.
But God! “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
The Lord did not forsake us, not even when we turned against Him! Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The plan for our redemption was set in motion from the very moment the Lord spoke the universe into existence. The Lord knew what it was going to require; He knew it would cost the life of His spotless, beloved, uniquely begotten Son; He knew it would lead to that cross on Calvary. And He saved us anyway!
Is it any wonder that it was this same Lord to whom David cried out when he was distressed? David was struggling with his own sin, with the sin of others, and with the fallen creation around him. So he went to the God who was able to save him. The God whose tender mercies and lovingkindnesses were from of old. The God who was coming to redeem him out of his transgressions! It didn’t matter what David had done or how powerful the forces against him were. Our God is able to save to the uttermost. The only question is, will you let Him?
David let Him. The Lord does not desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance; however, He will not violate that free will He gave us. He won’t force Himself on us if we don’t want Him. It’s faith, and faith alone, that He requires of us to be saved, because it is by faith that we accept His grace and allow Him to become our Lord and Savior. We’ve all been given the capacity to choose and believe. We’re all given the opportunity – and opportunity after opportunity – to choose and believe. We’re all given the information we need to choose and believe. What our choice boils down to in the end is, which do you love more? The Light that has come into the world, or the works of darkness? Jesus says in John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Strictly speaking, the only sin that condemns a soul to hell is unbelief. The Spirit of God is in the world right now, convicting it of sin, and restraining sin’s devastating effects. His voice is to be in our conscience, in God’s word, in history, and in the testimony of His children. Rejecting that voice and hardening your heart against it is blaspheming the Spirit of God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, hardened his heart, hardened his heart; finally it was God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh made his choice. God confirmed it.
“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.” (Psalm 25:8-9) It takes humility to make the choice of David. It takes humility to bite the bullet, recognize your sinfulness, and cry out to the Lord to save you from it. Thanks to sin, personal humility is something we find repulsive. Like Pharaoh, and like the Pharisees, many of us prefer to die in our sins rather than sacrifice our hideous and unmerited pride. We refuse to believe God knows best and thus stubbornly plow straight into a pit. We spurn His precious, glorious, beautiful salvation for an eternity of self-inflicted torment.
But the “man of who fears the LORD”? David writes, “Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.” (Vs. 12-15)
The difference between belief and unbelief is literally as stark as eternity. Heaven versus hell. Life versus death. Salvation versus destruction. A deep, abiding, eternal relationship with the Sovereign Creator – from whom is all that is good – versus an equally deep, abiding, and eternal separation from Him. Could the right choice be any clearer? No one truly desires evil for themselves! Even if it is a dear love for the pleasures of sin that holds you back from God, you are selling yourself short. Pleasure is of God. It may give us passing “pleasure” to indulge in sinful behavior, such as fornication, but the actual pleasure is from the Lord. He created it. He gave us the guidelines to enjoy it in the fullest way possible. If you are not following those guidelines, you will find that simply by doing so you are driving the pleasure you pursued farther and farther out of your reach. The physical fruit of the tree in the midst of Eden was not evil; what made eating it evil was that God had said not to. Trying to have anything “good” without God is like trying to enjoy cake without the cake. It doesn’t work. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? (Psalm 34:11-12) The Redeeming God is his only answer. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him; that is, the closeness with Him that each and every soul yearns for – the realization of life and love and goodness and purpose – is only to be had when we acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. We need Him. We need Him desperately. And oh, how He answered that need! He died to show us His covenant and make our redemption possible. He wants to give us life and save us from the fruit of our sin. He wants to adopt us as His beloved children. He wants to give us the unimaginable glorious and infinite reward of His own Self. How can you possibly say no?
Believer or unbeliever, cry out with King David! “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” (Vs. 1-5)
Jesus shed His very heart’s blood to redeem us. No one who trusts in the Lord will be ashamed. What is holding you back? What keeps you from the God who loves you? Cut it off! Get rid of it! It is worth nothing. What the apostle Paul once counted as gain he later counted as loss for Christ. Be it pride, deceptive pleasures, fear, control, or bitterness, lay it at the foot of the Cross. Even if it is your very life that may be required of you, lay it down. Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake will save it. Surrender to the Lord! Be one of the humble whom He can guide in His way. Be one of those who fears the Lord and can share His secrets. Be one of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Be a child of God. Be one of those who have been released from the bondage of sin. Be one of the redeemed!
Friday, July 1, 2011
The God of Jacob by Rebecca....
“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.” – Psalm 24:1-10
Messiah had not yet come when David penned these Spirit-inspired words. The hill of the LORD and His holy place – at least on earth – was Mount Moriah, home of Jerusalem and the tabernacle, and later, the temple. It was in Jerusalem that the Lord set His name, and in Jerusalem alone His people were to worship their God. But access to God was not free or easy. It was based on heritage, performance, person, and condition, according to the 613 precepts of the Law of Moses, and apart from this there was no other way a relationship with the Lord could be achieved. If you did not measure up, you were, quite rightly, not among those who could ascend the hill or the Lord or stand in His holy place.
But the problem is that no one truly measures up. None of us can stand before the Living God. In our fallen state, seeing Him in the fullness of His glory results in certain death. Even the faintest echoes of His Presence caused such great men as Joshua, David, Moses, Isaiah, and Daniel to fall flat on their faces. God’s standard is perfection. And we fall so far short of it.
Under the Law of Moses, ritual animal sacrifice was the prescribed way to “cover,” one’s sin. There was an entire system in place designed to make it possible for the holy God to dwell among sinful man. But as good as this system (Judaism) was, it could not change the fact that human beings are, by nature, evil. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away our sin. It could only cover it – until we sinned again. The Law could not save those who tried to keep its precepts. The Law condemned them, and it condemns us today.
Of course, humanly speaking, we might cry that God is unjust for demanding perfection. How can He be so unfair? Why doesn’t He make it easier for us to measure up? Why doesn’t He “lower the bar”? It’s cruel to force such rigid conformity. Doesn’t He know how easy it is to mess up?
But that’s humanly speaking, and objectively speaking, it’s all insane – to say the least. “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness; the world and those who dwell in therein…” God, as Creator, has the right and the authority to make the rules, and the power to enforce them. And besides this, would any of us truly want a standard that is less than perfection? Do we really want less than the best? Of course not! The only reason we gripe about God’s perfectionism is because we fail to meet it. And that’s our fault, not His. Once, mankind was perfect. We were the crowning glory of God’s creation. Adam and Eve walked with their Lord in the Garden of Eden, living a life our death-ridden experience doesn’t even permit us to imagine. Adam and Eve were without sin and creation was without stain. What changed?
We were what changed. Adam and Eve chose to use their good, God-given free will to reject God and go their own way. Mankind fell, and he dragged the physical creation with Him. The gates were opened for death, sorrow, pain, evil, sickness, deformity, corruption, decay, rebellion, arrogance, murder, loss, cruelty, deceit, immorality – and more – to take over.
Now, if God was only just, He would have blasted such cancerous depravity out of existence the moment Adam sinned. But He didn’t. From Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to David, from David to Jesus, and on into today, His loving, merciful, gracious hand can be seen throughout in human history. The Lord destroyed the ancient world with a flood, lest our own iniquity cause us to implode (as Rome did); He confused our languages at Babel so that we would have to work much harder and much longer before we could be capable of working implosive evil again; He set up the nation of Israel at the crossroads of the world to declare His name to all mankind; and through it all He prepared for the unveiling of His ultimate plan for salvation: the death of His beloved Son. It would require no less than this to make sinful man stand before the holy God.
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”
Can any of us attain even those four prerequisites? No. None of us, on our own merit, are worthy to ascend into the hill of the Lord or stand in His holy place. Even under the Mosaic Law, which provided for limited access to God, one is forced to conclude that much more than animal blood is needed. Untold millions of animal sacrifices were barely sufficient for one nation, just one, to have minimal access to a shadow of God’s Presence. Works could not save us. It had to be Jesus.
As David wrote this psalm, describing the glory of God and the glory of a relationship with Him, he was speaking of the Old Covenant. That covenant was, indeed, glorious; God owed man nothing, and yet He stooped to call Israel His special people, and to set them up as His witness to the world He loved. But the Old Covenant – the Law – was only a promise and a foreshadowing of that covenant which was to come. If the promise was glorious, what about the fulfillment?
Jesus was that fulfillment! He, the uniquely begotten Son of God, willingly laid aside His deity, became a man, came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died a death He did not deserve to He could impute His righteousness to our bankrupt accounts. He bore the just wrath of God against sin, the wrath that should have been ours, and He rose again to prove the sufficiency of His sacrifice. All that is required is that you “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:8-9), and you will be saved. You will be counted worthy to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place. It won’t be on your own merit; it will be on His. Of that person, the one who has been saved, David writes, “He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.”
Jacob was a sinner, a conniver, a liar, and a man who was out for himself. Yet he was also the man whom God named “Israel.” Throughout Jacob’s life we can see the conflict waged between those two names. Which name – which nature – was Jacob living in at any given time? His own sinful one? Or the new one God gave him? That is the question for every person who seeks the Lord and desires to see His face. In Christ, we’ve been reborn. We’ve been given His nature. But that nature is, on this earth, bound to bodies of death. My body was born in sin and it will continue in sin until the day it breaks down and dies. That will be a day to rejoice, because that will be the day my desire is fulfilled. That will be the day that I see the face of my God, in His righteousness, and I will be like Him at last. But in the meantime, while the Lord has a purpose for me on earth, how should I be living? Like Jacob? Or like Israel? “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. 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 3:1-3, emphasis mine)
Believers are Jacob. Once we belonged to the world and shared its nature of death. No longer! And yet, because our bodies still belong to death, our each day is a spiritual battle. Paul writes in Romans 7:14-25, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 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!”
Jesus has indeed delivered us! Because of Him, there is “therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-5) Christ fulfilled the Law for me. He won my salvation. Oh, yes, I will battle now, but ultimate victory is assured. The grace of God is there for His children in every confrontation, and He will complete what He has begun in us. “Not that I have already attained,” Paul writes, “or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14) The Lord has a purpose for each of His redeemed in this life, and until He fulfills it, we as believers are to press on. We are to seek His face. We are to die to ourselves daily so that we might live in Him. We are to walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh! We are not, of course, going to win every battle. But that’s no excuse not to try! Our job is simply to be obedient; the Lord will handle the results.
“Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.”
We know that Adam’s and Eve’s rejection of God, their choice to deny Him, led to the horrendous world we now inhabit. Their sin opened the gates to death. But, as the word of God has declared, the Lord made a way for us to be redeemed from those gates. He is called the “God of Jacob”; the God who, instead of giving us what we do deserve (judgment), He gives what we could never deserve: Himself. He takes worthless, depraved, dying sinners and gives them new life. He takes those who cannot stand on their own and makes them stand on Him. He gives us blessing and righteousness and salvation. He shed His very heart’s blood to become our Redeemer and to adopt us as beloved sons and daughters. He takes a Jacob to sculpt an Israel. He is the King of Glory, mighty in battle, who fought and died to save us, and He is standing outside the gates of our hearts. He is standing there, stretching out His hands, pleading, longing to come in, so that He can bless us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.
The choice to seek after God is before each of us, believer or unbeliever. For a believer, of course, the critical choice has already been made. We’ve been snatched from those gates of death, and it’s how we’ll walk the path of life that we wrestle with now. But for those who have not yet accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, today is the day of salvation! Don’t wait! Time is growing short. Open the gates of your heart. Open them and let Him ride in. Please, please, do not turn Him away. Because, if you do, there will come a day when your choice will force Him to turn you away.
A more devastating moment cannot be fathomed.
Matthew 25:31-46, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.” – Psalm 24:1-10
Messiah had not yet come when David penned these Spirit-inspired words. The hill of the LORD and His holy place – at least on earth – was Mount Moriah, home of Jerusalem and the tabernacle, and later, the temple. It was in Jerusalem that the Lord set His name, and in Jerusalem alone His people were to worship their God. But access to God was not free or easy. It was based on heritage, performance, person, and condition, according to the 613 precepts of the Law of Moses, and apart from this there was no other way a relationship with the Lord could be achieved. If you did not measure up, you were, quite rightly, not among those who could ascend the hill or the Lord or stand in His holy place.
But the problem is that no one truly measures up. None of us can stand before the Living God. In our fallen state, seeing Him in the fullness of His glory results in certain death. Even the faintest echoes of His Presence caused such great men as Joshua, David, Moses, Isaiah, and Daniel to fall flat on their faces. God’s standard is perfection. And we fall so far short of it.
Under the Law of Moses, ritual animal sacrifice was the prescribed way to “cover,” one’s sin. There was an entire system in place designed to make it possible for the holy God to dwell among sinful man. But as good as this system (Judaism) was, it could not change the fact that human beings are, by nature, evil. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away our sin. It could only cover it – until we sinned again. The Law could not save those who tried to keep its precepts. The Law condemned them, and it condemns us today.
Of course, humanly speaking, we might cry that God is unjust for demanding perfection. How can He be so unfair? Why doesn’t He make it easier for us to measure up? Why doesn’t He “lower the bar”? It’s cruel to force such rigid conformity. Doesn’t He know how easy it is to mess up?
But that’s humanly speaking, and objectively speaking, it’s all insane – to say the least. “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness; the world and those who dwell in therein…” God, as Creator, has the right and the authority to make the rules, and the power to enforce them. And besides this, would any of us truly want a standard that is less than perfection? Do we really want less than the best? Of course not! The only reason we gripe about God’s perfectionism is because we fail to meet it. And that’s our fault, not His. Once, mankind was perfect. We were the crowning glory of God’s creation. Adam and Eve walked with their Lord in the Garden of Eden, living a life our death-ridden experience doesn’t even permit us to imagine. Adam and Eve were without sin and creation was without stain. What changed?
We were what changed. Adam and Eve chose to use their good, God-given free will to reject God and go their own way. Mankind fell, and he dragged the physical creation with Him. The gates were opened for death, sorrow, pain, evil, sickness, deformity, corruption, decay, rebellion, arrogance, murder, loss, cruelty, deceit, immorality – and more – to take over.
Now, if God was only just, He would have blasted such cancerous depravity out of existence the moment Adam sinned. But He didn’t. From Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to David, from David to Jesus, and on into today, His loving, merciful, gracious hand can be seen throughout in human history. The Lord destroyed the ancient world with a flood, lest our own iniquity cause us to implode (as Rome did); He confused our languages at Babel so that we would have to work much harder and much longer before we could be capable of working implosive evil again; He set up the nation of Israel at the crossroads of the world to declare His name to all mankind; and through it all He prepared for the unveiling of His ultimate plan for salvation: the death of His beloved Son. It would require no less than this to make sinful man stand before the holy God.
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”
Can any of us attain even those four prerequisites? No. None of us, on our own merit, are worthy to ascend into the hill of the Lord or stand in His holy place. Even under the Mosaic Law, which provided for limited access to God, one is forced to conclude that much more than animal blood is needed. Untold millions of animal sacrifices were barely sufficient for one nation, just one, to have minimal access to a shadow of God’s Presence. Works could not save us. It had to be Jesus.
As David wrote this psalm, describing the glory of God and the glory of a relationship with Him, he was speaking of the Old Covenant. That covenant was, indeed, glorious; God owed man nothing, and yet He stooped to call Israel His special people, and to set them up as His witness to the world He loved. But the Old Covenant – the Law – was only a promise and a foreshadowing of that covenant which was to come. If the promise was glorious, what about the fulfillment?
Jesus was that fulfillment! He, the uniquely begotten Son of God, willingly laid aside His deity, became a man, came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died a death He did not deserve to He could impute His righteousness to our bankrupt accounts. He bore the just wrath of God against sin, the wrath that should have been ours, and He rose again to prove the sufficiency of His sacrifice. All that is required is that you “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:8-9), and you will be saved. You will be counted worthy to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place. It won’t be on your own merit; it will be on His. Of that person, the one who has been saved, David writes, “He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.”
Jacob was a sinner, a conniver, a liar, and a man who was out for himself. Yet he was also the man whom God named “Israel.” Throughout Jacob’s life we can see the conflict waged between those two names. Which name – which nature – was Jacob living in at any given time? His own sinful one? Or the new one God gave him? That is the question for every person who seeks the Lord and desires to see His face. In Christ, we’ve been reborn. We’ve been given His nature. But that nature is, on this earth, bound to bodies of death. My body was born in sin and it will continue in sin until the day it breaks down and dies. That will be a day to rejoice, because that will be the day my desire is fulfilled. That will be the day that I see the face of my God, in His righteousness, and I will be like Him at last. But in the meantime, while the Lord has a purpose for me on earth, how should I be living? Like Jacob? Or like Israel? “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. 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 3:1-3, emphasis mine)
Believers are Jacob. Once we belonged to the world and shared its nature of death. No longer! And yet, because our bodies still belong to death, our each day is a spiritual battle. Paul writes in Romans 7:14-25, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 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!”
Jesus has indeed delivered us! Because of Him, there is “therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-5) Christ fulfilled the Law for me. He won my salvation. Oh, yes, I will battle now, but ultimate victory is assured. The grace of God is there for His children in every confrontation, and He will complete what He has begun in us. “Not that I have already attained,” Paul writes, “or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14) The Lord has a purpose for each of His redeemed in this life, and until He fulfills it, we as believers are to press on. We are to seek His face. We are to die to ourselves daily so that we might live in Him. We are to walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh! We are not, of course, going to win every battle. But that’s no excuse not to try! Our job is simply to be obedient; the Lord will handle the results.
“Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.”
We know that Adam’s and Eve’s rejection of God, their choice to deny Him, led to the horrendous world we now inhabit. Their sin opened the gates to death. But, as the word of God has declared, the Lord made a way for us to be redeemed from those gates. He is called the “God of Jacob”; the God who, instead of giving us what we do deserve (judgment), He gives what we could never deserve: Himself. He takes worthless, depraved, dying sinners and gives them new life. He takes those who cannot stand on their own and makes them stand on Him. He gives us blessing and righteousness and salvation. He shed His very heart’s blood to become our Redeemer and to adopt us as beloved sons and daughters. He takes a Jacob to sculpt an Israel. He is the King of Glory, mighty in battle, who fought and died to save us, and He is standing outside the gates of our hearts. He is standing there, stretching out His hands, pleading, longing to come in, so that He can bless us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.
The choice to seek after God is before each of us, believer or unbeliever. For a believer, of course, the critical choice has already been made. We’ve been snatched from those gates of death, and it’s how we’ll walk the path of life that we wrestle with now. But for those who have not yet accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, today is the day of salvation! Don’t wait! Time is growing short. Open the gates of your heart. Open them and let Him ride in. Please, please, do not turn Him away. Because, if you do, there will come a day when your choice will force Him to turn you away.
A more devastating moment cannot be fathomed.
Matthew 25:31-46, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Reasons to Watch and Pray...
Watch because you do not know the hour your Lord is coming...
Watch so that you are ready...
Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation...
Watch with your waist is girded and your lamps burning...like men who wait for their master's return...
Watch because you will be blessed if He comes and finds you watching and waiting...
Watch and take heed to yourselves less your heart be weighed down with the wrong things and the day come upon you unexpectedly....it comes as a snare...watch!
Watch and pray because other saints will be blessed as you bring them before the Lord.
Watch and pray that you will be a blessing to all God has providentially placed in your life.
Watch and pray for open doors that you may speak the Word boldly as the Spirit leads and as you ought to speak...
Watch because you are not appointed to wrath but to be with Him whether you wake or sleep....
Watch in all things because you are His soldier...endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist...fulfill your ministry!
Watch because the end of all things is near.
Watch because fervent love for one another will be needed as persecution increases and as a result temptations will abound...watch lest Satan gain any foothold and stir up divisions and discord.
Watch because your adversary the devil knows where the chinks in your armor are. Stand strong in the Lord. Be sober, be vigilant...Resist him steadfast in the faith.
Watch because others are facing similar circumstances and are watching you and will be encouraged by your courage and steadfastness in the time of trial.
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Watch so that you are ready...
Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation...
Watch with your waist is girded and your lamps burning...like men who wait for their master's return...
Watch because you will be blessed if He comes and finds you watching and waiting...
Watch and take heed to yourselves less your heart be weighed down with the wrong things and the day come upon you unexpectedly....it comes as a snare...watch!
Watch and pray because other saints will be blessed as you bring them before the Lord.
Watch and pray that you will be a blessing to all God has providentially placed in your life.
Watch and pray for open doors that you may speak the Word boldly as the Spirit leads and as you ought to speak...
Watch because you are not appointed to wrath but to be with Him whether you wake or sleep....
Watch in all things because you are His soldier...endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist...fulfill your ministry!
Watch because the end of all things is near.
Watch because fervent love for one another will be needed as persecution increases and as a result temptations will abound...watch lest Satan gain any foothold and stir up divisions and discord.
Watch because your adversary the devil knows where the chinks in your armor are. Stand strong in the Lord. Be sober, be vigilant...Resist him steadfast in the faith.
Watch because others are facing similar circumstances and are watching you and will be encouraged by your courage and steadfastness in the time of trial.
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Fighting the Wrong Battles....
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.--Ephesians 6:12
To My Girls...
This verse is so helpful to remember when you are in the midst of an earthly battle....with...you know, people you profess to love and care about. We need to see the offenses that will undoubtedly come our way with the eyes of faith. Satan often will use people or things knowing that we will forget and be drawn into the battle we can see...which is exactly what he wants. It is then that he has the advantage. Our eyes are not focused above but on people and circumstances. We get discouraged, depressed, angry, bitter, overwhelmed and worst of all we get self-focused. We forget that our job is to glorify our God in all things. We forget that we are to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. We forget that we are to put off offenses against us and in so doing shine the light of Christ in a fallen world. See your battles for what they are for you as a believer...spiritual. Fight against the principalities and powers not with earthly things but fight against them with the resources and armor that our Lord gives us.
If you find yourself wrestling with people and things you are fighting the wrong battle. Respond biblically to provocations! Responding in any other way will create more chaos and unrest. God wants to perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. This is done as we go through trials and learn obedience through submitting to His will. The settling comes by focusing on Him...it comes from the wisdom that He gives freely when we ask in faith. His wisdom is pure and peaceable...willing to yield. The wisdom from the world filled with self-seeking and envy. It will bring confusion, chaos and every evil thing to your life. Be serious and watchful in your praying...our spirit is indeed willing but our flesh is so weak! And above all have fervent love for one another...
Imitate the Lord Jesus Christ who watched and prayed, whose soul was sorrowful even unto death...who was despised and rejected, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. Behold Him who was oppressed and afflicted and yet opened not His mouth. WHY SHOULD WE DO THIS???? HERE IS THE BEST PART!!!! AS HE SUBMITTED TO HIS FATHER'S WILL...WAIT FOR IT...
The pleasure of the Lord prospered in His hand!!! He saw the labor of His soul and was satisfied!!!!
Isn't that what we want as believers....for the Lord's will to prosper in our lives...to see the labor of our souls and be satisfied? Look up and see your God work as you pour out your soul for those He has placed in your lives. Meditate on some of these biblical responses to provocation.
Love
Mom
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.... Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.--Romans 13:8,10
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. --1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Let your gentleness be known to all men.--Philippians 4:5
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.--Philippians 4:8-9
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore
“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.--Romans 12:10-21
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.--James 1:22
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.--James 3:13-18
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:14-18
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” --Mark 14:38
To My Girls...
This verse is so helpful to remember when you are in the midst of an earthly battle....with...you know, people you profess to love and care about. We need to see the offenses that will undoubtedly come our way with the eyes of faith. Satan often will use people or things knowing that we will forget and be drawn into the battle we can see...which is exactly what he wants. It is then that he has the advantage. Our eyes are not focused above but on people and circumstances. We get discouraged, depressed, angry, bitter, overwhelmed and worst of all we get self-focused. We forget that our job is to glorify our God in all things. We forget that we are to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. We forget that we are to put off offenses against us and in so doing shine the light of Christ in a fallen world. See your battles for what they are for you as a believer...spiritual. Fight against the principalities and powers not with earthly things but fight against them with the resources and armor that our Lord gives us.
If you find yourself wrestling with people and things you are fighting the wrong battle. Respond biblically to provocations! Responding in any other way will create more chaos and unrest. God wants to perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. This is done as we go through trials and learn obedience through submitting to His will. The settling comes by focusing on Him...it comes from the wisdom that He gives freely when we ask in faith. His wisdom is pure and peaceable...willing to yield. The wisdom from the world filled with self-seeking and envy. It will bring confusion, chaos and every evil thing to your life. Be serious and watchful in your praying...our spirit is indeed willing but our flesh is so weak! And above all have fervent love for one another...
Imitate the Lord Jesus Christ who watched and prayed, whose soul was sorrowful even unto death...who was despised and rejected, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. Behold Him who was oppressed and afflicted and yet opened not His mouth. WHY SHOULD WE DO THIS???? HERE IS THE BEST PART!!!! AS HE SUBMITTED TO HIS FATHER'S WILL...WAIT FOR IT...
The pleasure of the Lord prospered in His hand!!! He saw the labor of His soul and was satisfied!!!!
Isn't that what we want as believers....for the Lord's will to prosper in our lives...to see the labor of our souls and be satisfied? Look up and see your God work as you pour out your soul for those He has placed in your lives. Meditate on some of these biblical responses to provocation.
Love
Mom
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.... Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.--Romans 13:8,10
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. --1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Let your gentleness be known to all men.--Philippians 4:5
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.--Philippians 4:8-9
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore
“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.--Romans 12:10-21
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.--James 1:22
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.--James 3:13-18
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:14-18
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” --Mark 14:38
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Choices...
Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?" So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!" So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. --Mark 15:6-15
What a choice the people made! Pilate knew Jesus had done no wrong and attempted to finagle Jesus' release by manipulating the people. The chief priests, however, had already worked the crowd and stirred them up...they wanted Barabbas...who had taken a life...to be released. Jesus who had come to give His life would, in fulfillment of much prophecy, be crucified. Jesus represented the law of God. Barabbas represented lawlessness. The people chose lawlessness. Pilate chose to please the people rather than do what he knew was right.
The question Pilate asked the crowd is one each one of us has to answer....
"What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
What will you do with Jesus? The fulfilled prophecy in the bible is overwhelming. When you look at it, the sheer numbers are undeniably significant. After careful study the only conclusion you can draw is that someone outside of time wrote the book. What will you conclude? Will you confess Him or deny Him. Submit or rebel? Greater more intelligent men than you or me have decided to look into the question...study the evidence and concluded that Jesus was who He said He was and submitted to His Lordship. Your eternal destiny rides on your decision...it is worth looking into. Eternity is a very long time.
What a choice the people made! Pilate knew Jesus had done no wrong and attempted to finagle Jesus' release by manipulating the people. The chief priests, however, had already worked the crowd and stirred them up...they wanted Barabbas...who had taken a life...to be released. Jesus who had come to give His life would, in fulfillment of much prophecy, be crucified. Jesus represented the law of God. Barabbas represented lawlessness. The people chose lawlessness. Pilate chose to please the people rather than do what he knew was right.
The question Pilate asked the crowd is one each one of us has to answer....
"What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
What will you do with Jesus? The fulfilled prophecy in the bible is overwhelming. When you look at it, the sheer numbers are undeniably significant. After careful study the only conclusion you can draw is that someone outside of time wrote the book. What will you conclude? Will you confess Him or deny Him. Submit or rebel? Greater more intelligent men than you or me have decided to look into the question...study the evidence and concluded that Jesus was who He said He was and submitted to His Lordship. Your eternal destiny rides on your decision...it is worth looking into. Eternity is a very long time.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Christophobia: Photographs and Memories (1)
Christophobia: Photographs and Memories (1): "He awoke, as he always did during the week, just before 5:00 AM, walked stiffly down the steps and gingerly endeavored to complete his morni..."
Christophobia: It'll Take a Miracle!
Christophobia: It'll Take a Miracle!: "He was a decent enough guy; a faithful husband, a good provider for his wife and children. He was even lovingly tolerant of their rather fa..."
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Mary's Devotion to Her Lord
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." --John 12:1-8
To My Sweet Daughters,
This supper takes place in the town of Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper...well, former leper. It occurred 6 days before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and just prior to the most difficult week of his life. Neither Matthew nor Mark name this woman. John, however, does and identifies her as Mary of Bethany...the sister of Lazarus and Martha. We see Mary three times in the New Testament and all three times she is at the feet of Jesus worshiping or listening attentively . Her utter devotion to Jesus is in sharp contrast to Judas' treachery in this story.
There is so much in this one short section of Scripture...so many applications for our lives. The Scripture tells us that they made Jesus supper. Then it says that Mary took a pound of costly spikenard oil and anointed the feet of Jesus. In Mark's version we find that she broke the flask and poured it on His head also. Mary honored Christ with the best that she had. She did not want to give Him anything that cost her nothing. Her gift was lavish and from her heart. The amount spoken of would be equal to a year's wages. Her gift was sacrificial...it cost her much.
Scripture goes on to say that she wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair. The hair of a woman in Scripture represents her glory...Mary laid her glory at Jesus' feet in humble love and devotion. It is a beautiful picture of a heart given over completely to her Lord and Savior. The house was filled with the scent of fragrant oil...
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?--2nd Corinthians 2:14-16
One of the consequences of Mary's act of worship was criticism. Judas begins the criticism saying that the flask of perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor and the disciples join in. John tells us that Judas' motives were not pure...that he cared not for the poor but wanted the money for himself. In fact, even at the last supper the disciples were still thinking Judas was concerned for the poor.
Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy those things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. --John 13:26-29
Whenever, you give your best to the Lord, like Mary did, there will be people who will criticize and misunderstand. No matter how beautiful your best is, there will be attempts to sully it. They may have wrong motives like Judas or the glow of your light for Him highlights their own sin. They will defend themselves by attacking you. Rejoice! You have become the aroma of Christ. That. is. a. good. thing.
Jesus rebukes Judas and tells him to "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." Now most commentators will say that Mary did not know what she was doing when she anointed Jesus with the oil of spikenard. Mary spent much time at the feet of Jesus listening to His words. Hanging on to them. I believe that she showed Him her love and devotion while He was still alive knowing He was going to die as He had predicted. Jesus had told the disciples and spoke plainly that He would be killed, buried and rise from the dead. Maybe they did not understand it...but I believe Mary did.
Jesus saw Mary's heart. It didn't matter what anyone else thought of her gift...Jesus was pleased. That should always be our goal...to please Him. Let others say what they may...Mary's name is associated with fragrant oil and what she did is written about in three out of the four gospels. Hear what Jesus says in the gospel of Mark about this specific act of worship by Mary.
For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." --Mark 14:7-9
Wow...a memorial to her. Jesus words have, of course, come to pass. Her gift of worship has blessed many who came after her and has served as a beautiful example of humble, singular devotion to Jesus. Though dead...she still speaks! Contrast Mary's pure love for Jesus with Judas' treachery and evil. Though dead he still speaks. His name is synonymous for treachery in the dictionary.
Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.
Love
Mom
To My Sweet Daughters,
This supper takes place in the town of Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper...well, former leper. It occurred 6 days before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and just prior to the most difficult week of his life. Neither Matthew nor Mark name this woman. John, however, does and identifies her as Mary of Bethany...the sister of Lazarus and Martha. We see Mary three times in the New Testament and all three times she is at the feet of Jesus worshiping or listening attentively . Her utter devotion to Jesus is in sharp contrast to Judas' treachery in this story.
There is so much in this one short section of Scripture...so many applications for our lives. The Scripture tells us that they made Jesus supper. Then it says that Mary took a pound of costly spikenard oil and anointed the feet of Jesus. In Mark's version we find that she broke the flask and poured it on His head also. Mary honored Christ with the best that she had. She did not want to give Him anything that cost her nothing. Her gift was lavish and from her heart. The amount spoken of would be equal to a year's wages. Her gift was sacrificial...it cost her much.
Scripture goes on to say that she wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair. The hair of a woman in Scripture represents her glory...Mary laid her glory at Jesus' feet in humble love and devotion. It is a beautiful picture of a heart given over completely to her Lord and Savior. The house was filled with the scent of fragrant oil...
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?--2nd Corinthians 2:14-16
One of the consequences of Mary's act of worship was criticism. Judas begins the criticism saying that the flask of perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor and the disciples join in. John tells us that Judas' motives were not pure...that he cared not for the poor but wanted the money for himself. In fact, even at the last supper the disciples were still thinking Judas was concerned for the poor.
Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy those things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. --John 13:26-29
Whenever, you give your best to the Lord, like Mary did, there will be people who will criticize and misunderstand. No matter how beautiful your best is, there will be attempts to sully it. They may have wrong motives like Judas or the glow of your light for Him highlights their own sin. They will defend themselves by attacking you. Rejoice! You have become the aroma of Christ. That. is. a. good. thing.
Jesus rebukes Judas and tells him to "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." Now most commentators will say that Mary did not know what she was doing when she anointed Jesus with the oil of spikenard. Mary spent much time at the feet of Jesus listening to His words. Hanging on to them. I believe that she showed Him her love and devotion while He was still alive knowing He was going to die as He had predicted. Jesus had told the disciples and spoke plainly that He would be killed, buried and rise from the dead. Maybe they did not understand it...but I believe Mary did.
Jesus saw Mary's heart. It didn't matter what anyone else thought of her gift...Jesus was pleased. That should always be our goal...to please Him. Let others say what they may...Mary's name is associated with fragrant oil and what she did is written about in three out of the four gospels. Hear what Jesus says in the gospel of Mark about this specific act of worship by Mary.
For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." --Mark 14:7-9
Wow...a memorial to her. Jesus words have, of course, come to pass. Her gift of worship has blessed many who came after her and has served as a beautiful example of humble, singular devotion to Jesus. Though dead...she still speaks! Contrast Mary's pure love for Jesus with Judas' treachery and evil. Though dead he still speaks. His name is synonymous for treachery in the dictionary.
Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.
Love
Mom
Notes on Revelation 5
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." --Revelation 5:1-5
The Scene: The Throne of God in Heaven...
The scroll - This was the title deed to the earth. John weeps here that no one was worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. Then one of the 24 elders tells him not to weep...that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the scroll and loose its seven seals. THIS. IS. GOOD. NEWS. Jesus is the One worthy...He is the heir of David and the Lion with power. Before Jesus could be the Lion in judgment and the King of Glory, He had to be the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! --John 1:29
When Adam and Eve sinned the earth was given over to the power of Satan. The cost of its redemption was the Son of God's sacrificial death on the cross for our sins and the Father's acceptance...the resurrection. Jesus did not take possession of the earth at this time. That time will come at the end of the Great Tribulation. Now, He patiently waits for whosoever will come and believe. This time of grace, however, will not last forever. Judgment will come.
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.--Revelation 5:6
John saw a Lamb as though it had been slain. The language used speaks of a pet lamb. God required the Jews to bring the Passover lamb into their house for four days...essentially making it a pet, before it was slain. (Exodus 2:3,6) Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. Isaiah 53:7 says,
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
John saw this Lamb "as though it had been slain." The scars then are clearly visible but it is alive. The scripture also tells us that this lamb...alive and standing but as though it had been slain, had seven horns. Horns in Scripture symbolize power. Seven of them signify complete or perfect power. This Lamb is not defenseless...complete and sovereign power, understanding and knowledge. Seven eyes...seven Spirits.
Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saint--Revelation 5:7-8
Our prayers are incense! They are a sweet smelling aroma. God has them all! Our God loves when we spend time with Him and share our heart. When we express our love and devotion in worship. Our prayers are precious to Him. A golden bowl full of incense!
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." --Revelation 5:9-10
THIS IS THE SONG OF REDEMPTION...THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED. IT IS OUR SONG...THE CHURCH'S SONG...THE ONES WHO BELIEVED FROM EVERY TRIBE AND EVERY NATION...IT IS ALSO THE SONG OF THE RAPTURED CHURCH WHO ARE TAKEN UP TO BE WITH JESUS BEFORE THE TRIBULATION BEGINS. JESUS WILL HAVE MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS TO OUR GOD AND WE WILL REIGN ON THE EARTH WITH HIM DURING THE MILLENNIUM!!! WOOT! WOOT!
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. --Revelation 5:11-14
As the lamb takes the scroll praise breaks throughout the universe! The long awaited judgment is about to begin! Christ is going to return to the earth and establish His millennial kingdom. The curse will be reversed...the believing remnant of Israel saved and the church will reign with Him.
I love what John MacArthur says here about the harps and the bowls. The harps held by the elders probably symbolize all of prophecy which culminates in the momentous events about to take place. The golden bowls of incense are the prayers of believers throughout the ages...they symbolize the priestly work of intercession for the people. Taken together, the harps and the bowls indicate that all that the prophets ever prophesied and all that God's children ever prayed for is finally to be fulfilled.
The Scene: The Throne of God in Heaven...
The scroll - This was the title deed to the earth. John weeps here that no one was worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. Then one of the 24 elders tells him not to weep...that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the scroll and loose its seven seals. THIS. IS. GOOD. NEWS. Jesus is the One worthy...He is the heir of David and the Lion with power. Before Jesus could be the Lion in judgment and the King of Glory, He had to be the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! --John 1:29
When Adam and Eve sinned the earth was given over to the power of Satan. The cost of its redemption was the Son of God's sacrificial death on the cross for our sins and the Father's acceptance...the resurrection. Jesus did not take possession of the earth at this time. That time will come at the end of the Great Tribulation. Now, He patiently waits for whosoever will come and believe. This time of grace, however, will not last forever. Judgment will come.
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.--Revelation 5:6
John saw a Lamb as though it had been slain. The language used speaks of a pet lamb. God required the Jews to bring the Passover lamb into their house for four days...essentially making it a pet, before it was slain. (Exodus 2:3,6) Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. Isaiah 53:7 says,
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
John saw this Lamb "as though it had been slain." The scars then are clearly visible but it is alive. The scripture also tells us that this lamb...alive and standing but as though it had been slain, had seven horns. Horns in Scripture symbolize power. Seven of them signify complete or perfect power. This Lamb is not defenseless...complete and sovereign power, understanding and knowledge. Seven eyes...seven Spirits.
Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saint--Revelation 5:7-8
Our prayers are incense! They are a sweet smelling aroma. God has them all! Our God loves when we spend time with Him and share our heart. When we express our love and devotion in worship. Our prayers are precious to Him. A golden bowl full of incense!
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." --Revelation 5:9-10
THIS IS THE SONG OF REDEMPTION...THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED. IT IS OUR SONG...THE CHURCH'S SONG...THE ONES WHO BELIEVED FROM EVERY TRIBE AND EVERY NATION...IT IS ALSO THE SONG OF THE RAPTURED CHURCH WHO ARE TAKEN UP TO BE WITH JESUS BEFORE THE TRIBULATION BEGINS. JESUS WILL HAVE MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS TO OUR GOD AND WE WILL REIGN ON THE EARTH WITH HIM DURING THE MILLENNIUM!!! WOOT! WOOT!
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. --Revelation 5:11-14
As the lamb takes the scroll praise breaks throughout the universe! The long awaited judgment is about to begin! Christ is going to return to the earth and establish His millennial kingdom. The curse will be reversed...the believing remnant of Israel saved and the church will reign with Him.
I love what John MacArthur says here about the harps and the bowls. The harps held by the elders probably symbolize all of prophecy which culminates in the momentous events about to take place. The golden bowls of incense are the prayers of believers throughout the ages...they symbolize the priestly work of intercession for the people. Taken together, the harps and the bowls indicate that all that the prophets ever prophesied and all that God's children ever prayed for is finally to be fulfilled.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Abram's and Sarai's Name Change...
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." --Genesis 17:1-8
Dear Girls,
The name Abram means exalted father. From reading Chuck Smith, I discovered that when God changed his name to Abraham, He inserted the Hebrew letter " h". The letter h is made with the sound of a breath. I really love what Chuck Smith says here..."God just put the sound of a breath into his name or inserted Himself, you might say."
He goes on to say that ruwach...the word for breath is also the word for spirit. God inserted His Spirit or His life into Abraham when He changed His name. In this way Abraham was brought into the life after the Spirit. The same was done for Abraham's wife Sarai....God added the same "h" and breathed the Spirit of His life into her.
Just wanted to share that with you...
Love
Mom
Dear Girls,
The name Abram means exalted father. From reading Chuck Smith, I discovered that when God changed his name to Abraham, He inserted the Hebrew letter " h". The letter h is made with the sound of a breath. I really love what Chuck Smith says here..."God just put the sound of a breath into his name or inserted Himself, you might say."
He goes on to say that ruwach...the word for breath is also the word for spirit. God inserted His Spirit or His life into Abraham when He changed His name. In this way Abraham was brought into the life after the Spirit. The same was done for Abraham's wife Sarai....God added the same "h" and breathed the Spirit of His life into her.
Just wanted to share that with you...
Love
Mom
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Scribe that was not Far from the Kingdom...
Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
‘ The LORD said to my Lord,
“ Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly. --Mark 12:35-37
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,
Jesus made the Pharisees, the Herodians and the Sadducees angry when he told them the parable of the wicked vinedressers. (See previous study in Mark) You see, they knew that they were the wicked vinedressers that Jesus was referring to and because He had exposed their hypocrisy, they wanted to catch Jesus in His own words so they could lay hands on Him and kill Him. They tried...they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him...they questioned Jesus about taxes, wives, and which is the first commandment of all. Jesus answered them so well that one of the scribes said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus said this in reply: "Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "you are not far from the kingdom of God." This Scribe understood that God does not want an outward show without an inward heart that is loyal to Him. The Scripture goes on to say that after that no one dared question Him further.
Here is what happened next and I cannot help but think that Jesus asked this particular question of the ones that had come to Him to trip Him up, for the express purpose of gently leading this one scribe closer to the kingdom. Jesus knew this man had a teachable heart...He knew His questions and His words might be wasted on the others there, but our God is a God who cares for the individual. This man was searcher of Scripture..Jesus was going to reward him for his diligent search and open the Scriptures up even further for him and illuminate a section of Scripture for those who had ears to hear.
Jesus then asks those who had come to catch Him in His words this question.
"How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL." 'Therefore David himself calls Him 'LORD'; how is He then his Son?"
It says next that the common people heard Him gladly. But methinks this scribe who was not far from the kingdom did also.
Here is what Jesus was saying. The scribes had always understood that the Messiah would be of the lineage of David. Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 here...a Messianic psalm, where David speaks of the coming Messiah as his Lord. The answer was clear to the common people and probably to this scribe whom Jesus described as being not far from the kingdom of God, also. My guess is, however, that most of the others did not want to understand and were offended. The answer is that the Messiah would be both Man and God. Jesus was the Son of David, the Son of Man, but also the Son of God...both David's Son and Lord.
Jesus ends this section with a warning to the common people to beware of those who keep the outside of their cups clean but inwardly are filled with sin, wrong motives and greed. They may make a good impression on some, but they would not fool God.
I like what Matthew Henry says here and will end with it:
"When we attend to what the Scriptures declare, as to the person and offices of Christ, we shall be led to confess him as our Lord and God; to obey him as our exalted Redeemer. If the common people hear these things gladly, while the learned and distinguished oppose, the former are happy, and the latter to be pitied. And as sin, disguised with a show of piety, is double iniquity, so its doom will be doubly heavy."
Love
Mom
‘ The LORD said to my Lord,
“ Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly. --Mark 12:35-37
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,
Jesus made the Pharisees, the Herodians and the Sadducees angry when he told them the parable of the wicked vinedressers. (See previous study in Mark) You see, they knew that they were the wicked vinedressers that Jesus was referring to and because He had exposed their hypocrisy, they wanted to catch Jesus in His own words so they could lay hands on Him and kill Him. They tried...they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him...they questioned Jesus about taxes, wives, and which is the first commandment of all. Jesus answered them so well that one of the scribes said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus said this in reply: "Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "you are not far from the kingdom of God." This Scribe understood that God does not want an outward show without an inward heart that is loyal to Him. The Scripture goes on to say that after that no one dared question Him further.
Here is what happened next and I cannot help but think that Jesus asked this particular question of the ones that had come to Him to trip Him up, for the express purpose of gently leading this one scribe closer to the kingdom. Jesus knew this man had a teachable heart...He knew His questions and His words might be wasted on the others there, but our God is a God who cares for the individual. This man was searcher of Scripture..Jesus was going to reward him for his diligent search and open the Scriptures up even further for him and illuminate a section of Scripture for those who had ears to hear.
Jesus then asks those who had come to catch Him in His words this question.
"How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL." 'Therefore David himself calls Him 'LORD'; how is He then his Son?"
It says next that the common people heard Him gladly. But methinks this scribe who was not far from the kingdom did also.
Here is what Jesus was saying. The scribes had always understood that the Messiah would be of the lineage of David. Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 here...a Messianic psalm, where David speaks of the coming Messiah as his Lord. The answer was clear to the common people and probably to this scribe whom Jesus described as being not far from the kingdom of God, also. My guess is, however, that most of the others did not want to understand and were offended. The answer is that the Messiah would be both Man and God. Jesus was the Son of David, the Son of Man, but also the Son of God...both David's Son and Lord.
Jesus ends this section with a warning to the common people to beware of those who keep the outside of their cups clean but inwardly are filled with sin, wrong motives and greed. They may make a good impression on some, but they would not fool God.
I like what Matthew Henry says here and will end with it:
"When we attend to what the Scriptures declare, as to the person and offices of Christ, we shall be led to confess him as our Lord and God; to obey him as our exalted Redeemer. If the common people hear these things gladly, while the learned and distinguished oppose, the former are happy, and the latter to be pitied. And as sin, disguised with a show of piety, is double iniquity, so its doom will be doubly heavy."
Love
Mom
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Be Still and Know that He is God...
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. --Genesis 16:1-2
To My Sweet Daughters,
Sarai, knew what God had promised but instead of looking at the situation with the eyes of faith she looked at it through the eyes of her flesh and saw the impossibility of her circumstances. She was old...childless...Abram was old. Without praying she took matters into her own hands, resorted to the customs of the day, and asked Abram to take her maidservant Hagar as his wife and have a child with her. That...Sarai decided...would be how God would provide them with an heir and keep His promise.
It is never good when we take things in our own hands...when we don't ask the counsel of the Lord...when we act in our flesh to try to help God out. Be still and know that He is God. That word "still" there means literally "hands off." I like that. We forget how powerful and mighty our God is and, pathetically, think we can help him. We often wind up making things worse and missing out on the blessings that would have occurred had we waited. Instead, we find that we now not only have to wait, but we have to deal with the consequences of our impatience and lack of faith. SIGH.
Much of faith is waiting and submitting to God's timing. It is depending on God to provide the way. When God works in our lives, He wants the glory. He doesn't want us to be able to look at the situation and think...wow, look what I did. He WANTS us to come to the end of ourselves...to the end of thinking we can do anything. Hopeless and weak is a very good place to be...faith cries out then, God's grace comes down like rain and miracles occur. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Do you know what I have found in the waiting...that the reward is the Lord Himself. The more I am tried, the more I look to Him...the more I look to Him, the less I look to the world and my circumstances. The more I look to Him, the more I see who He is and stand in awe. The more I look to Him, the more I want to live for Him. The world fades and His goodness and glory shines. Truly, girls, He is not only the rewarder but is the Reward of those who diligently seek Him. He will give you treasures in the dark places and hidden riches of secret places. He will go before you and make your crooked places straight. Even the night in His presence will be light about you. When we realize, as Abram did, that the Lord is our shield and our exceedingly great reward, we are in a very good place indeed...no matter how it looks from the world's perspective. Looking to Him, we have everything we need. Go out with joy...the Lord Himself is with you and goes before you!
Love
Mom
To My Sweet Daughters,
Sarai, knew what God had promised but instead of looking at the situation with the eyes of faith she looked at it through the eyes of her flesh and saw the impossibility of her circumstances. She was old...childless...Abram was old. Without praying she took matters into her own hands, resorted to the customs of the day, and asked Abram to take her maidservant Hagar as his wife and have a child with her. That...Sarai decided...would be how God would provide them with an heir and keep His promise.
It is never good when we take things in our own hands...when we don't ask the counsel of the Lord...when we act in our flesh to try to help God out. Be still and know that He is God. That word "still" there means literally "hands off." I like that. We forget how powerful and mighty our God is and, pathetically, think we can help him. We often wind up making things worse and missing out on the blessings that would have occurred had we waited. Instead, we find that we now not only have to wait, but we have to deal with the consequences of our impatience and lack of faith. SIGH.
Much of faith is waiting and submitting to God's timing. It is depending on God to provide the way. When God works in our lives, He wants the glory. He doesn't want us to be able to look at the situation and think...wow, look what I did. He WANTS us to come to the end of ourselves...to the end of thinking we can do anything. Hopeless and weak is a very good place to be...faith cries out then, God's grace comes down like rain and miracles occur. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Do you know what I have found in the waiting...that the reward is the Lord Himself. The more I am tried, the more I look to Him...the more I look to Him, the less I look to the world and my circumstances. The more I look to Him, the more I see who He is and stand in awe. The more I look to Him, the more I want to live for Him. The world fades and His goodness and glory shines. Truly, girls, He is not only the rewarder but is the Reward of those who diligently seek Him. He will give you treasures in the dark places and hidden riches of secret places. He will go before you and make your crooked places straight. Even the night in His presence will be light about you. When we realize, as Abram did, that the Lord is our shield and our exceedingly great reward, we are in a very good place indeed...no matter how it looks from the world's perspective. Looking to Him, we have everything we need. Go out with joy...the Lord Himself is with you and goes before you!
Love
Mom
Friday, June 17, 2011
FAITH THAT WORKS...
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.--James 2:21-26
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,
Abraham was declared righteous when he simply believed God would do what He said He would do when He told Abraham He would make his descendants more numerable than the sand on the seashore. He believed God and it was accounted or imputed to Him as righteousness. Paul points out in Romans 4:3 that Abraham was justified by faith apart from works. James is not disagreeing with Paul here...I like how Jon Courson explains it.
"It is not faith and works that saves a man. It is not faith or works. It is faith that works. All Abraham was doing on Mount Moriah was showing the reality of what had taken place in his life years earlier when he simply believed God."
Abraham's faith was real and it showed itself in works. Abraham believed and because He believed..he obeyed. Our actions will follow what our heart believes. True belief produces obedience and what a picture Abraham's obedience gave us of Calvary when God would offer up His only Son to die for our sins on that very same mountain 2000 years later.
James uses Rahab as an example, also. Rahab was a prostitute that lived on the city wall of Jericho. Scripture tells us that she received the Hebrew spies in peace and sent them out another way. Why did she not turn them in? By not doing so, she was in effect committing treason. Rahab had heard the stories of the great God of the Hebrews...from these stories Rahab concluded that this was the one and true God. She identified herself with Him despite the danger. In this her belief proved itself genuine. Rahab is listed in Hebrews Chapter 11 as a heroine in the Hall of Faith.
Again, our actions will follow what our hearts believe. God will separate his obedient followers from pretenders and unbelievers. Our belief will be evidenced in our lives. Do we treat all those God places in our lives as if we were serving Jesus Himself? Just as the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also. It is empty...vacuous. Lifeless. It has no meaning. It will not save. James is a book of tests...test yourself to see if you are in the faith. James uses Rahab and Abraham here as examples...Abraham was called to give to God that which was most precious to him. Rahab risked her own life and that of her family's for her belief in the God of the Hebrews. Obedience by faith despite the costs...Jesus tells us to count the costs. I will end with a passage from Luke 14.
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."--Luke 14:28-33
Love
Mom
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,
Abraham was declared righteous when he simply believed God would do what He said He would do when He told Abraham He would make his descendants more numerable than the sand on the seashore. He believed God and it was accounted or imputed to Him as righteousness. Paul points out in Romans 4:3 that Abraham was justified by faith apart from works. James is not disagreeing with Paul here...I like how Jon Courson explains it.
"It is not faith and works that saves a man. It is not faith or works. It is faith that works. All Abraham was doing on Mount Moriah was showing the reality of what had taken place in his life years earlier when he simply believed God."
Abraham's faith was real and it showed itself in works. Abraham believed and because He believed..he obeyed. Our actions will follow what our heart believes. True belief produces obedience and what a picture Abraham's obedience gave us of Calvary when God would offer up His only Son to die for our sins on that very same mountain 2000 years later.
James uses Rahab as an example, also. Rahab was a prostitute that lived on the city wall of Jericho. Scripture tells us that she received the Hebrew spies in peace and sent them out another way. Why did she not turn them in? By not doing so, she was in effect committing treason. Rahab had heard the stories of the great God of the Hebrews...from these stories Rahab concluded that this was the one and true God. She identified herself with Him despite the danger. In this her belief proved itself genuine. Rahab is listed in Hebrews Chapter 11 as a heroine in the Hall of Faith.
Again, our actions will follow what our hearts believe. God will separate his obedient followers from pretenders and unbelievers. Our belief will be evidenced in our lives. Do we treat all those God places in our lives as if we were serving Jesus Himself? Just as the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also. It is empty...vacuous. Lifeless. It has no meaning. It will not save. James is a book of tests...test yourself to see if you are in the faith. James uses Rahab and Abraham here as examples...Abraham was called to give to God that which was most precious to him. Rahab risked her own life and that of her family's for her belief in the God of the Hebrews. Obedience by faith despite the costs...Jesus tells us to count the costs. I will end with a passage from Luke 14.
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."--Luke 14:28-33
Love
Mom
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A Desert Land - Deuteronomy 32:10
by Charles Spurgeon...
Dear Believer,
If you are in trouble, the voice of that trouble is designed to draw you nearer to God. God has favored you, favored you with an extraordinary means of growth in grace. To use Rutherford's simile, "He has put you down in the wine cellar in the dark. Now begin to try the well-refined wines on the lees (Isa 25:6) He has brought you to a sandy desert. Now begin to seek the treasures that are hid in the sand."
Believe that the deepest afflictions are always neighbors to the highest joys. The greatst possible privileges lie close to the darkest trials. The more bitter your sorrow, the louder your song at the end. There is a reason, and that reason faith may discover and experience may live on. Our afflictions are the highway that leads us closer to God. Our troubles area fiery chariot to bring us to God. Our afflictions, wave upon wave, will drive our souls nearer heaven. It is a blessed thing when God's judgments bring us closer to Him.
May God bless you, my tested friend.
Dear Believer,
If you are in trouble, the voice of that trouble is designed to draw you nearer to God. God has favored you, favored you with an extraordinary means of growth in grace. To use Rutherford's simile, "He has put you down in the wine cellar in the dark. Now begin to try the well-refined wines on the lees (Isa 25:6) He has brought you to a sandy desert. Now begin to seek the treasures that are hid in the sand."
Believe that the deepest afflictions are always neighbors to the highest joys. The greatst possible privileges lie close to the darkest trials. The more bitter your sorrow, the louder your song at the end. There is a reason, and that reason faith may discover and experience may live on. Our afflictions are the highway that leads us closer to God. Our troubles area fiery chariot to bring us to God. Our afflictions, wave upon wave, will drive our souls nearer heaven. It is a blessed thing when God's judgments bring us closer to Him.
May God bless you, my tested friend.
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