Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween 2018


Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

I posted this a few years ago, but I think about it every year at this time, so let's revisit it. 

Today, we celebrate Halloween. Dressing up in costumes, going to parties, playing games and “trick or treating” for the little kids. But when I ask people what is the significance of the day and what exactly are we celebrating on this “second most popular” holiday in the United States of America?, the answer always seems to be the same: “I don’t know.”

I've listened to a couple Pastors this week explain that there is a confluence of three streams that flow together to form this modern celebration. The first goes back to the Druids, who were the pagan inhabitants of pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Druid or Celtic year began on November 1, which was called “Samhain”. This was their New Year’s day, and consequently, October 31 was “New Year’s Eve”. It was also a combination of a “Harvest Festival” and thought of as a “Festival of the Dead”, for it was said that it was this night that the Earth came to its closest contact with the unseen and spiritual world. Consequently, ghosts, goblins and witches terrified the populous, supposedly destroying crops, killing babies, stealing farm animals, upsetting garbage cans and reeking all sorts of havoc on the people. Bon fires were set upon the hills, either to keep the ghosts away, or perhaps to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes, where it was believed that the spirits of the deceased on the eve of Samhain find warmth and good cheer in the home of their kinfolk before the onslaught of winter. Therefore, we see a lot of the folk custom of Halloween has come from this Druid celebration.

Another one of them is the custom of “Trick or Treat”. It originated when the people of Ireland went around to homes asking for various treats for the celebration which was to follow later in the evening. Then, when the belief in the reality of goblins and ghosts began to decline, and it was no longer believed that they were really doing these mischievous things, the children decided to help out. So they dressed up in various costumes and put on masks, then went house to house asking for treats, but adding a little something extra … threatening also tricks if they failed to be generous. And so, there were garbage cans upset, gate posts found in trees, and all sorts of pandemonium that took place on that night, supposedly attributed to the ghosts and goblins, but, of course, wrought by the dressed up children.

Deuteronomy 18:9-11 “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.”


The second stream that flows into the modern celebration of Halloween comes from Central Europe, when the Christian church made its attack upon the pagan bastions, destroying the temples of the various heathen gods and goddesses. But it was never able to completely eradicate the pagan worship which reappeared in the “Dark Ages” in the form of witchcraft. One of the important aspects of witchcraft are a number of celebrations each year, which are called “Witch’s Sabbaths”. One of the highest witch’s Sabbaths, the “Black Sabbath” of witches, occurred on October 31. This was a night of feasting and revelry, and imagery includes themes of death, evil, the occult, black cats, bats, mythical monsters and other related Halloween paraphernalia. The source of much of our Halloween folklore today stems from the high witch’s Black Sabbath of October 31 celebrated in Central Europe in the Middle Ages.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.

The third stream that completes the modern concept of Halloween comes from the Roman Catholic Church. The church was engaged had been engaged in appointing certain days to honor and reverence certain Saints that the church had appointed or declared. There had become so many of these days that it became impossible to have a specific day for each Saint, so they decided to have one day in which they would remember all of the Saints, called “All Saints Day”. In the 700’s A.D., Pope Gregory III changed the date if “All Saints Day” to November 1, and in the year 834 A.D., Pope Gregory IV extended this celebration to the entire Roman Catholic Church. There was a celebration associated with this, on the evening before called “All-Hallows-Mas” or “All-Hallows-Even” on October 31 and it is from these two words that we have the contraction “Halloween”.


Here you see the three-fold origin of the celebration of Halloween. Are you still excited to celebrate it? Well, unrelated, on October 31, 1517 @ noon in WittenbergGermany, a young professor of Theology by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the University door that sprung into existence the Protestant Reformation and churches. So October 31 is the birthday of Protestantism and the Evangelical faith. Saved by grace alone, saved by Christ alone, and saved by faith alone. Now that’s no trick, but the greatest treat of all.

In Christ, Brian

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Prepare the Way Before Me



Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts”.

Continuing in this short study of the book of Malachi, the lessons state that the problem with rampant divorce, intermarriage, and improper sacrifices indicates that even after the exile, things remained seriously wrong in Judah. True, there was no blatant idolatry as there was prior to the exile, so the Jews learned that lesson. But the covenant community as a whole did not recognize what matters to God more than anything else—true love for Him with one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thus, hypocritical worship and maltreatment of neighbor characterized the post-exilic situation. Is it any wonder, then, that the Lord did not return to His temple and dwell in the Holy of Holies after the exile? Malachi 3:1 indicates that this was the case because the prophet predicts the return of the Lord to His temple, which would have only been necessary if He was not there. Moreover, the Bible does not mention the presence of God filling the second temple like He did the first one.

The Lord remained with His people after the exile, for a faithful remnant always remained in Judah, including faithful men such as Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. But God did not meet with His people in the temple because the community as a whole had no interest in Him. This lack of commitment is also seen in the community’s failure to tithe (Malacahi 3:6–12). The tithe is defined by Webster’s dictionary as: the tenth part of any thing; but appropriately, the tenth part of the increase annually arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support. Tithes are personal, predial (issuing from land), or mixed; personal, when accruing from labor, art, trade and navigation; grown or raised, when issuing from the earth, as hay, wood and fruit; and mixed, when accruing from beasts, which are fed from the ground.  The people held back the full tithe required of them. Since the priests depended on the tithe for their living, this hurt them, and so they were willing to take whatever they could get, even impure animals. Yet though it was bad enough not to support the priesthood, even worse was that in holding back the tithe, the self-centered people were actually robbing God.

Malachi 3:10 is the only place in Scripture where God commands us to put Him to the test. It is otherwise sinful to test the Lord, but we may test Him with the tithe. When we give to the work of the Lord, He promises to bless us and meet our needs—not necessarily to make us rich materially but to satisfy us and make us content. Let us give to the Lord’s work that we might see Him keep His conditional promises.

Blessings in giving back to God, 1/10th of what the Lord has first provided and given to us.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Take it to heart



Malachi 2:1-3 “And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.”

Continuing in the short Bible Study of the book of Malachi, the lesson points out that false worship comes in two main varieties. The first and easiest to identify of these is the worship of false gods. The second variety is the worship of the one true God in a manner that He does not approve. Because this second form of false worship is more subtle, it is sometimes difficult to identify. Even worse is when the strongest proponents of worshiping the Lord in ways that He does not approve are the guardians of worship themselves. In the middle of the fifth century BC, the post-exilic Jews in Jerusalem had to deal with priests who allowed for the sacrifice of defective animals even though God commanded that anything offered to Him had to be blemish-free.


Our Creator’s response to this was to warn the priests in Jerusalem that persistence in their sin would lead to all manner of problems for them. Malachi 2:1–9 describes the consequences promised to the priests who were not doing their jobs. God would cause their words of blessing not to achieve the good outcome that was spoken; instead, He would make their blessings into curses that did the opposite. But in Malachi’s day, this was not merely a possibility but a reality. God’s blessings were tied to prosperity, so those whom the priests allowed to sacrifice improperly would suffer great loss. Moreover, the prophet told the priests that God would remove them from office if they were to persist in sin. The graphic metaphor of animal dung on the faces of these priests underscores the thorough loss that they would have to endure for their impenitent sin. Ezra 7–10 and Nehemiah 8–13 refer to thorough religious reforms that occurred at this time, which likely means that the priests Malachi addressed did not repent and that God removed them from office.

Listen to the Lord, your God. Take it to heart to give honor to my name.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

The Proper Response - Part 2





Malachi 1:5-6 “Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!” “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you.”

Are we making the proper response to God’s love and provision? Are we honoring Him, obeying Him and making “pure” offerings in His name? The opposite of “honor” is dishonoring contempt. Webster’s defines “contempt” as: the act of despising; the act of viewing or considering and treating as mean, vile and worthless; disdain; hatred of what is mean or deemed vile; whence in a scriptural sense, shame, disgrace. The antidote for contempt is an attitude of gratitude for God’s loving providence; trusting God with your heart.

Malachi 1:11-14 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”


Malachi’s message was to a people who claimed to love God, but were really cheating God with defective offerings and left-overs in spiritual apathy and unfaithfulness. God, who provides His best, wants us to obediently offer and deliver our best for Him and His ministry. Where is our heart-connection today? Pastor Kyle’s parting question is: How am I responding to God’s love and provision at this stage in our life?  Is God our great King? Who does our thoughts, words and actions show that we truly trust?

In Christ, Brian



Saturday, October 27, 2018

The Proper Response - Part 1



Malachi 1:1-2 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?”

This last week, Pastor Kyle continued in the sermon series on the Minor Prophets with the book of Malachi. He stated that it is of critical importance that people know and feel loved and save in Christ first in their home. This sets the groundwork and foundation of security and stability for everything else in life. We all have to choose to respond to the circumstances of life and these choices are support by the desire for a loving and safe environment. We do all that we can for the best possible response and this comes from a place of proper care and provision.

Something that we hear in church all the time and easily gloss over is the fact that our Heavenly Father has always loved us and will always love us. Malachi begins with the words “I have loved you”. Whether past tense, present tense or future tense, we have always been loved by god. Our job as Christians is to show everyone this unconditional love, just like the Lord does. But, people ask: “Where has God shown us unconditional love?” With the distractions and busyness of life, we fail to recognizing the details of God’s daily providence towards us and overlook the big picture, miss the message and teaching. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “providence” as the care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures. A belief in divine providence, is a source of great consolation to good men. By divine providence is often understood God himself. This unconditional love in action comes “while we were yet sinners”; even the ultimate provision of salvation.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

God’s love sometimes doesn’t make sense. Love tells the truth, even the truth that we do not necessarily what to hear. Two responses that God was asking for in Malachi and still asking for from us today are (1) honor your God as Lord of your life. Reminding ourselves of God’s provision, love and care is the source of great comfort and peace. Honor God with your awe, your adoration, your praise and your honor for His glory. (2) Obedience. Loving God back is centrally based upon our obedience and that is the proper response for His unending love toward us. As a disciple, our discipline is accompanied by establishing love, compassion and trust in relationship through obedience to His Holy Word, Will and Way. This godly behavior is the natural overflow of a regenerated and transformed heart of a believer. It is our responsibility to respond to God's ability.

Let’s Continue Pastor Kyle’s message on our proper response to God’s love in the next post.


In Christ, Brian

Friday, October 26, 2018

Vain Offerings



Malachi 1:10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand”.

Continuing in this short Bible Study on Malachi, the lesson states that Scripture tells us repeatedly that divine redemption unto salvation brings with it important responsibilities. Certainly, salvation itself is by grace alone, based not on anything we do, and we can in no way take credit for it; otherwise, grace would not be grace. However, God does not redeem people to salvation so that they can sit around and do nothing. All whom He has saved are called to bear fruit and, indeed, prove their election sure by their love for the Lord in thought, word and deed. This is why the New Testament is insistent that justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Good works of obedience are not the ground of justification, but they are its proof and the fruit of sanctification. Not to get saved, but because we have been saved.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Malachi understood this doctrinal point quite well, which explains why he is so harsh on the post-exilic community in Malachi 1:10. God had chosen Israel to be His people, not Edom or any other nation, but the people in Malachi’s day were providing hardly any proof of their election. The prophet charges the community, who should have known better, with dishonoring Him with polluted offerings. When the ancient Jews brought animal sacrifices to the Lord, these animals had to be perfect and free from all diseases and other defects (which pointed to Christ – the perfect offering for all sin). Yet the people were offering blind, lame, and sick animals to God and keeping the best for themselves. They had the gall to bring animals that they would not offer as gifts to the governor, who, important as he was, was not the most holy Creator of all things. These offerings weren’t their leftovers, but their rejects. But worst of all, the priests of the temple, who were supposed to be the guardians of the sanctity of worship, did not stop the people from bringing impure offerings.

We do not know precisely why the Jewish priests were doing this. It probably had to do with their personal economic situations. Old covenant priests depended on the sacrifices for food and income, and they usually ate a portion of the meat or grain that the worshiper brought to the temple (this were acceptable). Offerings employ the means for the structure of congregational worship required by God. Given the sorry state of the temple, the priests would have been better off shutting its doors and calling worship off, then presenting offensive offerings and robbing sovereign God. Malachi condemns them for not doing so and for allowing the people to be complacent in their hypocritical, defective, halfhearted worship.


The message of this lesson is that God wants all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength in all that we do, but particularly in the case of worship and offerings. If we are not endeavoring to worship according to His commands and with the right intent, it would be better for us not to worship at all. He does not seek perfect worship from us at the present time, which is impossible given our sinful condition. What He seeks is our offering of true, intentional worship that is a testimony to His great glory. We have to ask ourselves, do we practice “first fruits” and give God our best “off the top” for the ministry of saving lives (physically and spiritually) in adoration, honor, praise and reverence, or do we give our leftovers (if any is left), or vainly offer God our rejects and throwaways in disgrace? Who is our King in the kingdom of Heaven? Live like it!

Our best for the Lord, our God.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

God’s Love



Malachi 1:1–3a “The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated’ ”.

Our church is going through a Sunday sermon series on the book of Malachi. I found this short study that parallels our series, one chapter at a time. The bask-story is important to understand the prophet Malachi’s purpose and message. The first study states that by the time we finish the Old Testament, we find that all was not well for the people of God during the final period of history recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. The exile of both Israel and Judah to foreign lands had come and gone, but the people who had returned to the Promised Land continued to suffer. The great restoration foreseen by Moses and the other prophets had not occurred. Moreover, there was little indication, humanly speaking, that it would ever come to pass. Although the rebuilding of the temple had been completed in 518 BC, the Jews were not in control of their own destiny but remained servants of the Persian Empire. Those who were in their own homeland faced opposition from their neighbors who did not want the post-exilic community to be able to provide for its own protection through the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s wall. High Persian taxes sapped the economic productivity of the people, who worked hard and had little to show for it.

In this environment, it is easy to see why the old covenant people could become discouraged and could come to believe that the Lord did not truly love them. It is easy to see why so many Jews doubted that God would fulfill His Word. The last prophetic book both chronologically and in canonical order reveals our Creator’s response to this situation. In the middle of the fifth century BC, God sent Malachi to remind His people of His love for them and His faithfulness to His covenant as well as to call them to repentance and faith, for it was their lack of repentance that was causing the conditions of exile to continue, as Daniel 9 teaches us.

Malachi, whose name means “my [Yahweh’s] messenger,” is the author of the last prophetic book of the prophets. With Malachi we again have a man who appears nowhere else in the Old Testament. Most scholars believe he ministered sometime around 460 BC, at roughly the same point that Ezra and Nehemiah were attempting to re-implement the law of God as the covenant community’s standard for worship and behavior. Malachi came to reveal the Lord’s support for this effort, and to remind the people of Judah of God’s enduring love for them.

Malachi 1:1–3 reveals this love. When the people ask for proof of God’s love, He reminds them of their election. Out of all the nations of the world, the Lord chose the descendants of Jacob, not Esau, to be His covenant people and treasured possession. In Romans 9, Paul applies the election of the people of Israel to individual believers, telling us that those who are saved have been chosen from the foundation of the world. Divine election assures us of God’s love and that we belong to Him now and always if we trust in Him alone. If you believe in Christ, you are elect. And if you are elect, you have been elected and loved by God in Christ from all eternity. Nothing could be more secure than that.

Blessing in God's love.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Resurrected and Reunified



Ezekiel 37:13-14 “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord. ”

In looking at the old familiar story of the valley of dry bones, I read this study on Ezekiel 37:13-14 (above). From the opening chapters of Genesis, a close connection is made between life and dwelling before God in the land of His blessed presence. Adam and Eve enjoyed intimacy with the Lord and life before Him while they lived in Eden. But when they broke the covenant, they were cast out of God’s presence and subjected to death. Israel’s punishment for breaking the covenant was exile — being kicked out of the Promised Land where the Lord granted life to His people and sent among the Gentiles to experience slavery, suffering, and death. In Ephesians 2:12, the Apostle Paul spoke of life outside of the “covenants of promise” as life “having no hope and without God in the world”.

The lesson makes the observation that, consequently, the ancient Jews who lived in Babylon understood themselves to be essentially dead. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “death” as: In theology, perpetual separation from God, and eternal torments; called the second death. Separation or alienation of the soul from God; a being under the dominion of sin, and destitute of grace or divine life; called spiritual deathThis notion of death in exile forms the backdrop against which we can better understand Ezekiel 37:13-14. God takes Ezekiel out to a valley and shows the prophet a mass of exposed dry bones. Ancient Near Eastern peoples viewed unburied human bodies with particular horror, so the sense conveyed by the image is the old covenant people of God as “dead and unclean in their sin”. Moreover, the fact that Ezekiel sees only bones conveys the fact that the nation is really and truly dead. It is not going to be able to bring itself back to life. These are not bodies that have only been lying there a few minutes, and so it is possible that they might not really be dead. No, these bodies have been there a long time and have fully decomposed. Only God can help them.

The Lord promises that He will bring these bodies (the nation of Israel) back to life by His sovereign act. Moreover, He says the proclamation of His Word will accomplish their resurrection. God has Ezekiel prophesy over the bones, and at that point they are restored to life and given the Holy Spirit. The Lord is saying that He will restore His people through the foolishness of preaching. As part of this restoration, Israel and Judah will be reunited as one nation in God’s hand under David, namely, the Messiah.

1 Corinthians 1:21 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

Christ Jesus fulfills the teaching of Ezekiel 37:13-14. Resurrection was central to His ministry and God’s Plan of Salvation. He began His work in Galilee, the former northern kingdom of Israel, gathering in the descendants of that kingdom along with the descendants of Judah in Judea. Finally, He decrees that the proclamation of the Apostolic gospel is the means of bringing dead sinners back to life. Under the fuller revelation of the new covenant, we see that the resurrection of Israel finds its fullest realization in the resurrection of the saints (those who have been sanctified) in the new heaven and the new earth. As Christians, we are the Israel of God, the one community of believers united by faith in Jesus Christ that is made up of believing Jew and believing Gentile alike. Our resurrection and inheritance of the restored creation, through the resurrection of Christ, fulfills Ezekiel. Resurrected and Reunified

Blessings


Monday, October 22, 2018

The Death & Resurrection of Relationships



Genesis 2:23-24 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

This last week, our church welcomed guest preachers Randall and Leslie Burris, whose message was on the topic of marriage and relationships. They stated that in our fallen flesh condition, we tend to believe that when we keep things secret, then nobody gets hurt. But, thoughts, words and deeds done in secret are always seen by God. In 2 Samuel 12:7, when Israel’s King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and she conceived then murdered her husband Uriah the Hittite and married Bathsheba to conceal the sin in secret, the prophet Nathan said to David, “You are the man” (Revealing the secret).

In John 15:13, Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Love is seen at the foot of the Cross, where we are transformed from a slave to sin into a slave to righteousness and a friend of the Lord. We are not too broken to find our way out of “ourself” and get “right with God”. Like King David, we need to take ownership of our shortcomings and sins. People tend to look for 3 things in human life: (1) adventure, (2) battle and (3) beauty. Pleasure-seeking people desire and search for strength in “Self”. We have to choose to tell our own story; weak or strong, sick or well, unstable or balanced, sound or broken in spirit, knowing and believing that there is power in the resurrection. Our sins against God and our fellow man can take our spirit to the rock bottom of the well of life, but the Lord works best with “bottom-dwellers”. Beaten, battered and shattered, the only way to go is up.

Romans 6:5 “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”

We all need to take inventory of our relationships. Where do you stand with your close relations? We need to move out of the darkness of secrets and into the light of God’s righteousness. Loving relationships take constant work because they never hold steady; they are either improving or declining. When we lose true relationship, we need to reconcile and restore in order to have a resurrection of relationship. Everyone is one decision away from a miraculous change. This includes an invitation to solidify our relationship with the Lord.

Choose to change the way that you think. Decide in advance the things that need to burn and fall off. They will burn. Make a conscience decision that you are going to obediently listen to the Lord and walk in the Spirit. Our dark nights won’t last. Decide to forgive because forgiveness sets you free, even in ridiculous forgiveness. Every day, ask God to play the new story of your life (His story) in resurrection and less of the old one of death. Change you power for God’s and live the abundant life in true relationship.

In Christ, Brian

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Sealed by the Holy Spirit


Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

This weekend, I came across this devotional on the above Bible verse. It states that from very ancient times it has been the custom to confirm and guarantee an agreed-on purchase by sealing the contract with a seal that could only be broken by the buyer when he was ready to take possession of his purchase. The marvelous transaction seen by the Apostle John at God’s throne in heaven was in reference to this practice. There, only the Lamb of God is found worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll on which is recorded the title to the whole creation. “And they sung a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The purchase price had been paid at the Cross on Calvary, and the resurrected Lamb of God had come to claim His possession.

And we are part of that possession! The price has been paid for our redemption from sin’s bondage and eternal damnation, but on this side of eternity, we have not yet entered on the inheritance which our great Redeemer has promised us. In the meantime, the Believer’s individual title deed, as it were, has been sealed by none other than the Holy Spirit. He is not only the seal, but also the “earnest”—that is, the down payment, the earnest money—who guarantees the total “redemption of the purchased possession” at glorification.

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

The Devotion concludes that the indwelling Holy Spirit’s personal presence in our lives is our assurance that the full promise will be fulfilled, and we are urged in Ephesians 4:30 to “grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption”. 2 Corinthians 1:22 proclaims, He “has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”.

Blessings

Saturday, October 20, 2018

The Things of Others



Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

A small devotional on the above Bible verse, points out that our responsibility is to think like the Lord Jesus, part of which requires “looking” (marking, identifying) matters beyond our own concerns. Part of that responsibility is caution. Romans 16:17 warns, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark [same Greek word for ‘look’] them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them”. Another part is being aware of godly examples. Philippians 3:17 instructs, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as you have us for an example”.

The lessons states: surely that responsibility also includes that “we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). And in cases of necessary discipline, Galatians 6:1 teaches: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted”.


They tell us to also consider these:
  • 1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth”.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:33 “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved”.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:9 “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak”

Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

Blessings

Friday, October 19, 2018

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Salvation is Near



 

Romans 13:11 “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”

As I continue through this study of the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Romans, I learn that fulfill the law of God through our love of Him and our neighbor, but the Apostle Paul is clear that our own fulfillment of the law is not what grants us salvation. Our fulfillment of the law remains imperfect in this life, in the sinful desires of the flesh, we continue to struggle against sin. The only reason why we can even begin to fulfill the law lies in the fact that Christ was born under the law and fulfilled it for us, succeeding where both Adam and Israel failed. Through faith alone, this obedience is imputed to us and we are “justified”, or declared righteous in the sight of God. Paul speaks elsewhere of salvation as a past event, using the word salvation as a synonym for justification.

The lesson points out however, the Apostle does not use the term salvation only for the past event of our once-for-all justification. Paul says our “salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed”. Clearly, then, he views salvation as a future event in at least some sense, Paul’s varied usage of the term salvation reflects the Bible’s insistence that redemption is a past, present, and future reality. We were saved; we are being saved; and we will be saved. If we look at salvation as an overarching concept that encompasses past, present, and future, it becomes clear that Scripture views salvation as a work that begins with regeneration and justification, continues on in sanctification,  and then is finally brought to completion in our glorification, or the point at which all remnants of sin are purged from us entirely. In the ultimate sense, we do not experience salvation only the moment we are born again; that is just one aspect of salvation. The fullness of our salvation will not take place until our glorification when we enter into heaven.

Certainly, the Lord guarantees the present and future aspects of salvation by what He has done in the past. If we have been justified, we will certainly be glorified, and if someone falls away, it is because he never had saving faith. In any case, the future aspect of our salvation that we will enjoy in our glorification in Heaven is nearer now than when we first believed. Every day, we get closer to the appointed time at which our Savior will return, remove all sin from creation, and bring us into glory.

The lesson concluded that salvation draws near has ramifications for our lives in the present. God always finishes the work that He starts, and if we are in Christ now, our future glorification is assured. This helps us put our confidence in the right place. Because the Lord has us in His hand, we can trust that He will work out all His purposes for us. When we grow discouraged with the lack of holiness in our lives, we must remember that God is working in us, that He will finish what He started, and that if we seek His face, we will enjoy all the benefits of His redemption.

Blessings

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

The Law of Love



Romans 13:10 “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

I recently came across a lesson on the above Bible Verse that stated how many people today see love merely as a feeling or as a sentiment that lacks objective content. In other words, there is a widespread belief that love consists mainly in a feeling of warm affection and, essentially, means whatever one wants it to mean. Many people believe it is OK to divorce their spouses merely because they do not feel in love anymore. Others justify all manner of illicit relationships by their understanding that love has no true definitive boundaries.

We do not deny that love has an emotional component; however, as Paul teaches us in Romans 13:9–10, we may not define love according to whatever feels right to us at the moment. Love, the Apostle tells us, consists in the fulfillment of the commandments against murder, adultery, theft, covetousness, and “any other commandment”. Given the context, Paul has in mind primarily the commandments that regulate our relationships with other people. Christians must follow the law of love, but the concrete guidance as to what the law of love demands is the moral law of God revealed in Scripture.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “love” as: An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. It is opposed to hatred. Love between the sexes, is a compound affection, consisting of esteem, benevolence, and animal desire. Love is excited by pleasing qualities of any kind, as by kindness, benevolence, charity, and by the qualities which render social intercourse agreeable. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of His kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received. The love of God is the first duty of all men, women and children, and this springs from” just” views of Hs attributes or excellencies of character, which afford the highest delight to the sanctified heart. Esteem and reverence constitute ingredients in this affection, and a fear of offending Him is its inseparable effect.

The lesson points out that the Apostle Paul does not specifically mention love for the Lord in these verses, but he certainly does not exclude it. In fact, by citing the commandments of God specifically, the Apostle inextricably ties love of neighbor to love of our Creator. If we love the Lord our God, we will keep His commandments, striving to do what pleases Him. If you really love [God], you will be pleased by what pleases him, and what pleases him is revealed to us in his law. God’s law, therefore, remains relevant to the Believer. It is opposed to faith in the matter of justification—we cannot be declared righteous in the Lord’s sight by keeping His commandments. Only through faith does this occur. Yet God’s law guides our sanctification, our walk as living sacrifices according to the renewing of our minds. This guide says true love—as defined in the commandments—does no wrong to our neighbors. He who is endued with true love will never entertain the thought of injuring others. Why would they?

Augustine of Hippo writes, “The rule of love is that one should wish his friend to have all the good things he wants to have himself and should not wish the evils to befall his friend which he wishes to avoid himself.” Doing no wrong to neighbor is more than just refraining from harm; it consists in working for the good of others, in doing for them that which we would want them to do for us (The Golden Rule - Matthew 7:12). Only God’s Spirit can generate such love in us.

Blessings

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Monday, October 15, 2018

Esteem



Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

In a short lesson on this Bible verse, they highlight that in this verse, Paul challenged us to refrain from any “strife” or “vainglory”— words that seem a bit stern in the colloquial and idiomatic terms of our day. Big “fifty cent” words to say selfish ambition or vain conceit are harsh words in our everyday speech today, but need to be defined for the .

Per Strong’s dictionary of Bible Words, “Eritheia” is the Greek word for “strife” here — a faction of contentious political maneuvering for greater power, seeking to win followers in self-seeking rivalry. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines “strife” as: Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. “Vainglory” is similar. Strong’s dictionary states that it comes from the Greek word “kenodoxia”, meaning an empty pride, vain conceit or groundless self-esteem. Webster’s dictionary defines “vainglory” as: Exclusive vanity excited by one's own performances; empty pride; undue elation of mind. Defining the terms help in understanding the severity of the issue. Both are rather unpleasant descriptions of the foolish and sinful human behavior that is seen all too often.

Galatians 5:26 “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another”.

On the contrary, we are challenged to “esteem” the others in our fellowship as “better than” ourselves. The precise words in this instruction insist that we are to use deliberate and careful judgment in our evaluation of others in our relationships as being more “excellent” than what we have thought of ourselves.

In Romans 11:33-12:3, the Apostle Paul explains, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

The lesson points out how that goes against most of what we have been taught in our Western educational systems. Self-esteem is required by etiquette or current political correctness in our schools, songs, internet, movies, and television programs. In fact, “positive thinking” and “prosperity thinking” are very little more than self-esteem dressed up in informal terms. In the biblical “body” analogy, we are told in 1 Corinthians 12:23-24, that “those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor… having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked”. The opposite of self-esteem is esteeming others. The opposite of "selfish" is sacrifice out of love of God and others.

God thinks differently. Flip your thinking on esteem. We are told to, with lowliness of mind, think of each other like God thinks. Blessings.


Sunday, October 14, 2018

Don’t Stop / Don’t Settle



Genesis 11:31-32  And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

Genesis 12:1-5 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

This last Sunday, our church welcomed guest preacher, You-Tuber, international speaker, and coach, Sean Cannell to the pulpit for a message on progressing on the vision that God has called upon our lives. Sean expounded that no matter how old you are, God can use you. Along with the vision in which we set out on the road of life, we find stalls, potholes and breakdown upon our journey’s path. God had said the Abram’s father Terah, “go to Canaan”, but his vision was sidetracked and he was sidelined on the trip. The message is: Don’t stop and don’t settle. 

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy
is he who keeps the law.”

A “power life” vision comes from God Almighty. Sight is a function of the eyes. But, vision is a function of the heart. We all need vision, but how clear is our vision?
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” God has not called us to less; He has called us to more. The devil tries to diminish our vision with lies and illusions designed to stall and cause us to settle for less than God’s calling on our life.

Sean identified three major vision-blockers that appear on the road of life. (1) Distractions. A basic rule is “keep your eyes on the road”. Living distracted can cause you to not get to your desired destination and not receive God’s best. Habakkuk 2:2 tells us: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Is your vision written down so that you can focus on and pursue your goals with purpose? What is the vision that God has clearly communicated and placed upon your heart for your life? God is not calling us to stand still and stay here, so move forward.

(2) Doubters. Nehemiah 6:9 says For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. The child of God can see what others cannot. There are discouragers to what you are trying to accomplish always. Be determined to keep going towards God’s vision for your life. Realize that others do not understand what God has called you to and what you see. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Audit you circle of confidants to remove negativity, gossip and complains that are vision-hitters and killers. But stay in church, the body of Christ, and guard God’s vision for you.

(3) Delay. There is so much going on in all our lives. There are always challenges and circumstances beyond our control on the journey of life which delay progress. But God has us, so trust and believe; always looking at Jesus. We are not defined by one chapter in our book of life. Remember that God has called us to a great purpose, so do not lose heart. In God we trust. In Christ we believe. So, have faith, stand firm and keep dreaming. Don’t stop / don’t settle. Get up and go!

In Christ, Brian

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Son of the Living God



Matthew 16:16“And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

A devotional on this Bible verse states that this ringing affirmation of faith came from Peter as spokesman but undoubtedly was shared by all the disciples, since Jesus had asked the question “Whom do you say that I am?” of them all. Actually, they had probably all been disciples of John the Baptist, who had directed them to Jesus.

The Apostle John had said in John 1:18, that Jesus was indeed “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father. In fact, it is essential that one must believe it to be saved. Jesus did say in John 3:18, “But he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”.

Yet He seems to want us to know Him especially as the Son of man, perhaps so that we will never forget that He, though fully God, is also fully man just like us; God incarnate. And as man, He was “in all ways tested like as we are, yet without sin” so He can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and we now can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.

The Apostle John was enabled to see Christ once again, long after His return to heaven. Although He was now in His resurrection body. In Revelation 1:13, John still saw Him as “one like unto the Son of man”. Although He is indeed the Son of the living God, He is also our “man in the glory”, God with us! 

Blessings in Christ, the Son of the living God.

Friday, October 12, 2018

The Triune Universe


Colossians 1:13-16 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed 
us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were createdthat are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Our Wednesday evening small group Bible Study is going through the new Institute for Creation Research (ICR) video series “The Universe”. ICR explains that the “things” God made are nothing more or less than our universe. That created reality is the only valid illustration of the triunity that expresses the nature of our Creator. Space is both invisible and at the same time the matrix in which all of our reality exists. 

Acts 17:26-28 “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”

Matter is the visible and tangible revelation of the existence of space. We “see” space by means of the visible phenomena of energy arranged in molecular structures that are functioning, predictably, over time as matter that we can see, feel, and use. God the Son is the Logos/Word (John 1:14) who makes it possible for us to “see” God.

John 14:6-7 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”


The Holy Spirit is the “time” of the triune Godhead. It is He who brings about a relationship with God. It is the Holy Spirit who actually executes the creation of the new birth. The Holy Spirit is the One who imparts the spiritual gifts of God to the believers. And just like “time”, all we ever “see” or “sense” about the Holy Spirit is the result of what has been done.

John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The physical universe is, in a very real sense, a trinity of trinities. In fact, tri-unity in various ways is often seen in the creation. Although no man could ever model the Godhead, God has “clearly” done this in His creation.

Blessings in God’s creation and salvation in Christ!

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Godly Kind of Love


Romans 13:8-9 “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” An overview of Romans brings to light therefore, that the only way we can have peace with our Creator is by the righteousness of another—Christ, whose obedience is imputed to us when we trust only in Him for salvation. Yet God does not only justify us, or declare us righteous in His sight. God also transforms our heart, and we pursue holiness; not in order to secure a right standing with the Lord, but in gratitude to Him for the right standing He has granted us by grace alone. The outworking of all this is seen in continual transformation by the renewing of our minds, which produces sincere love in our hearts toward others and a willingness to submit to the authorities that the Lord has rightfully established in His world.

In Romans 13:8-9, the Apostle picks up on this idea of obligation when he commands us to “owe no one anything, except to love each other”. He does not mean that Christians are not allowed to go into any kind of financial debt; rather, the point is that the only perpetual obligation that believers have is to love one another. In other words, there is one debt that believers will be repaying from the point of conversion into all eternity, and that is to love the brethren.

Without a doubt, the Apostle leans on the words of Jesus Himself, who said love of God
and neighbor are the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34–40). Paul does not mention love for the Lord explicitly in Romans 13:8-9; however, Scripture assumes that true love for neighbor manifests itself only when we have true love for our Creator. The whole law is fulfilled when we love our neighbors; for true love towards our fellow man does not flow except from the love of God, and it is its evidence as it were its effects. The study notices that Paul speaks of love as the fulfillment of the moral law, specifically the Ten Commandments in Romans 13:9. True, biblical love has objective moral content. We cannot justify actions merely because they “feel” loving. Instead, godly love conforms to the Lord’s standards. It does what pleases Him.

The study concludes that as disciples of Christ, we must define love by what the Lord has revealed and not by what happens to “feel” right to us at the moment. Our hearts can deceive us, but God’s Word teaches us only the truth. As we consider our love for others, a desire to act in conformity to the commands of the Lord will show us that what we are experiencing is the godly kind of love that the Lord demands. 

Love in Christ.