“Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” [1]
Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. Every knee shall bow, and tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every knee! Every tongue! That’s why it is important to hear His voice and live accordingly.
“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!’” [2]
Our Lord Jesus got it done. He paid the penalty for our sin. He alone is worshiped by the angels of heaven. The angels and all creatures proclaim that Jesus, not another, is worthy of the blessing, honor, glory, and power.
[1] John 18:37
[2] Revelation 5:11-13
Bearing witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus!
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Friday, March 24, 2023
The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit
“’If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” [1]
If you love Me…, do I love Jesus? Do you? Yes, I do.
My Lord’s love language is obedience to His commands, so I will make it my aim to obey Him. And what does my Lord Jesus do to help me in my effort to love Him? He gives me a Helper to abide with me always. The Spirit of Truth! He does not give His Holy Spirit to worldly people, but as for me, as for you who want to speak His love language of commandment-keeping, He does not leave us without help, He gives us His Holy Spirit.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” [2]
How does the Lord manifest Himself to us who love Him and who express our love for Him by keeping His commandments? He and the Father manifest (reveal) themselves to us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
“Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “’Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” [3]
The Father and Son love us and come to us and make their home with us by the third person in the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” [4]
The Holy Spirit is our Teacher from the Father and the Son. He helps us remember all things that Jesus taught us so that we are made complete in Christ.
I would appreciate your prayers. I have a message and power point about the Holy Spirit for this Sunday. My goal is that He would have freedom to speak truth to us from the Father and Son via God’s Holy Word: the Bible.
[1] John 14:15-18
[2] John 14:21
[3] John 14:22-23
[4] John 14:25-26
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
The Spirit of Wisdom
One of the character traits of the Holy Spirit is wisdom. He gives wisdom to those who receive Him.
“Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of Wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.” [1]
The Spirit of Wisdom helped Moses to guide God’s people in God’s ways. Now, God transferred that Spirit of leadership to Joshua.
The Spirit of Wisdom drew Joshua to God’s Word. To meditate on it! To adhere to it…
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” [2]
The Lord gave Solomon the opportunity to ask Him for anything that he wanted. Solomon asked the Lord for an understanding heart…
“Give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” [3]
“And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.” [4]
The Spirit of wisdom rested on Jesus…
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” [5]
The Spirit of Wisdom speaks…
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. By Me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me. The Lord possessed Me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth.”
Therefore, we should ask God for wisdom…
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” [7]
"Dear God, our Heavenly Father, please graciously grant the leaders of the nations the Spirit of Wisdom to lead and guide the affairs of Your people. And please graciously grant each of us Your Spirit of Wisdom to discern and do Your will. For it in Jesus' Name that I pray. Amen."
[1] Deuteronomy 34:9
[2] Joshua 1:9
[3] 1 Kings 3:9
[4] 1 Kings 4:29-30
[5] Isaiah 11:2
[6] Proverbs 8:12, 15, 17, 22-23
[7] James 1:5
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Choose Life Choose Love
Moses is at the end of his days here on earth. The Lord gives him a prophetic message for the nation of Israel. In the future, they will be scattered like refugees all over the earth. In those days, they will remember what Moses said about God’s blessings and curses. They will recognize that their sin caused the distance between them and God. In those days, God will bring them back to the Promised Land. He will prosper them. He will remove the thick skin from their hearts, so that they are able to love Him again. Love Him with all their hearts and souls and LIVE! [1]
The Lord will place the curses on their enemies. Those who hate them! Those who persecute them! They will once again obey God’s commandments. They will enjoy good increases. The Lord will rejoice to do them good because they are now turned towards Him with all their hearts and with all their souls. [2]
The Lord set before them life and good, death and evil. He commanded them to love Him, and to keep His commandments so that they might live and be blessed by Him. [3]
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…” [4]
I like the prayer that is repeated three times in Psalm 80…
“Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” [5]
Amen! May it be so for us and for our nation!
[1] Deuteronomy 30:1-6
[2] Deuteronomy 30:7-10
[3] Deuteronomy 30:15-16
[4] Deuteronomy 30:19-20
[5] Psalm 80:3, 7, 19
The Lord will place the curses on their enemies. Those who hate them! Those who persecute them! They will once again obey God’s commandments. They will enjoy good increases. The Lord will rejoice to do them good because they are now turned towards Him with all their hearts and with all their souls. [2]
The Lord set before them life and good, death and evil. He commanded them to love Him, and to keep His commandments so that they might live and be blessed by Him. [3]
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…” [4]
I like the prayer that is repeated three times in Psalm 80…
“Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” [5]
Amen! May it be so for us and for our nation!
[1] Deuteronomy 30:1-6
[2] Deuteronomy 30:7-10
[3] Deuteronomy 30:15-16
[4] Deuteronomy 30:19-20
[5] Psalm 80:3, 7, 19
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Blessings, Curses and Persecution
God instructed Moses to teach His people that He blesses obedience and curses defiance. He said, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and do them, then I will give you…” [1]
God promised to set His obedient servants “high above all nations of the earth.” [3] If they listened to His voice, He promised that the following blessings would overtake them:
On the other hand, God promised to curse them in the above areas if they defied Him. [5] God promised to feed rebels to birds and beasts. [6] He promised to strike rebels with incurable boils of Egypt, with tumors, scabs, and itch. Rebels would incur madness, blindness, confusion of heart, oppression, and robbed continually without rescue. [7] Men would steal their fiancés. Others would possess their newly built houses. Others would eat the fruits of their vineyard fruit and the meat of their livestock. Others would have their children. They would long for their children. They would feel crushed. A foreign dictator would rule them. Locusts would eat their crops. Foreign nations would increase at the expense of their decline. They would be indebted to other nations. [8]
The Lord promised them:
Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; therefore, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce facial expressions, which does not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. [9]
God said:
It will happen that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess. the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. [10]
As I read the curses, I noticed that the Lord issues a set of judgments and then stops. He waits for a response. If they defy Him, He issues the next set of judgments.
In Revelation, God describes three rounds of seven judgments. In round one, seven seal judgments! [16] In round two, seven trumpet judgments! [17] In round three, seven bowl judgments! [18] These curses are strong incentives to choose repentance of sin and salvation by God. Tragically, the people described in the Revelation prophecy do like the people did in Jeremiah’s day, they blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They did not repent and give Him glory. [18]
God shortened the five rounds of judgments recorded in Leviticus 26 to three rounds of judgments in Revelation 6-16:
The Jerusalemites experienced the curses of sin for defying God. Eventually, the Babylon army would enter their city. Soldiers would confiscate their riches and burn down their city. They would execute their leaders. The Jerusalemites would be: “Carried away captive to Babylon for their disobedience.” [20]
The same will happen to our people when we prefer defiance towards God rather than obedience to His commands. The son of destruction will be revealed. The anti-Christ will be released. He will sit in God’s temple and pretend to be God.
King Saul was God’s early warning signal to Israel. In him, God revealed what happens to unfaithful people. “Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the Lord’s word, which he did not keep; and because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore, He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” [21]
What about God’s servants? How do we discern the difference between divine curses due to sin and suffering for the sake of righteousness? Jeremiah escaped the consequences of personal sin. He humbled himself before God and glorified God. He was neither carried away captive nor slain by the Babylonian army. His suffering was due to wayward people who persecuted him. Peter wrote, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” [22] God’s love in one’s heart is the difference. Knowing that God loves you and knowing that you love Him in return is a sign that you are suffering for sake of righteousness.
The priests of Judah colluded together to silence Jeremiah. The Lord revealed their plot to him. He wrote, “The Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it. Then you showed me their doings.” [23] The Lord rescued Jeremiah from the plots of those who sought to destroy him.
The Apostle Paul had a similar experience to Jeremiah. Forty men made plans to ambush and kill him. Paul’s nephew overheard the plot and told Paul about it. Paul asked his nephew to report the plot to the Roman commander in-charge. Thanks to God’s grace, the ambush was averted. [24]
God’s Word cannot be silenced. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will not pass away. [25] God’s Word accomplishes what He pleases. [26]
God allowed Jeremiah to write a personal note in his book. He wrote, “I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter. I did not know that they had devised plans against me, saying, ‘Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit, and let’s cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.’” [27] Jeremiah envisioned himself as a gentle lamb and a fruitful tree. No threat to others! Normally, those who bear good fruit need not worry about being cut down. But he was dealing with incredibly evil people. They wanted to kill him and erase him from everyone’s memory.
God did not let Jeremiah’s enemies destroy him. He promised him, “Behold, I will punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine. There will be no remnant to them, for I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.” [28] The Lord was not unjust, to forget his work and the labor of love which he showed toward God’s name. [29]
The prayers of martyred souls in heaven echo Jeremiah’s prayer. They cry with loud voices, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” [30] The Lord’s response to their prayer was to give them long white robes. He told them to rest until their fellow servants and their brothers were killed even as they were. [31] Vengeance followed… “He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.” [32] God blesses those who obey Him, while sin curses those who commit it.
“Dear Heavenly Father, please keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. Help us to submit ourselves to obeying You. Please deliver us from those who conspire against us. Please graciously bring our enemies to repentance. May they too bring glory and honor to You. For it is in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.”
Seasonal rains
Productive fields
Fruitful trees
Year-round food supplies
Plenty to eat
Safety
Peace
Fearless nights
Removal of evil beasts
Absence of enemy swords
Victory over your enemies
Five people to chase a hundred
One hundred to chase ten thousand
Favor
Population growth
Covenantal Relationship
New supplies before old vanish
My presence
Identification with Me
Freedom from slavery
Uprightness [2]
God promised to set His obedient servants “high above all nations of the earth.” [3] If they listened to His voice, He promised that the following blessings would overtake them:
“Blessed in the city.”
“Blessed in the field.”
“Blessed in body, ground, animals, livestock, and flock.”
Blessed breadbasket.
Blessed in travels.
Blessed in enemies fleeing from you.
Blessed barns, labors, and land.
Established as God’s holy people.
Identified and respected by others as God’s people.
Treasures of heaven to lend to nations and not borrow.
Made the head, not the tail; above only, not beneath. [4]
On the other hand, God promised to curse them in the above areas if they defied Him. [5] God promised to feed rebels to birds and beasts. [6] He promised to strike rebels with incurable boils of Egypt, with tumors, scabs, and itch. Rebels would incur madness, blindness, confusion of heart, oppression, and robbed continually without rescue. [7] Men would steal their fiancés. Others would possess their newly built houses. Others would eat the fruits of their vineyard fruit and the meat of their livestock. Others would have their children. They would long for their children. They would feel crushed. A foreign dictator would rule them. Locusts would eat their crops. Foreign nations would increase at the expense of their decline. They would be indebted to other nations. [8]
The Lord promised them:
Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; therefore, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce facial expressions, which does not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. [9]
God said:
It will happen that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess. the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. [10]
As I read the curses, I noticed that the Lord issues a set of judgments and then stops. He waits for a response. If they defy Him, He issues the next set of judgments.
Round One
You will experience:
Terror
Disease
Fever
Loss of vision
Sadness of heart
Futility
Loss of crops
Loss of wars
Evil oppression
Cowardice [11]
Round Two
Brokenness
A sky hard as iron
A land hard as bronze
Strength spent without benefit
Fields without increase
Trees without fruit [12]
Round Three
Children consumed by beasts
Livestock destroyed by beasts
Population diminished by beasts
Highways unused due to beasts [13]
Round Four
Seven setbacks due to sin
Death by sword
Enemy invasions
Epidemics
Prisoner of war camps
Lack ovens for cooking
Unsatisfied appetites [14]
Round Five
Cannibalism of sons and daughters
Destruction of idols
Corpses atop idols!
Rejection by God
Destruction of cities and sanctuaries
Rejection of your offerings to God
Barrenness
Loathing from enemies
Displacement among the nations
Death by sword (again)
Distance from places of worship
Faintness of heart due to captors
Cowardice (again)
Stumbling
Weakness before enemies
Death in foreign lands
Demise due to iniquity [15]
In Revelation, God describes three rounds of seven judgments. In round one, seven seal judgments! [16] In round two, seven trumpet judgments! [17] In round three, seven bowl judgments! [18] These curses are strong incentives to choose repentance of sin and salvation by God. Tragically, the people described in the Revelation prophecy do like the people did in Jeremiah’s day, they blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They did not repent and give Him glory. [18]
God shortened the five rounds of judgments recorded in Leviticus 26 to three rounds of judgments in Revelation 6-16:
Round One
First seal
A conqueror conquers
Second seal
Peace departs and killing starts
Third seal
Inflation increases
Fourth seal
Sword, hunger, death, wild beasts kill a quarter of the people
Fifth seal
God promises justice to His martyrs
Sixth seal
Earthquakes, sun darkens, moon reddens, stars fall to the earth
Seventh seal
Thundering, lightning, and quaking
Round Two
First trumpet
Hail and fire mingled with blood destroy a third of trees and grass
Second trumpet
A third of the sea turns bloody
A third of the sea creatures die
A third of the earth’s ships destroyed
Third trumpet
A third of water turn bitter and many people die
Fourth trumpet
A third of sun, moon, stars darken
A third of day and night darken
Fifth trumpet
People tormented by locusts five months
People seek death but it alludes them
Sixth trumpet
A third of people killed by a 200,000,000-soldier strong army
Seventh trumpet
The devil descends to earth, beast, and false prophet gain power
Round Three
First bowl
Foul and loathsome sores form on those with mark of the beast
Second bowl
The sea becomes bloody and every living creature in the sea dies
Third bowl
Rivers and springs of water become bloody
Fourth bowl
The sun scorches men with fire
Fifth bowl
Beast worshippers gnaw their tongues in pain
Sixth bowl
The kings of earth gather for battle
Seventh bowl
Thunder, lightning, earthquake, a great city, other cities collapse
The Jerusalemites experienced the curses of sin for defying God. Eventually, the Babylon army would enter their city. Soldiers would confiscate their riches and burn down their city. They would execute their leaders. The Jerusalemites would be: “Carried away captive to Babylon for their disobedience.” [20]
The same will happen to our people when we prefer defiance towards God rather than obedience to His commands. The son of destruction will be revealed. The anti-Christ will be released. He will sit in God’s temple and pretend to be God.
King Saul was God’s early warning signal to Israel. In him, God revealed what happens to unfaithful people. “Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the Lord’s word, which he did not keep; and because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore, He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” [21]
What about God’s servants? How do we discern the difference between divine curses due to sin and suffering for the sake of righteousness? Jeremiah escaped the consequences of personal sin. He humbled himself before God and glorified God. He was neither carried away captive nor slain by the Babylonian army. His suffering was due to wayward people who persecuted him. Peter wrote, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” [22] God’s love in one’s heart is the difference. Knowing that God loves you and knowing that you love Him in return is a sign that you are suffering for sake of righteousness.
The priests of Judah colluded together to silence Jeremiah. The Lord revealed their plot to him. He wrote, “The Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it. Then you showed me their doings.” [23] The Lord rescued Jeremiah from the plots of those who sought to destroy him.
The Apostle Paul had a similar experience to Jeremiah. Forty men made plans to ambush and kill him. Paul’s nephew overheard the plot and told Paul about it. Paul asked his nephew to report the plot to the Roman commander in-charge. Thanks to God’s grace, the ambush was averted. [24]
God’s Word cannot be silenced. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will not pass away. [25] God’s Word accomplishes what He pleases. [26]
God allowed Jeremiah to write a personal note in his book. He wrote, “I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter. I did not know that they had devised plans against me, saying, ‘Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit, and let’s cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.’” [27] Jeremiah envisioned himself as a gentle lamb and a fruitful tree. No threat to others! Normally, those who bear good fruit need not worry about being cut down. But he was dealing with incredibly evil people. They wanted to kill him and erase him from everyone’s memory.
God did not let Jeremiah’s enemies destroy him. He promised him, “Behold, I will punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine. There will be no remnant to them, for I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.” [28] The Lord was not unjust, to forget his work and the labor of love which he showed toward God’s name. [29]
The prayers of martyred souls in heaven echo Jeremiah’s prayer. They cry with loud voices, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” [30] The Lord’s response to their prayer was to give them long white robes. He told them to rest until their fellow servants and their brothers were killed even as they were. [31] Vengeance followed… “He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.” [32] God blesses those who obey Him, while sin curses those who commit it.
“Dear Heavenly Father, please keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. Help us to submit ourselves to obeying You. Please deliver us from those who conspire against us. Please graciously bring our enemies to repentance. May they too bring glory and honor to You. For it is in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.”
[1] Leviticus 26:3-4
[2] Leviticus 26:4-13
[3] Deuteronomy 28:1
[4] Deuteronomy 28:3-13
[5] Deuteronomy 28:15
[6] Deuteronomy 28:26
[7] Deuteronomy 28:27-29
[8] Deuteronomy 28:30-37, 43-44
[9] Deuteronomy 28:47-50
[10] Deuteronomy 28:63-64
[11] Leviticus 26:16-18
[12] Leviticus 26:18-20
[13] Leviticus 26:21-22
[14] Leviticus 26:24-26
[15] Leviticus 26:29-44
[16] Revelation 6:1-8:1
[17] Revelation 8:2-11:15
[18] Revelation 16:3-21
[19] Revelation 16:9
[20] 1 Chronicles 9:1
[21] 1 Chronicles 10:13-14
[22] 1 Peter 4:14
[23] Jeremiah 11:18
[24] Acts
23:12-32
[25] Matthew 24:35
[26] Isaiah
55:11
[27] Jeremiah 11:19
[28] Jeremiah 11:22-23
[29] Hebrews 6:10
[30] Revelation 6:10
[31] Revelation 6:11
[32] Revelation 6:12-13
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Why Did Jesus Choose Judas Iscariot?
Judas was “a devil.” [1]
Judas was “a thief” [2]
Judas was an unbeliever [3]
Judas was spiritually unclean [4]
Judas held a respected position within the group [5]
Jesus “knew what was in each person” [6], yet He selected Judas.
As we witness the truth of God’s Word freely to those around us, there’s always the risk of being betrayed by someone that we have taught about Jesus.
The attached link connects to an article with good insights from the Bible as to why Jesus included Judas to be in His inner circle of followers.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-choose-Judas.html
[1] John 6:70–71
[2] John 12:6
[3] John 6:64
[4] John 13:10
[5] John 13:29
[6] John 2:25
Judas was “a thief” [2]
Judas was an unbeliever [3]
Judas was spiritually unclean [4]
Judas held a respected position within the group [5]
Jesus “knew what was in each person” [6], yet He selected Judas.
As we witness the truth of God’s Word freely to those around us, there’s always the risk of being betrayed by someone that we have taught about Jesus.
The attached link connects to an article with good insights from the Bible as to why Jesus included Judas to be in His inner circle of followers.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-choose-Judas.html
[1] John 6:70–71
[2] John 12:6
[3] John 6:64
[4] John 13:10
[5] John 13:29
[6] John 2:25
Friday, March 10, 2023
Overwhelmed by God’s love, grace and Holy Spirit
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [1]
As I read these verses, the great commission of Jesus Christ came to mind. See Matthew 28:19-20. When I am filled with a holy awe of my Creator and embrace His ways because His Spirit has filled me with love for Him, the next thing that happens to me is that I want to tell others about Him, especially those around me like the strangers… those who do not know the love of God. They don’t know that God is their Heavenly Father and that He sent His Son into the world to become an atoning sacrifice for their sins. They don’t know that He resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven and is returning again. They don’t know about the blessed Holy Spirit who He sent to indwell and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ. They need someone to introduce them to the Triune God - the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
So, I am praying for those around me and especially for the strangers to the Trinity that He might use my life to introduce them (him or her) to Him.
“Heavenly Father, please overwhelm those who don’t know You with Your love, grace and Holy Spirit. This I pray in the Name of Jesus Christ Your Son. Amen.”
[1] Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 19
Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [1]
As I read these verses, the great commission of Jesus Christ came to mind. See Matthew 28:19-20. When I am filled with a holy awe of my Creator and embrace His ways because His Spirit has filled me with love for Him, the next thing that happens to me is that I want to tell others about Him, especially those around me like the strangers… those who do not know the love of God. They don’t know that God is their Heavenly Father and that He sent His Son into the world to become an atoning sacrifice for their sins. They don’t know that He resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven and is returning again. They don’t know about the blessed Holy Spirit who He sent to indwell and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ. They need someone to introduce them to the Triune God - the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
So, I am praying for those around me and especially for the strangers to the Trinity that He might use my life to introduce them (him or her) to Him.
“Heavenly Father, please overwhelm those who don’t know You with Your love, grace and Holy Spirit. This I pray in the Name of Jesus Christ Your Son. Amen.”
[1] Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 19
Monday, March 6, 2023
Syncing Obedience with Grace
Jesus is the Gospel. He is our salvation. We receive all the benefits of who He is as we trust in Him and cast aside (repent of) all rival objects of trust. We then enjoy union and communion with Jesus as our Lord and God. Our lives are united to Him, and we share in His life, participating with Him in what He does.
The Bible relates and integrates grace and obedience as fundamental to Christian faith and life. For example, in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 the apostle Paul says that bringing about this integration was the goal of his ministry.
Most recognize the validity of both grace and obedience, but, at the same time, experience a “seesaw theology” where the connection between law (works) and grace (faith) remains vague if not altogether absent. The challenge is avoiding either lawlessness (antinomianism) or works-righteousness (legalism).
Jesus is both Savior and Commander [Lord]. Jesus saves us by grace and also commands things of us. Our obedience to His commands does not earn us salvation, so why is obedience important? Is it because we fear He will punish us? This is the obedience of a slave.
God’s grace is the foundation of a Christian worldview. Every command of God is tied to some aspect of His character:
We forgive because we have been and will be forgiven.
We love because we are first loved by God.
We love our enemies because God first loved us and also loves (wants his best) for his and our enemies.
We can be generous because God is generous with us.
We can be truthful and honest because God is truthful and honest and will bring out the truth in the end.
We can be creative and helpful because God is creative and helpful to us.
We comfort others in their grief because God comforts us in our grief.
We can be patient because God is patient with us.
We can be peacemakers because God is a peacemaker.
We can pursue justice and right relationships at every level because God is just and righteous.
We can be reconcilers because God is a reconciler.
All our doing by faith is participating in what God is doing through Christ and in the Spirit. That means everything we do is fellowship and communion with Christ. We never act alone—because we are never alone but are united to Christ as his brothers and sisters and members of the family of God.
Connected to every command in Scripture is some kind of reference to who God is. His commands to us (the imperatives) arise out of His own character, heart, nature, and purpose, including everything He has done for us in Jesus Christ. God’s will for us always is informed and controlled by His nature and character as the Triune God who came to us in Jesus Christ so that we might have fellowship and communion with Him in holy love.
Guidelines for witnesses to keep grace and obedience together in Jesus:
Never call for an act of obedience without first showing how that call to action corresponds to something we can trust God for.
Always look for the provision of grace that are the foundation for the commands in every biblical passage.
Always indicate the character of the gracious, saving, redeeming Commander.
Never present God as merely a commander with a strong will disconnected from his heart, mind, character, and purpose, which we see in Jesus Christ.
Always begin by answering the foundational question, Who are you, Lord? Doing so makes our preaching and teaching truly Trinitarian and Incarnational.
Never simply preach to a person’s will or power of choice. Behind every act of will and choice is a desire, a hope, a love, a fear, a trust, or distrust.
Preach to persons’ hearts, their affections, their yearnings concerning the character, purpose and heart of God and their desire for communion with Him.
Preach what God can be trusted for. He can be counted on to keep His promises. Feed people’s faith, hope, and love for God. Obedience will flow out of that.
Do not preach: “If you…then God.” Doing so tempts people into legal obedience and works-righteousness. Instead, preach: “Since God in Christ by the Spirit…then you ____.” For example, say, “As we confess our sins, we experience the forgiveness that God has already given us in Christ.”
Present obedience as “going to work with God”—as an act of fellowship with God that involves us in what the Spirit of God is doing.
Preach obedience as a “get to,” not a “have to.” Preach obedience as the privilege of a child of God, not the grit-your-teeth duty of the slave of a God.
Do not seek to motivate others on the basis of trying to close a supposed “credibility gap” between the “reality” of this fallen world and an ideal that we suppose God hopes for. Preach the reality of who God is and what He does (and has done), and the calling we have to participate with God in it. We have no power to change that reality, but only to choose whether we will participate.
Preach and teach the grace of God as a finished work—a reality that we can count on even if it is hidden for now. Do not teach it as a potential that God has made possible if we do x, y, or z—God is not dependent on our actions. Rather, He invites our participation in what He has done, is doing and will do.
Preach like Jesus: “The kingdom of God has come near, so repent and believe in that good news.” Preach like Peter: “Since God has made Jesus Lord and Savior, therefore repent and believe.” The desired action is presented as a response to who God is and what he has done.
Never preach as if God cannot be more faithful than we are—as if God is limited by what we do or don’t do. Paul says, “If we are faithless, He [God] remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). We may miss out on being involved, but God will still accomplish His good purposes. God does not need us, but He delights in having His children involved in what He is doing. He created us for fellowship with Him.
Do not grant reality-making power to human actions, as if what we do makes “all the difference.” Our actions are signs pointing to the coming kingdom of God. We are mere witnesses, and our sign-acts are partial, imperfect, temporary and only provisional. But by God’s grace, the Spirit uses these meager things to point people to Christ so that they may put their entire trust in Him.
Realize that you will have to trust in the unconditional grace of God to bring about the obedience of faith—in order to preach and teach this way and not succumb to the temptation to revert back to making it sound like God’s grace depends on our response (and thus conditional upon our action).
Know that you, like Paul, cannot control people’s response to the truth. You will be accused by some, as Paul was, of encouraging sin (antinomianism)! But Paul did not change his message of grace under the pressure of such accusations. We must not change our message to a conditioned grace, as happened in Galatia. Making that switch would be a denial of the Gospel of God in Jesus Christ. [1]
I googled for articles about syncing obedience and grace and found article above after I read the following verses from Deuteronomy 4:
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.” [2]
“Take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” [3]
“You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” [4]
We do want keep God's commandments (by His grace and the power of His Holy Spirit) out of love for Him and out of love for our children and grandchildren.
[1] Edited and Abbreviated from an article by Gary Deddo entitled, “Grace and Obedience.” Attached please find the link to the full article: learn.gcs.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=4243
[2] Deuteronomy 4:2-4
[3] Deuteronomy 4:9
[4] Deuteronomy 4:40
The Bible relates and integrates grace and obedience as fundamental to Christian faith and life. For example, in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 the apostle Paul says that bringing about this integration was the goal of his ministry.
Most recognize the validity of both grace and obedience, but, at the same time, experience a “seesaw theology” where the connection between law (works) and grace (faith) remains vague if not altogether absent. The challenge is avoiding either lawlessness (antinomianism) or works-righteousness (legalism).
Jesus is both Savior and Commander [Lord]. Jesus saves us by grace and also commands things of us. Our obedience to His commands does not earn us salvation, so why is obedience important? Is it because we fear He will punish us? This is the obedience of a slave.
God’s grace is the foundation of a Christian worldview. Every command of God is tied to some aspect of His character:
We forgive because we have been and will be forgiven.
We love because we are first loved by God.
We love our enemies because God first loved us and also loves (wants his best) for his and our enemies.
We can be generous because God is generous with us.
We can be truthful and honest because God is truthful and honest and will bring out the truth in the end.
We can be creative and helpful because God is creative and helpful to us.
We comfort others in their grief because God comforts us in our grief.
We can be patient because God is patient with us.
We can be peacemakers because God is a peacemaker.
We can pursue justice and right relationships at every level because God is just and righteous.
We can be reconcilers because God is a reconciler.
All our doing by faith is participating in what God is doing through Christ and in the Spirit. That means everything we do is fellowship and communion with Christ. We never act alone—because we are never alone but are united to Christ as his brothers and sisters and members of the family of God.
Connected to every command in Scripture is some kind of reference to who God is. His commands to us (the imperatives) arise out of His own character, heart, nature, and purpose, including everything He has done for us in Jesus Christ. God’s will for us always is informed and controlled by His nature and character as the Triune God who came to us in Jesus Christ so that we might have fellowship and communion with Him in holy love.
Guidelines for witnesses to keep grace and obedience together in Jesus:
Never call for an act of obedience without first showing how that call to action corresponds to something we can trust God for.
Always look for the provision of grace that are the foundation for the commands in every biblical passage.
Always indicate the character of the gracious, saving, redeeming Commander.
Never present God as merely a commander with a strong will disconnected from his heart, mind, character, and purpose, which we see in Jesus Christ.
Always begin by answering the foundational question, Who are you, Lord? Doing so makes our preaching and teaching truly Trinitarian and Incarnational.
Never simply preach to a person’s will or power of choice. Behind every act of will and choice is a desire, a hope, a love, a fear, a trust, or distrust.
Preach to persons’ hearts, their affections, their yearnings concerning the character, purpose and heart of God and their desire for communion with Him.
Preach what God can be trusted for. He can be counted on to keep His promises. Feed people’s faith, hope, and love for God. Obedience will flow out of that.
Do not preach: “If you…then God.” Doing so tempts people into legal obedience and works-righteousness. Instead, preach: “Since God in Christ by the Spirit…then you ____.” For example, say, “As we confess our sins, we experience the forgiveness that God has already given us in Christ.”
Present obedience as “going to work with God”—as an act of fellowship with God that involves us in what the Spirit of God is doing.
Preach obedience as a “get to,” not a “have to.” Preach obedience as the privilege of a child of God, not the grit-your-teeth duty of the slave of a God.
Do not seek to motivate others on the basis of trying to close a supposed “credibility gap” between the “reality” of this fallen world and an ideal that we suppose God hopes for. Preach the reality of who God is and what He does (and has done), and the calling we have to participate with God in it. We have no power to change that reality, but only to choose whether we will participate.
Preach and teach the grace of God as a finished work—a reality that we can count on even if it is hidden for now. Do not teach it as a potential that God has made possible if we do x, y, or z—God is not dependent on our actions. Rather, He invites our participation in what He has done, is doing and will do.
Preach like Jesus: “The kingdom of God has come near, so repent and believe in that good news.” Preach like Peter: “Since God has made Jesus Lord and Savior, therefore repent and believe.” The desired action is presented as a response to who God is and what he has done.
Never preach as if God cannot be more faithful than we are—as if God is limited by what we do or don’t do. Paul says, “If we are faithless, He [God] remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). We may miss out on being involved, but God will still accomplish His good purposes. God does not need us, but He delights in having His children involved in what He is doing. He created us for fellowship with Him.
Do not grant reality-making power to human actions, as if what we do makes “all the difference.” Our actions are signs pointing to the coming kingdom of God. We are mere witnesses, and our sign-acts are partial, imperfect, temporary and only provisional. But by God’s grace, the Spirit uses these meager things to point people to Christ so that they may put their entire trust in Him.
Realize that you will have to trust in the unconditional grace of God to bring about the obedience of faith—in order to preach and teach this way and not succumb to the temptation to revert back to making it sound like God’s grace depends on our response (and thus conditional upon our action).
Know that you, like Paul, cannot control people’s response to the truth. You will be accused by some, as Paul was, of encouraging sin (antinomianism)! But Paul did not change his message of grace under the pressure of such accusations. We must not change our message to a conditioned grace, as happened in Galatia. Making that switch would be a denial of the Gospel of God in Jesus Christ. [1]
I googled for articles about syncing obedience and grace and found article above after I read the following verses from Deuteronomy 4:
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.” [2]
“Take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” [3]
“You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” [4]
We do want keep God's commandments (by His grace and the power of His Holy Spirit) out of love for Him and out of love for our children and grandchildren.
[1] Edited and Abbreviated from an article by Gary Deddo entitled, “Grace and Obedience.” Attached please find the link to the full article: learn.gcs.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=4243
[2] Deuteronomy 4:2-4
[3] Deuteronomy 4:9
[4] Deuteronomy 4:40
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Don't Underestimate the Value of Saying "No"
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)
May the Lord help us all to embrace the word, "no" when "no" is the right word for us at that moment. Sometimes an unwanted, "no," precedes a much better, "yes."
May the Lord help us all to embrace the word, "no" when "no" is the right word for us at that moment. Sometimes an unwanted, "no," precedes a much better, "yes."
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