Jesus Christ Shines Through People

In what way is the redemption story of Christ shining through your life?

Throughout the Scripture, the life of Christ shines through His people.

Take for example Joseph in the Old Testament!

“Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” [1]

Jesus Christ is the One who declares or explains God to people, so in a sense, Joseph is a type of Christ in this verse as he gives glory to God for making him the revealer of God’s Words.

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” [2]

The word for “declared” in the original Greek of the New Testament is “εξηγησατο” from the verb “exégeomai” which means to lead out or to unfold, often used in the context of explaining or interpreting something. Joseph could interpret Pharoah’s dream because the same God who gave Pharoah the dream explained its meaning to Joseph.

Joseph could tell Pharaoh, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do” because the Lord’s Spirit bore witness with his spirit that this dream and prophetic utterance was from God. He could assure Pharoah, “The thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” [3]

Pharoah asked his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” [4]

The fruit of Joseph’s fellowship with the Lord during his exile in Egypt brought glory to God and saved the lives of many people. Joseph named his sons accordingly. “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: ‘For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.’ And the name of the second he called Ephraim: ‘For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.’” [5]

In a similar fashion to Joseph, due to the sins of others, God’s Son, Jesus, was temporarily exiled from heaven, but during His walk on earth, He still enjoyed sweet fellowship with the Father, and His ministry on earth brought healing and salvation to the world.

There’s an allusion to the three days of Jesus in the tomb and of the resurrection in the fact that Joseph imprisoned his brothers for three days and then, said to them on “the third day, ‘Do this and live.’” [6]

Joseph was led by God’s Spirit to convict his brothers of their sins and to lead them to repentance. This is the work that Jesus (the Word of God) and the Holy Spirit do in the lives of sinners to save them from sin, and from the consequences of sins.

“Then they said to one another, ‘We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore, this distress has come upon us.’ And Reuben answered them, saying, ‘Did I not speak to you, saying, do not sin against the boy; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” “Their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’” Their words relate to the Gospel in which the people cried unto Pilate, “His [Jesus’] blood be upon us and upon our children.” [7]

Reuben offers his two sons to his father Jacob as a ransom for the lives of Joseph and Benjamin if anything happens to Benjamin during their trip to Egypt. This act relates to one’s debt of sin being paid off by the sacrifice of another who doesn’t deserve to die. “Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, ‘Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.’” [8]

The “stolen” silver cup as a cause to arrest the sons of Israel and imprison them relates to the 30 pieces of silver for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Messiah. After the betrayal, Jesus was arrested. [9]

The brothers falling down before Joseph relates to every Israelite and Gentile eventually bowing the knee and professing that Jesus Christ is Lord. Hopefully, we will all say to the Lord, “God has found out the iniquity of Your servants; here we are, my Lord’s slaves” before that day and thus be saved by Jesus before it is too late to repent and serve Him. [10]

Finally, Joseph explains (exegetes) for his brothers that his being thrown in a pit, resurrected from the pit, and sold into slavery for silver by them was a redemptive act of God. “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” “God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” [11]

In a sense, Joseph died, resurrected and became lord over his brothers. He is a type of Christ because God chose to make of him such a person. Thankfully, he enjoyed a relationship with God because God helped him to understand the events of his life in relationship to the redemption story of Messiah Jesus. He is one person of many in the Scriptures whose life point to the one Messiah for all people everywhere, even Jesus Christ.

May the Lord help each of us to see how He is using our lives to point others to Christ!

[1] Genesis 41:16 
[2] John 1:18
[3] Genesis 41:28, 32
[4] Genesis 41:38
[5] Genesis 41:51-52
[6] Genesis 42:17-18
[7] Genesis 42:21-22, 28; Matthew 27:25
[8] Genesis 42:37
[9] Genesis 44:1-14
[10] Genesis 42:6; 43:26, 28; 44:16
[11] Genesis 45:4-5, 7-8

Our Lord Jesus Does All Things Well

“They were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’” [1]

Our Lord Jesus is the One who did all things well through His servant Joseph.

“His [Joseph’s] master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.” “… the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.” “The Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” “The Lord was with him [Joseph]; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.” [2]

Aligning one’s life with honoring and serving Messiah Jesus is the key to the victory in this world full of trials and setbacks. The Ark of the Covenant is a type of Christ in the Old Testament.

“The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stayed in Obed-Edom's house for three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his family. The people told David, ‘The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom. And all his things are blessed. This is because the Ark of the Covenant of God is there.’” [3]

The Prophet Jonah remarked, “He who forsakes the Lord forsakes his own tender mercies.” [4]

The Prophet Jeremiah remarked, “This I recall to my mind therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’” [5]

The Apostle Paul described one of his trials as a thorn in his side. He wanted the Lord to remove it. The Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” [6]

The main thing is to live to worship and bring glory to Christ. Let Him live in and through you, and you will see Him do things well through your life.

[1] Mark 7:37
[2] Genesis 39:3, 5, 21, 23
[3] 2 Samuel 6:11-15
[4] Jonah 2:8
[5] Lamentations 3:21-24
[6] 2 Corinthians 12:9

Messianic Lenses On

The Bible makes sense when one reads it with Messianic lenses on. Jesus Messiah is the theme of the Bible because only in Him is there redemption for Israel and for all people. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is door to the pasture. There is salvation in no other name. [1]

John wrote of Jesus saying, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” [2]

The word for “declared” in the original Greek of the New Testament is “εξηγησατο” from the word the verb “exégeomai” means to lead out or to unfold, often used in the context of explaining or interpreting something. From this Greek word we draw the term for interpreting Scripture, which is to exegete. Jesus is the exegete of Scripture; the explainer of it.

Let’s look at Genesis 37-38 with Messianic lenses on.

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.” [3]

Joseph is a type of Christ. Jesus is the beloved Son of God. He is the One that his brothers were jealous of and handed over to Pilate to be crucified.

“Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.” “His brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So, they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. [4]

The dream was prophetic in nature. Joseph would eventually reign over his brothers. And Jesus Messiah will eventually reign over Israel, and over the world. Those who want to be first, hate Christ because they want, as Satan does, to steal the hearts of God’s worshippers.

Later on, we find Joseph describing to a stranger his mission, “I am seeking my brothers.” [5]

Joseph’s brothers cast him into a pit to die. This is a type of the tomb of Jesus, and of His resurrection. His brothers sold him to slave traders. This was a type of Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus for the sake of financial gain. “So, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver.” [6]

“They took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, ‘We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?’” [7]

It is no coincidence that a goat was slain. Its blood symbolized Joseph. The goat is a type of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Lamb that was slain to take away the sins of the world. [8]

Next, we have the story of God preserving the bloodline of Messiah. Judah had three sons. The first two died without children. Judah refrained from giving their widow to his third son. God’s Law for Israel was that a brother needed to impregnate his sister-in-law if his brother, her husband, died childless. This was done to preserve his brother’s family line. Judah did not give Tamar, the widow, to his third son when he was of marrying age. He said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. [9]

What did Tamar do? She played the part of a harlot to obtain a child from Judah. She got pregnant by him, and later gave birth to twins. At first Judah was going to have Tamar executed for playing the harlot, but when he realized that the act was done with him, and that she was trying to preserve his family’s bloodline, he remarked, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again. [10]

Tamar gave birth to twins. Perez stuck his hand out from his mother’s womb and “the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, ‘This one came out first.’ Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, ‘How did you break through? This breach be upon you!’ Therefore, his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.” [11]

Perez was counted as the firstborn based on his hand coming forth first before his brother’s body, but his brother, Zerah, had a scarlet thread on his hand which symbolized that he would by saved by a descendant of his brother’s genealogy, namely Jesus of Nazareth.

Tamar is one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. “Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron…” Rahab [the former harlot], Ruth [the Moabite], the wife of Uriah [Bathsheba], and the virgin Mary are the other four. All five of these women experienced questions about their reputations, but God redeemed their lives and placed them in His Book and in the genealogy of His Son. [12]

So, you see, it is important to look for Messiah, both for your eternal salvation, and for an accurate understanding of the Scriptures.

[1] John 4:42, John 10:9, Acts 4:12
[2] John 1:18
[3] Genesis 37:3-4
[4] Genesis 37:5, 8
[5] Genesis 37:16
[6] Genesis 37:24-28
[7] Genesis 37:31-32
[8] John 1:29
[9] Genesis 38:6-11
[10] Genesis 38:12-26
[11] Genesis 38:28-30
[12] Matthew 1:3, 5-6, 16

Navigating Changing Circumstances

“Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.’” [1]

Have you noticed the countenances around your work place changing towards you? Have you prayed to the Lord about it? What is the Lord saying to you about it?

“Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them, ‘I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.’” [2]

Jacob noted the change at his work place and verbally processed it with his wives. He examined himself first and knew that he had given his best effort. Then, he faced the facts about his employer. The man was deceptive and exploitive. In the grand scheme of things it was God who had been preserving and providing for him not his employer.

“Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ …’I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel… Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’” [3]

After prayer, and verbally processing the situation with his spouses, the Lord spoke to Jacob and told him what to do next. His wives also agreed with his assessment of the situation.

“Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, ‘Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.’” [4]

Their husband’s employer was their father. He was stingy and impersonal towards them. He traded their lives to Jacob in exchange for 14 years of his labor. God blessed Jacob’s efforts but their father intended to consume their blessings and leave his children, and his children’s with scraps.

Jacob and his family departed that place without giving notice. The employer would have done Jacob’s family harm but God told him not to do so. Even so, his boss did confront him. This confrontation provided an opportunity for Jacob to express his grievances, “These 20 years I have been with you… I bore the loss [es]. …I served you 14 years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times [to my loss]. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.” [5]

Yes, God had protected and provided for Jacob not this unfair employer and relative.

Laban did not see things Jacob’s way, he responded, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine.” [6] His self-centeredness blinded him to his abusive behavior.

“So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.” [7]

The Lord was with him as he departed from abuse and exploitation. When he faced a trial after his departure, he prayed to the Lord, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray… for You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” And the Lord blessed him. [8]

“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a man is valued by what others say of him.” [9] How people treat us does influence our sense of self-worth. Jacob and his wives endured being under-valued and under-appreciated with great patience and long-suffering, but thanks to the Lord, He provided a day of redemption and vindication for them. They were able to get out from under that oppression as they trusted in the Lord and followed His leading.

The Scripture says that those who are led by the Spirit are God’s children. [10]

[1] Genesis 31:2-3
[2] Genesis 31:4-7
[3] Genesis 31:11-13
[4] Genesis 31:14-16
[5] Genesis 31:17-24; 38-42
[6] Genesis 31:44
[7] Genesis 32:1
[8] Genesis 32:10-12, 29
[9] Proverbs 27:21
[10] Romans 8:14

Spirit-filled and Professing Jesus Messiah

The Holy Spirit filled Peter and he said to the rulers of the people, “By the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [1]

When the Spirit of God fills a man or woman, He leads him or her to testify for Jesus. To speak of His death and His resurrection! To tell people that Jesus is the sure foundation to build their eternal future upon. There is no other name by which a person can be saved from hell and welcomed into heaven than by faith in the Name of Jesus.

When the authorities commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the Name of Jesus. Peter and John said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” [2]

The Spirit of God helped them to overcome the fear of bullies.

When they gathered with other Christ-professing believers, they prayed, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the Name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” [3]

Rather than cutting back their efforts due to trials, they prayed and ask God to grant them boldness to speak His Word and believed Him for miracles that would further glorify His Name.

“The place where they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.” “With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” [4]

This is the kind of prayer meeting that gets things shaking and moving. And in spite of the great results, they stayed the course. Their trajectory was straight ahead full steam. They gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus which is the main point of Christianity. We preach Christ crucified and risen, and that by His grace, whosoever believes in Him receives eternal life.

[1] Acts 4:8-12
[2] Acts 4:18-20
[3] Acts 4:29-30
[4] Acts 4:31-32

A Blessing to All Nations In Christ

Abraham was the blessed recipient of divine visitations and conversations. He talked and walked with God. He was godly because he loved God and wanted to be like God.

Preceding the destruction of Sodom, three men visited Abraham. He fed them. They told him that his elderly wife Sarah would give birth to a son. [1]

The Lord revealed to Abraham what He was going to do to Sodom on the basis of the fact that Abraham was one who taught his children to keep God’s ways.

“For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” [2]

Abraham interceded for Sodom because his nephew Lot lived there. He asked the Lord not to destroy Sodom if at least 10 righteous people were there. God agreed. [3]

God sent two angels to get Lot and his family out of Sodom before the fire fell. Angels literally had to take Lot, his wife and two daughters by their hands and lead them out of the city. For although they had warned them to escape, they lingered. The angels told them to escape to the mountains, but even in this Lot tried to haggle with them. He asked if they could flee to a nearby city. The angels permitted him to do so. Then, the fire fell. [4]

Abraham returned the next “morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.” [5]

Although God got Lot’s daughters out of Sodom, Sodom was still in them. The daughters made their father drunk and committed incest with him. It is as though the unclean spirits of Sodom found a way to preserve their perversity by escaping destruction via these two daughters. From the daughters of Lot sprung the nations of Moab and Ammon. [6] These nations made war with the descendants of Abraham. On a positive note, Ruth, who appears in the genealogy of Messiah Jesus, was a Moabite woman who married a descendant of Abraham.

Abraham’s wife Sarah did give birth to the child that God promised him. [7]

Afterwards, “God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” [8]

Abraham went to the place of God’s choice. He told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” [9]

Notice that Abraham said, “We will come back to you.” The writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham had faith in God that even if he sacrificed Isaac that God would resurrect Isaac because God had promised that through Isaac he would have many descendants.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” [10]

When Isaac asked Abraham about the absence of a lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham told Issac, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” [11]

The Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son before it was too late. He said to Abraham, “Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” [12]

Then, a ram showed up and Abraham sacrificed it to the Lord and “called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide.” [13]

The Lord said to Abraham, “Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your Seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” [14]

Some are careless about the fruit of their bodies. Praise God for preserving the lineage of Christ via His servant Abraham, not just biologically but spiritually, a legacy of descendants who kept faith that God would bring about that special Seed via a woman. The One of which God said to the serpent in the Garden, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” [15]

Jesus crushed the serpent’s plan to destroy the human race by becoming an atoning sacrifice for our sin. Jesus experienced the bruising when He died on the cross for us. But Jesus did not remain dead. He conquered sin, death and the devil on third day when He resurrected from the dead.

Peter connected the promise of Israel being a blessing to all nations to Messiah when he said, “He [God] said to your father Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed.’” [16]

Paul connected the promise of Israel being a blessing to all nations to Messiah when he said, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his Seed. It does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ referring to many, but referring to One, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” [17]

It is in Christ that we are blessed and it is in Christ that we are a blessing to the nations.

[1] Genesis 18:1-15
[2] Genesis 18:19
[3] Genesis 18:22-33
[4] Genesis 19:1-25
[5] Genesis 19:27-29
[6] Genesis 19:30-38
[7] Genesis 21:1-2
[8] Genesis 22:1-2
[9] Genesis 22:3-5
[10] Hebrews 11:17-19
[11] Genesis 22:7-8
[12] Genesis 22:11-12
[13] Genesis 22:13-14
[14] Genesis 22:16-18
[15] Genesis 3:15
[16] Acts 3:25
[17] Galatians 3:16

Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus

“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.” “And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’” [1]

The people wanted to make a name for themselves rather than to do as they were designed to do which was to glorify the Name of the Lord. They wanted to concentrate in one place rather than propagate as they were mandated by God to do: “Be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.” [2]

It’s kind of like people living in rebellion against God and at the same time claiming the rainbow as a promise that He will not destroy the earth by flood again. No, He will not but He will destroy it by fire…

“For this they willfully forget: that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same Word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” [3]

What became of the tower of rebellion that the people built? It’s gone. What was its fruit? Babel! “Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” [4]

Immediately following Babel, God provides for us an example of a man who left his homeland to spread out and fill the earth. “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.’” [5]

Abram honored God and God honored him. God blessed him and promised to bless those who blessed him. In Abram, the families of the earth would be blessed. Why? Because one of his descendants is Jesus Messiah. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

“Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and …there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the Name of the Lord.” [6]

Abram honored the Lord. He did not want to make a name for himself. He wanted to glorify the Name of the Lord. Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” [7] God honors the one who serves Jesus. In fact, God honors communities and nations that serve Jesus.

The alternative to honoring and serving God is to serve the devil.

The devil is a thief and destroyer. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” [8]

Judas Iscariot was duped by the devil to betray Jesus. He also stole money from the Lord. He led a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, to arrest his Messiah. [9] In the end, he was destroyed.

Sadly, many choose to listen to the devil’s lies against the Lord. This was the case when our Lord was crucified. The religious leaders and their followers cried against Jesus saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.” [10]

Let us be like Abram and like the eleven disciples of Jesus who did not betray Him. Who were not duped by the devil! Let us ever walk with Jesus and follow His example pure.

[1] Genesis 11:1, 4
[2] Genesis 9:7
[3] 2 Peter 3:5-7
[4] Genesis 11:9
[5] Genesis 12:1-3
[6] Genesis 12:7-8
[7] John 12:26
[8] John 10:10
[9] John 12:6; 13:27, 18:3
[10] John 18:40

Living Carefully and Care-filled

“He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die.” [1]

Elisha wanted to see Elijah ascend to heaven so that he would receive a double portion of Elijah’s Spirit. [2]

The disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven. They waited for Jesus to give them His Spirit. He did. He filled them. [3]

The Lord says, “You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” [4]

We must have the Holy Spirit to live as Jesus lived in this world.

While on trial, Peter said to those who arrested him and John, “We are His [Jesus’] witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to them that obey Him.” [5]

The key to being filled with the Spirit is to live to propagate the Word of God and to give witness to the testimony of Jesus [His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His coming again, His saving grace].

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the WORD of GOD, and for the TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST.” [6]

[1] Proverbs 19:16 
[2] 2 Kings 2:9-15
[3] Luke 24:51; Acts 2:1-4
[4] Romans 8:9
[5] Acts 5:32
[6] Revelation 1:9

The Importance of Walking with God

“Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” [1]

The name Enoch (חֲנוֹךְ Ḥănōḵ) in Hebrew means “dedicated,” “trained,” “disciplined,” “inaugurate,” or “initiate.” He was a disciple of the Lord.

“Enoch lived 65 years, and begot Methuselah.” [2]

“The exact meaning of Methuselah’s very ancient name is not certain. Bible scholar and scientist Dr. Henry Morris said it may mean, ‘When he dies, judgment’—referring to the worldwide flood judgment. Similarly, Cornwall and Smith say his name means, ‘When he is dead, it shall be sent’ (‘it’ referring to the Deluge).” [3]

Methuselah died in the year that the flood occurred. So, it seems that when Enoch named him, he was leaving behind a prophetic indication from the Lord for people to observe. Judgment was coming. God even allowed Methuselah to live longer than any other person on earth – 969 years.

Peter referred to the flood in his letter to Christians. Then, he wrote this, “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a 1,000 years, and a 1,000 years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing, that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” [4] Interestingly, the period of time between when Enoch named his son Methuselah and when the flood occurred was about 1,000 years. God gave the people ample time to change their minds about perishing or being saved.

In fact the Lord gave the world advance notice through His servant Noah. “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be 120 years.’” [5]

Enoch’s being taken by the Lord before a great global judgment is a foreshadowing of the rapture that will happen for those who walk with God before the great tribulation happens in the last days.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” [6]

Thus, it is good to walk with the Lord daily. No one on earth knows when the trumpet will be sounded, but Jesus did share with us “signs” of those days. He said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” [7]

Everyone except for Noah and his family were living for the moment. They were not thinking about God or about eternity. No one except Noah took the time to listen to God and act upon His Word.

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch.’” [8]

The problem with humanity was corruption and violence. To be corrupt is to be defiled or tainted, not pure. The people did not want to be like God. They were created to bear God’s image but were given free-will to choose otherwise. They chose to live otherwise, and their lives descended into the most vile kinds of violence against one another.

“Noah walked with God.” “Noah did; according to all that God commanded him.” “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” [9]

Peter commended those who were partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [10]

Partaking of the divine nature is the key to being taken by the Lord before the great tribulation.

“He [Jesus Christ] came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [11]

Jesus Christ is the ark of God in these last days. We need to receive Him and believe in His Name. His Name means the Lord saves. He saves those who walk with Him and those who trust in Him.

[1] Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5
[2] Genesis 5:21
[3] Cornwall and Smith, Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names via ChristianAnswers.net
[4] 2 Peter 3:8-9
[5] Genesis 6:3
[6] 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
[7] Luke 17:26-27
[8] Genesis 6:11-14
[9] Genesis 6:9, 22; Hebrews 11:7
[10] 2 Peter 1:4
[11] John 1:11-13

The Lord is Coming [The Book of Malachi]

This morning, I was blessed by the Lord to read the words of His servant Malachi. The Lord gave Malachi words to prepare His people for His coming.

“I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and My Name is to be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My Name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already because you do not take it to heart.” [1]

The Lord called His messengers to revere Him. To give God the glory! If they failed to do so, He promised to curse their ministries.

“My covenant was with him [Levi, their forefather], one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared Me and was reverent before My Name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the Law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” [2]

The Lord was pleased with His minister who revered His Name. He instructed His listeners with truth. He was fair. He turned His people away from iniquity, that is, unequal ways. The Law or Torah, which refers to God’s instruction, was in his mouth. He spoke as the Lord instructed him to speak.

“But you have departed from the way… therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the Law.” [3]

The preachers actually loss respect because they did not instruct people as the Lord told them to do.

“He [the Lord] does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, “For what reason?” because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.” [4]

Another issue that the Lord had with His spiritual leaders was with how they mistreated their wives and children. The family came before the Church. Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel were a group before there was a church group. God wants godly offspring. So, a pastor’s first congregation is his own wife and children, and then, his ministry spreads out to his congregation from there.

“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…” [5]

The one prepares people for the coming of the Lord speaks of His righteousness…

“He [the Lord] is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” [6]

The Lord purifies and cleanses His messengers.

He urges His people to bring their tithes and offerings into His house. Support the work of training people in God’s ways. Support the work of spreading the Gospel.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.” [7]

Don’t believe or profess what the devil says… “ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance.” [8]

The Lord says of those who fear the Him and meditate on His Name: “They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” [9]

It will not be well for those who disregard the Lord’s warning… “behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch.” [10]

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet [John the Baptist] before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” [11]

One key reform that the preparer of the Lord’s way will perform is to turn fathers to their children and their children to them. “Dear Heavenly Father, please help us who lead others to live in accordance with Your Word. For Your glory! For the sake of those who follow us.”

[1] Malachi 1:14-2:2
[2] Malachi 2:5-7
[3] Malachi 2:8-9
[4] Malachi 2:13-15
[5] Malachi 3:1
[6] Malachi 3:2-3
[7] Malachi 3:8-12
[8] Malachi 3:14
[9] Malachi 3:17-18
[10] Malachi 4:4
[11] Malachi 4:5-6

God’s Love

“I have declared to them Your Name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26

Our Lord Jesus wants us to experience God’s love. A person without love is like a musical instrument with no music. “Heavenly Father, please fill us with Your love and help us to love as You love. In the Name of Your Son Jesus I pray. Amen.”

A Strong Heart

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” [1]

So often, it seems our problem with the Lord is not His problem but ours. Let us trust in His faithfulness to bring about His good promises to us! David did not lose heart because he believed that the Lord would do for him more than he could ask or imagine. He urged us in his Psalm to wait on the Lord. Be of good courage! The Lord shall strengthen your heart.

The Lord has “given to us exceedingly great and precious promises...” [2]

Especially His promise to create a new heavens and a new earth.

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” [3]

Jesus told the thief who believed in Him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” [4] That is a precious promise!

The writer of Hebrews gives us a glimpse of what awaits those of us who believe in Jesus. It is wonderful…

“You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” [5]

We cannot imagine now what shall be when the Lord creates a new heaven and new earth. We need the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us via the Word of God.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” [6]

Wait on the Lord! He will speak to you. He will encourage you. He will strengthen your heart.

[1] Psalm 27:13-14
[2] 2 Peter 1:4
[3] Revelation 21:1
[4] Luke 23:43
[5] Hebrews 12:22-24
[6] 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Running for a Crown of Life

The Word of the Lord is like a guard rail to keep the Lord’s runners on a reliable path to finish the race that He has called us to run.

“He who despises the Word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”

“The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.”

“Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honored. A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.” [1]

The Lord is willing and able to renew our minds so that we think as He designed us to think. A transformed mind yields a transformed runner.

“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.” [2]

The Lord has promised a crown of life to those who run with His agenda.

“Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” [3]

[1] Proverbs 13:13-14, 18-19
[2] Romans 12:1-2
[3] 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

The Lord is Bigger than Bully Empires [The Book of Habakkuk]

The Lord laid on Habakkuk a burden to see bully empires humbled…

“The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, violence and You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround, the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.” [1]

Evil bullies had a stranglehold on society so that it was impossible for any human being to enforce good laws. No judge was willing to condemn the guilty.

In these last days we have seen the rise and fall of bully nations. This evil will end when the Lord returns and vanquishes all who oppose Him, and who oppose His law of love.

Habakkuk reminds the Lord of who He is and asks Him to act in accordance with His holiness. Why? Because wicked people are feeding on righteous people as predatory animals tear apart their catches…

“Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” [2]

Those who are righteous before the Lord don’t achieve this status due to their own ingenuity or superior character, but because they place their faith in God…

“Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” [3]

The Lord indicts bully nations:

“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, and he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, and he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, he gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples.”

“…Woe to him who increases what is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.”

“Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you, because of men’s blood and the violence of the land and the city, and of all who dwell in it.”

“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of disaster!”

“Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a city by iniquity!”

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness!”

“Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.” [4]

The day is coming when earthly empires will no longer be able to deny the glory of the Lord…

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” [5]

“The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” [6]

The Lord has brought down bully nations in the past and He will do it again and again, as often is needed:

“You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, by laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah” [7]

Habakkuk did not let the current circumstances deter him from rejoicing in the Lord because the Lord was his strength in the meantime and in the end, the Lord saves all who trust in Him.

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills…” [8]

[1] Habakkuk 1:1-4
[2] Habakkuk 1:12-13
[3] Habakkuk 2:4
[4] Habakkuk 2:5-9, 12, 15, 19
[5] Habakkuk 2:14
[6] Habakkuk 2:20
[7] Habakkuk 3:12-13
[8] Habakkuk 3:17-19

Repent or Perish [The Book of Nahum]

The people of Ninevah assumed the Lord God of Israel would do nothing in response to their provocations against Him, but the Lord gave His servant Nahum a Word for them…

“The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked.” [1]

This principle is true for every person. God will not acquit those who sin. We either bring our sin to the foot of the cross, and confess our need of God’s Savior, Jesus Messiah, or we perish in our sin.

Once people questioned Jesus about the especially horrible deaths of some people…

“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” [2]

The Prophet David verified the everlasting judgment of those who fail to repent of wickedness..

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.” [3]

Sin yields unwanted consequences. Our first parents were exiled from paradise. The Israelites were taken captive from their homeland into exile after they defiled the holy land by sacrificing their babies to idols and committing sins against the poor and weak among them.

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its [the wicked one’s] place, and darkness will pursue His enemies.” [4]

The Lord hears the cries of those who pray to Him. He takes their affliction personally…

“What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time.” [5]

Thankfully, the Lord is great enough and compelled enough to rescue His people from the wicked.

“Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings Good Tidings, who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off.” [6]

The Lord’s Word to Nahum closes with a reminder to the King of Assyria about the extent of his wicked deed… “for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?” [7]

On a personal level, it is advisable for each of us to ask the Lord to make known to us where we have wronged Him and other people, and to ask Him and them to forgive us. Each of us need to realize and confess how much we need the atoning blood of Christ to wash away our sins so that we do not perish in them.

[1] Nahum 1:2-3
[2] Luke 13:1-3
[3] Psalm 9:17-18
[4] Nahum 1:7-8
[5] Nahum 1:9
[6] Nahum 1:15
[7] Nahum 3:19

Convictions, Judgments, Repentance, Restoration [The Book of Amos]

I am so glad that the Lord confronts and corrects nations even when we don’t ask for His help.

God loves people. He does not want us to perish in our sin. He does not want to live in a cesspool of sin and evil. He gives us His Word to shine His light into our darkness.

In Leviticus 26:16-44, Deuteronomy 28:15-64 and Revelation 8:1 – 16:9, the Lord levels judgments accompanied by punishments against sin. If the nation that sins, repents, good, but if not, another round of judgments are proclaimed and executed. Amos is true to this Biblical pattern.

The Lord spoke through His prophet Amos of punishment of people groups due to three and four transgressions that they committed. He uses the following format to address them… “Thus says the Lord: for three transgressions of _______, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they…”

Damascus – Amos 1:3
Gaza – Amos 1:6
Tyre – Amos 1:9
Edom – Amos 1:11
Ammon – Amos 1:13
Moab – Amos 2:3

Judah – Amos 2:4

His Word to Judah was, “They have despised the Law of the Lord and have not kept His commandments.”

Israel – Amos 2:7

His Word to Israel was, “They sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy Name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.” – Amos 2:6-8

The Lord reminded Judah and Israel that He destroyed the tall Amorites before them, brought them out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness for 40 years, and “raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel? says the Lord. But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’” – Amos 2:9-12

The Lord asked them, “ Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” – Amos 3:3

The Lord was ready to act on their wayward ways. He compelled His prophets to let them know it… “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” – Amos 3:7-8

The Lord God promised to raise up an adversary, “He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.” – Amos 3:11

Their leaders had become wealthy by exploiting the poor and weak, “I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the Lord.” – Amos 3:15

The Lord was going to increase their desire to return to Him by removing blessings from them: “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” – Amos 4:6

“…I withheld rain… one part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” – Amos 4:7-8

“I blasted you[r] [plants] with blight and mildew… locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” – Amos 4:9

“I sent among you a plague… your young men I killed with a sword… I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” – Amos 4:10

“I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah… yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” – Amos 4:11

“Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” – Amos 4:12

They turned, “justice to wormwood, and laid righteousness to rest in the earth!” – Amos 5:6-7

In response to Jerusalem’s sin, God said to them through His prophet Jeremiah, “Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.” (Jeremiah 9:15) Wormwood and gall are bitter. Bitter food and drink symbolize God’s distaste for sin. This is how their behavior tasted to God.

Jesus drank the bitter brew of sin. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Please remove this cup from Me. However, not what I desire, but what You desire.” (Mark 14:36) The cup was full of God’s wrath against sin. After Jesus drank it, He experienced the bitterness of torture and death.

“They hated the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhorred the one who spoke uprightly.” “They afflicted the just and took bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate.” – Amos 5:10, 12

The wicked perhaps wondered why so many remained silent but it was because they knew they were hated and did so at the risk of their health, wealth and well-being, “The prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time.” – Amos 5:13

The Lord urged them with His Word, “Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” – Amos 5:15

The Lord warned those who were waiting on the Lord to punish the wicked that it would not be a good day for them either, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! …It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!” – Amos 5:18-19

“The Lord wanted reformation more than feast days, holy gatherings, offerings, songs and music. He wanted justice to run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” – Amos 5:21-24

They had “turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.” – Amos 6:12 Denying themselves on behalf of others was deemed gross and taking advantage of other was considered sweet.

Twice, the Lord showed Amos a coming judgment, and twice Amos interceded for the people, saying, “O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!” So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.” – Amos 7:2-3, 5

Rather than appreciate Amos for his efforts to turn God’s people from their sin, Amaziah the priest falsely accused him before the king of conspiring against the king. “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from their own land.’” – Amos 7:10-11

Amaziah rebuked Amos, saying, “Never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.” – Amos 7:13

Amos told Amaziah: “The Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’” – Amos 7:15

The Lord gave Amos a word for Amaziah, “Hear the Word of the Lord: you who say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel… your wife shall be a harlot in the city; your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; your land shall be divided by survey line… Israel shall surely be led away captive...” – Amos 7:16-17

The Lord was judging the merchants and leaders for making food portions small and costs high for the purpose of enslaving people… “Making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—even sell the bad wheat?’” Amos 8:5-6

“The Lord God said, “I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight [an eclipse].” – Amos 8:9

Worse than all judgments above, the Lord was going to take His Word from them, “I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro seeking the Word of the Lord but shall not find it.” – Amos 8:11-12

But they were a mighty nation. How would God do this? The Lord said, “Though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.” “I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.” “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord.” – Amos 9:2, 4, 8

The Lord was going to sift Israel, and then, raise up for them the tabernacle of David. – Amos 9:9, 11

The Lord speaks of “all the Gentiles who are called by My Name.”

The Lord speaks of “bringing back the captives of My people Israel,” of rebuilding, of replanting, of reestablishing His people in the holy land. – Amos 9:14-15

God loves people. He does not willing chastise us but when He does, His aim is to bring about a closer relationship with Him, as well as a better life and future for us.

Do you believe in God’s Son?

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him...

‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’

He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’

Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’

Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him.” [1]

Some question the deity of Christ, but in this verse He told the man who was born blind, whom He healed, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” The man responded to the declaration of Jesus by calling Jesus Lord and worshipping Him, which would have been an act of blasphemy if Jesus were not Divine.

Jesus told His detractors, “For if you do not believe that I am He [the Messiah], you will die in your sins.” [2]

To be saved from hell and to enter the kingdom of God you and I and everyone else needs to believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and profess Him as our Savior from sin otherwise we will perish in our sins and not enter God’s kingdom.

Jesus stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” [3]

Jesus is the only God who lived in human flesh, died and resurrected from the dead, and left behind an empty tomb. No other religious teacher did that.

[1] John 9:35-37
[2] John 8:24
[3] John 14:6

Salvation on Judgment Day

Something has to change when the Lord says,

“I have written for him the great things of My law, but they were considered a strange thing.” [1]

Something has to change when the Lord says,

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” [2]

Something has to change when the Lord says,

“By the help of your God, return; observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually.” [3]

Something has to change when the Lord says,

“I have also spoken by the prophets and have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets. By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.” [4]

It is a good to read and live-by the writings of God’s prophetic writings that are recorded in the Bible because,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by Me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.” [5]

When the people of Ephraim turned from the Lord in the days of Hosea, the Lord let lose His lions on them. The Lord chastises those He loves. If He didn’t love them, He would have allowed them to keep spiraling down into depravity.

“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” [6]

God described war-bent world empires as a lion, leopard and bear in Daniel 7:2-6 and He uses a similar metaphor in Hosea 13:7-8. He empowers these empires to bring judgment on nations so that they repent, believe in Him, and glorify Him.

“So I will be to them like a lion; like a leopard by the road I will lurk; I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage, and there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them.”

The Lord used this speech in the Book of Joel as well…

“A nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid waste My vine and ruined My fig tree; he has stripped it bare and thrown it away; its branches are made white.” [7]

What is the change that is needed now?

“Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.” [8]

Praying! Fasting! Gathering together in the Name of the Lord!

One of the sins that was especially disturbing to God was the trafficking of boys and girls, “They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.” [9]

A great war was coming. Multitudes of people are about to die.

“Let the nations be wakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.” [10]

They should have made a decision to submit themselves to His guidance.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” [11]

The key to victory is to be one of God’s people. Know Him! Trust Him! Testify for Him! He is a shelter to those who run to Him in the day of judgment. Bring others with you.

[1] Hosea 8:12
[2] Hosea 10:12
[3] Hosea 12:6
[4] Hosea 12:10; 13
[5] Proverbs 9:10-12
[6] Hosea 5:14-15
[7] Joel 1:6-7
[8] Joel 1:14
[9] Joel 3:3
[10] Joel 3:12-13
[11] Joel 3:14-16

Rightly Representing God

The Lord says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image. Any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” [1]

The Lord opposes the creating, worshiping and serving of gods made by humans.

The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus come to mind. Why do some “Christians” allow these false images to infiltrate our services on holy days set aside for the worship of Christ’s resurrection and His incarnation? What about Halloween? It seems to be more eagerly and highly celebrated in the USA now than Christian holy days.

What about our modern images of Jesus Christ? Do they line up with Scripture?

This morning I read portions of Hosea’s prophecy and of John’s Gospel.

The Lord laments over His people’s religion saying, “They set up kings, but not by Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.” [2] People were not consulting with God when it came to appointing people to lead them. God’s will for their lives was not included.

“They do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they do not know the Lord.” “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction to them because they have transgressed against Me! Though I redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against Me.” [3] The Lord paid a heavy price to redeem us from our sin. Are we as His representatives being careful to represent Him as He is?

“None among them calls upon Me.” Are we praying to Him? Are we repenting of our own ways, and asking for His ways? Are we saying like John the Baptist did, “He [Jesus] must increase, I must decrease.” [4]

“I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the Words of My mouth; and your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” “The world… hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.” [5] God’s Word rightly spoken slays sin, and points to every person’s need for the Savior from sin.

“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” [6] Our Lord Jesus sought the glory of His Father. He judged righteously.

Some who heard Jesus speak, said of Him, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But those who were propagating a false narrative about God and Messiah accused Jesus of being a deceiver, and wanted to arrest, and kill Him. [7]

Jesus Christ is the rightful representation of God. “He is the image of the invisible God.” “[He is] the express image of His [God’s] person and upholding all things by the Word of His power.” “The testimony of Jesus is Spirit of prophecy.” [8]

Now is the time that each of us needs to ask the Lord to forgive us for the times that we have misrepresented Him and joined with others who are doing it flagrantly. Now is the time to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to us just as He did to His holy prophets and apostles, and then, ask Him for the courage to stand with Him, and speak for Him, just as He did, and just as His disciples in the Bible did.

The Jesus that is revealed in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is One who warns against dead works, sin, and calls people to prepare for His everlasting kingdom which is destined to replace all the kingdoms of this world. [9]

It is good news that there is one way to the Father. There is no other name than the Name of Jesus by which we can be saved. He saves us by leading us to repent of our sins, believe in Him, and to receive His Holy Spirit. [10]

[1] Exodus 20:4-6
[2] Hosea 8:4
[3] Hosea 5:4; 7:13
[4] Hosea 7:7; John 3:30
[5] Hosea 6:5-6; John 7:7
[6] John 7:18; 24
[7] John 7:40-41; John 7:1, 12, 30
[8] Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 19:10
[9] Revelation 1:1; 11:15
[10] John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Acts 2:38-39