August 31
“Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. Likewise, he who had received two gained two more; but he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money,” Matthew 25:16-18.
If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the assurance that we have been given “a measure of faith,” Romans 12:3. The scripture does not tell us that the quantity of faith each of us has been given is equal to that which has been given to another. No. We have been told only that each of has been given some amount of faith.
We know that faith is a spendable commodity in the Kingdom of Christ. We can claim healing for ourselves when we are afflicted with illness; thereby spending our faith on a desired outcome. We can spend our faith for the salvation of those we love, pouring it out before the Lord in supplication that they might see and receive His truth.
We also know that it is something that can be invested into the purposes of the Kingdom. We can contribute our faith on the efforts of missionaries, for example. Although we have not been called to go to far-flung corners of the earth or to the inner cities of our own countries to spread the good news of salvation in Christ, we can contribute to the efforts of those who have been called to do so.
So, whether we spend our faith in the behalf of those who are near to us, or whether we invest our faith in the ministries of those who are “afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call,” Acts 2:39, we have an allotment of faith to spend in the behalf of the Kingdom of Christ and His purposes.
What are we doing with our faith? How are we spending it? How are we investing it? Are we like the man who received one talent and hid it in the ground? Is it deep within us where no one knows we have it but ourselves? Or have we invested the measure of faith that we have in the things the Lord has led us to support?
Are we praying for the sick who are among us and trusting that the Lord will pour His healing balm of Gilead in and through them? Are we investing in the nurturing of the young in the truth that is eternal? Are we attuned to the cry of the lost who need to read the message of salvation in the “living epistle of our lives,” II Corinthians 3:2?
Let us not be stingy with the spiritual treasure that has been entrusted to us. Let us lend and spend it in the behalf of the purposes of the One who died to set us free and to give us an inheritance that is eternal.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Let Us Stand
August 30
“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore 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?" The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing,” I Kings 3:5-10
Solomon had an outstanding beginning to his reign. God was pleased with his focus on governing His people rather than upon himself. In I Kings 3:11-13, the Holy One responded, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.”
Bible scholars believe that Solomon was about twenty years old when this occurred. He expresses his awe at his new responsibility and says in I Kings 3:7 regarding it, "I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in." He is admitting before the Lord that he feels totally inadequate to the task he has been given. His unspoken acknowledgment is that he needs the help of God to function as he should as Israel’s new leader.
The significance to us of Solomon’s recognition of his helplessness in performing the task that’s been entrusted to him is that we, too, must recognize our inability to function within the sphere of our influence as believers apart from the help of God. Our Savior understood that truth so He promised to send the Holy Spirit to help us live our lives faithfully before the scoffers and doubters of the world.
In Luke 24:48-49 the Lord said to His followers, “You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high."
These words were spoken after Jesus was crucified (see Luke 23:26-43), but our Savior knew that simply having witnessed His death and resurrection would not be enough to keep them securely in the hollow of His hand through the fiery trials they would face when they earnestly began to confront the world with its sin.
We, like them, need His help to overcome the anxiety we will feel, the fear we will encounter within ourselves when we begin to face persecution for our faith in Christ, so He sent the Holy Spirit to us as well. In Acts 2:4 we are told, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.”
In Acts 2:39 the Word goes on to tell us, “The promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.” We are the spiritual children of those early believers, for they sowed the seeds that have grown up in every corner of the earth and from which fruit we have partaken.
Let us realize as Solomon did that we are children who need the continual presence and power of the Holy Spirit to be with us. Let us not become complacent as he did (see I Kings, Chapter 11) in the promises the Lord has given to us. Let us not become distracted by foreign concepts.
Rather, let us remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and be bold proclaimers of the salvation He has given throughout our lives. Whether we live long in a land of prosperity and peace or whether we suffer in a land of warfare against God’s irrefutable and eternal TRUTH, let us stand.
“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore 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?" The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing,” I Kings 3:5-10
Solomon had an outstanding beginning to his reign. God was pleased with his focus on governing His people rather than upon himself. In I Kings 3:11-13, the Holy One responded, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.”
Bible scholars believe that Solomon was about twenty years old when this occurred. He expresses his awe at his new responsibility and says in I Kings 3:7 regarding it, "I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in." He is admitting before the Lord that he feels totally inadequate to the task he has been given. His unspoken acknowledgment is that he needs the help of God to function as he should as Israel’s new leader.
The significance to us of Solomon’s recognition of his helplessness in performing the task that’s been entrusted to him is that we, too, must recognize our inability to function within the sphere of our influence as believers apart from the help of God. Our Savior understood that truth so He promised to send the Holy Spirit to help us live our lives faithfully before the scoffers and doubters of the world.
In Luke 24:48-49 the Lord said to His followers, “You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high."
These words were spoken after Jesus was crucified (see Luke 23:26-43), but our Savior knew that simply having witnessed His death and resurrection would not be enough to keep them securely in the hollow of His hand through the fiery trials they would face when they earnestly began to confront the world with its sin.
We, like them, need His help to overcome the anxiety we will feel, the fear we will encounter within ourselves when we begin to face persecution for our faith in Christ, so He sent the Holy Spirit to us as well. In Acts 2:4 we are told, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.”
In Acts 2:39 the Word goes on to tell us, “The promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.” We are the spiritual children of those early believers, for they sowed the seeds that have grown up in every corner of the earth and from which fruit we have partaken.
Let us realize as Solomon did that we are children who need the continual presence and power of the Holy Spirit to be with us. Let us not become complacent as he did (see I Kings, Chapter 11) in the promises the Lord has given to us. Let us not become distracted by foreign concepts.
Rather, let us remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and be bold proclaimers of the salvation He has given throughout our lives. Whether we live long in a land of prosperity and peace or whether we suffer in a land of warfare against God’s irrefutable and eternal TRUTH, let us stand.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Our Prince of Peace Shall Reign
August 29
“Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pay unto the Lord for it; for in the peace thereof shall you have peace,” Jeremiah 29:7.
Charles Spurgeon eloquently promotes the truth of the above verse of scripture when he expounds upon the necessity that we should pray for our countries, specifically for peace and unity. He says:
"The principle involved in this text would suggest to all of us who are the Lord’s “strangers and foreigners” II Chronicles 29:15, II Peter 2:11, that we should be desirous to promote the peace and prosperity of the people among whom we dwell.
Specifically, our nation and our city should be blessed by our constant intercession. An earnest prayer for your country and other countries is well becoming in the mouth of every believer.
Eagerly let us pray for the great boon of peace, both at home and abroad. If strife should cause bloodshed in our streets, or if foreign battle should slay our brave soldiers, we should all bewail the calamity.
Let us therefore pray for peace and diligently promote those principles by which the people at home and abroad may be bound together in bonds of amity."
Besides Spurgeon’s prayer for peace, we have the wonderful petition of St. Francis of Assisi who prayed:
"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen."
Our world seems to be in an ever-widening swath of hatred and terrorism. It would be easy to succumb to the madness of the day by allowing fear to swallow our hope, by allowing despair to engulf our faith.
But if we will keep our focus on Jesus, the Prince of Peace; if we will continue to trust Him no matter how violent the world becomes; if we will continue to pray for peace, we can be confidently assured that, “The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7, even as His Word assures that it will.
And we may know that one day, the Christ in whom we trust will “…come again in like manner as He has gone into heaven,” Acts 1:11. And on that glorious day, all hatred shall cease, all war shall end, all men who look for His coming shall “know even as we are known,” I Corinthians 13:12, and our glorious Savior, our Prince of Peace, shall reign forever.
“Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pay unto the Lord for it; for in the peace thereof shall you have peace,” Jeremiah 29:7.
Charles Spurgeon eloquently promotes the truth of the above verse of scripture when he expounds upon the necessity that we should pray for our countries, specifically for peace and unity. He says:
"The principle involved in this text would suggest to all of us who are the Lord’s “strangers and foreigners” II Chronicles 29:15, II Peter 2:11, that we should be desirous to promote the peace and prosperity of the people among whom we dwell.
Specifically, our nation and our city should be blessed by our constant intercession. An earnest prayer for your country and other countries is well becoming in the mouth of every believer.
Eagerly let us pray for the great boon of peace, both at home and abroad. If strife should cause bloodshed in our streets, or if foreign battle should slay our brave soldiers, we should all bewail the calamity.
Let us therefore pray for peace and diligently promote those principles by which the people at home and abroad may be bound together in bonds of amity."
Besides Spurgeon’s prayer for peace, we have the wonderful petition of St. Francis of Assisi who prayed:
"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen."
Our world seems to be in an ever-widening swath of hatred and terrorism. It would be easy to succumb to the madness of the day by allowing fear to swallow our hope, by allowing despair to engulf our faith.
But if we will keep our focus on Jesus, the Prince of Peace; if we will continue to trust Him no matter how violent the world becomes; if we will continue to pray for peace, we can be confidently assured that, “The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7, even as His Word assures that it will.
And we may know that one day, the Christ in whom we trust will “…come again in like manner as He has gone into heaven,” Acts 1:11. And on that glorious day, all hatred shall cease, all war shall end, all men who look for His coming shall “know even as we are known,” I Corinthians 13:12, and our glorious Savior, our Prince of Peace, shall reign forever.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Prayer Against Encroaching Evil
August 28
There is an evil belief system that is invading the civilized world. It would impose its barbaric law upon everyone who inhabits the planet. People of faith in Christ are its primary targets as are God’s ancient people the Jews. We who are believers in the One True and Living Holy God of justice and mercy and truth and love must stand against this demonic entity.
Lord Jesus, we ask YOU to intervene in the horrific situation where YOUR children are being mercilessly slaughtered by the demonic hordes that are sweeping through the world. We ask YOU to convert the minds and hearts of those who would conjure such evil but if they will not surrender their hearts and minds to YOUR love and YOUR peace, we ask YOU to break the hands that would commit such evil, to paralyze the legs that would run to such atrocities, we ask YOU to strike dead those who would destroy the lives of YOUR people.
Our God and Savior, we bind the force that is rising and the demonic power that propels its adherents. We crush it and every evil force that rises against YOU under our heel and scatter them impotent to the wind. We pray that around the globe, people will continue to be set free from this belief system from hell with its intolerance and compulsion to control all humanity.
We pray that where this demonic darkness has held power, the light of JESUS will break forth. We pray that even within the ranks of those who are given over to the horrors of the devil, those who do his bidding to "steal, kill and destroy" will be arrested and converted in their hearts so they who have been tools in the hands of satan will become instruments in YOUR hands of peace and love through the salvation that Jesus supplies to all who will receive it.
JESUS, we ask YOU to put YOUR hedge of protection around YOUR people to guard them from all harm and evil. We ask YOU to send legions of YOUR angels to do battle against those who refuse YOUR mercy and grace and forgiveness and salvation so that no more of YOUR children can be annihilated by these hordes from hell but that those who would do them harm would be struck down by the Armies of Heaven.
It is in YOUR matchless, mighty name we ask, JESUS. AMEN.
There is an evil belief system that is invading the civilized world. It would impose its barbaric law upon everyone who inhabits the planet. People of faith in Christ are its primary targets as are God’s ancient people the Jews. We who are believers in the One True and Living Holy God of justice and mercy and truth and love must stand against this demonic entity.
Lord Jesus, we ask YOU to intervene in the horrific situation where YOUR children are being mercilessly slaughtered by the demonic hordes that are sweeping through the world. We ask YOU to convert the minds and hearts of those who would conjure such evil but if they will not surrender their hearts and minds to YOUR love and YOUR peace, we ask YOU to break the hands that would commit such evil, to paralyze the legs that would run to such atrocities, we ask YOU to strike dead those who would destroy the lives of YOUR people.
Our God and Savior, we bind the force that is rising and the demonic power that propels its adherents. We crush it and every evil force that rises against YOU under our heel and scatter them impotent to the wind. We pray that around the globe, people will continue to be set free from this belief system from hell with its intolerance and compulsion to control all humanity.
We pray that where this demonic darkness has held power, the light of JESUS will break forth. We pray that even within the ranks of those who are given over to the horrors of the devil, those who do his bidding to "steal, kill and destroy" will be arrested and converted in their hearts so they who have been tools in the hands of satan will become instruments in YOUR hands of peace and love through the salvation that Jesus supplies to all who will receive it.
JESUS, we ask YOU to put YOUR hedge of protection around YOUR people to guard them from all harm and evil. We ask YOU to send legions of YOUR angels to do battle against those who refuse YOUR mercy and grace and forgiveness and salvation so that no more of YOUR children can be annihilated by these hordes from hell but that those who would do them harm would be struck down by the Armies of Heaven.
It is in YOUR matchless, mighty name we ask, JESUS. AMEN.
The Magnificate
The Song of Mary -- The University of Redlands Choir
Play video
This was recorded in the late 1950s by the University of Redlands (CA) Choir, and has been out of print for decades. Art Pallan of KDKA radio in Pittsburgh played this song regularly.
The words of this song come directly from the Bible: LUKE 1:46-55. They will encourage anyone who is being thrust out of his 'comfort zone' as Mary was.
The Song of Mary -- The University of Redlands Choir - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTCIuS46bU Cached
This was recorded in the late 1950s by the University of Redlands (CA) Choir, and has been out of print for decades.
Play video
This was recorded in the late 1950s by the University of Redlands (CA) Choir, and has been out of print for decades. Art Pallan of KDKA radio in Pittsburgh played this song regularly.
The words of this song come directly from the Bible: LUKE 1:46-55. They will encourage anyone who is being thrust out of his 'comfort zone' as Mary was.
The Song of Mary -- The University of Redlands Choir - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTCIuS46bU Cached
This was recorded in the late 1950s by the University of Redlands (CA) Choir, and has been out of print for decades.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Relationship
August 27
Here is a bit more information about the brothers of Jesus. James the author of the New Testament book by his name, is the brother of Jesus. This James was recognized as the leading Overseer of the Judean Church. He was very influential both among the Jews and within the Church.
The Book of James was written in excellent Greek, making it clear the writer was very well educated. Among the four persons named James mentioned in the New Testament, the brother of Jesus would have been the only one that well educated in the Greek language.
Also, the author writes with an air of authority and refers to himself as ‘the Lord’s brother’. Although the Greek term (adelphos) [ad el fos’] means ‘brother’, it can also mean ‘cousin’ or ‘kinsman'. But in this case it is believed to actually mean ‘brother’ or ‘sibling’. Usually when indicating ‘brotherhood’ or ‘brethren’, the Greek used the word adelphotes [ad el fot’ ace], not adelphos.
Here are some of the scriptures that give us information about James:
Mark 6:3 "'Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't His sisters here with us?' And they took offense at Him."
This verse is referring to Jesus, mentioning his mother and his siblings. It is believed James is the oldest of the four brothers of Jesus because it was the custom at that time to list brothers from the oldest to the youngest. Since his name is first on the list, it is believed he was the oldest.
John 7:2-5 "But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, 'You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.' For even His own brothers did not believe in Him."
Here, His brothers are mocking him. Before the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers did not believe Him to be God’s Son and didn’t understand His mission. They challenged Him concerning His mission.
It would perhaps be difficult to believe that your sibling is the Son of God. You tend to see your brothers and sisters as being equal to yourself, so one of them claiming to be the Messiah would be difficult to accept.
1 Corinthians 15:7 "He appeared to James, then to all the apostles." James was among those to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection.
Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."
James was also present at the meeting of the disciples after the resurrection.
We know the Apostle Paul respected James, for he chose to consult him, and only him, soon after his conversion which occurred sometime around 35 A.D. Paul states this clearly in Galatians 1:19 "I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother." Notice that Paul refers to James as the Lord’s brother. Paul also referred to James as the pillar of the church:
In Galatians 2:9 , Paul said, "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews."
Peter thought highly of him. Peter reported to him upon his release from prison around 44 AD: Acts 12:17 "Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 'Tell James and the brothers about this,' he said, and then he left for another place."
James was very influential both among the Jews and in the Church. He was a very strict Jew himself, but wrote this tolerant letter to converted Jewish Christians sometime between 48 AD and 55 AD. He was probably (although we cannot be certain) between 45 and 50 years old when he penned this letter. He endorsed Paul’s Gentile work, but was himself mainly concerned with Jews. His life work was to win Jews to Christianity.
About a year later, James became chairman of the Council of the Church in Jerusalem. He was well respected by both Jews and Christians because he was very politically correct for his time and was able to negotiate on both sides of the issue between Jews and Gentiles.
Acts 15:12-29 "The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: 'Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed His concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for Himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ‘After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear My name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages.’
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.
“Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
“Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said, so we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."
So James ruled that pagans who turned to God were to abstain from food offered to idols, from the meat of strangled animals, and also from fornication. No other rules were imposed on Gentiles, which made them happy. And Jews felt vindicated because the Gentiles were held to some of their Laws.
Paul sought James’s advice and respected him enough to follow it as shown in Acts 21:18-26: "The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, 'You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you.
“There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.'
“The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.”
Further scriptural evidence of James’s relationship to Jesus is found in Luke 24:10 where it says, "It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles." When Christ was crucified, notice how Mary was identified as the “mother of James” rather than the mother of Jesus. And in (Jude 1) Jude identified himself as “…a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.”
The fact that he called himself ‘a servant of Jesus Christ’ only goes to show that he was convinced that Jesus was God’s Son. He was not equal to Jesus, that’s why he did not say he was His brother. This is quite a departure from the Lord’s brothers initial response to Him and His claims of Messiahship.
The fact that Mary and Jude identified themselves with James, but not as relatives of Jesus, was a way of placing Christ above them rather than equal to them. But to better clarify who he was, Jude claimed James as his brother because James was so well-known.
Many scholars have tried to claim that James was actually from a former marriage of Joseph’s and wasn’t truly a brother of Jesus, but this verse, among many others, clearly states that Mary was the mother of James, putting their theory to rest.
1 Corinthians 9:5 "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?" This verse indicates that James was probably married and had his wife accompany him on his travels.
In addition to what the Scriptures tell us about James, historians tell us that he became known by the Jews as ‘James the Just’ because of his strict observance of the law. He was known as an unusually good man who spent so much time on his knees in prayer that they became hard and callous like a camel’s knees.
The martyrdom of James came in Jerusalem because he refused to refute the Gospel of Jesus. By 62 AD Jews were embracing Christianity in large numbers. Ananus, the High Priest, and the Scribes who were lawmakers and the Pharisees who represented a strong religious political party, assembled the Sanhedrin or high court and commanded James, “the brother of Jesus who was called Christ”, to proclaim from one of the galleries of the Temple that Jesus was not the Messiah. Instead, James cried out that Jesus was the Son of God and Judge of the World.
Then his enraged enemies hurled him to the ground and stoned him until one of them ended his sufferings with a club while he was on his knees praying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Shortly thereafter, about 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, perhaps in part because the Jews had usurped the authority only the Romans had of executing someone.
Ultimately, our belief about the men purported to be the brothers of Jesus is less important than who we believe Jesus to be. Although we want to have our facts straight regarding His family, we know our place in eternity is determined only by our relationship with Him--our standing in God's family through our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior--for as Jesus Himself said in Luke 8:21, "These are My mother and brothers, those who know the will of God and do it."
Here is a bit more information about the brothers of Jesus. James the author of the New Testament book by his name, is the brother of Jesus. This James was recognized as the leading Overseer of the Judean Church. He was very influential both among the Jews and within the Church.
The Book of James was written in excellent Greek, making it clear the writer was very well educated. Among the four persons named James mentioned in the New Testament, the brother of Jesus would have been the only one that well educated in the Greek language.
Also, the author writes with an air of authority and refers to himself as ‘the Lord’s brother’. Although the Greek term (adelphos) [ad el fos’] means ‘brother’, it can also mean ‘cousin’ or ‘kinsman'. But in this case it is believed to actually mean ‘brother’ or ‘sibling’. Usually when indicating ‘brotherhood’ or ‘brethren’, the Greek used the word adelphotes [ad el fot’ ace], not adelphos.
Here are some of the scriptures that give us information about James:
Mark 6:3 "'Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't His sisters here with us?' And they took offense at Him."
This verse is referring to Jesus, mentioning his mother and his siblings. It is believed James is the oldest of the four brothers of Jesus because it was the custom at that time to list brothers from the oldest to the youngest. Since his name is first on the list, it is believed he was the oldest.
John 7:2-5 "But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, 'You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.' For even His own brothers did not believe in Him."
Here, His brothers are mocking him. Before the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers did not believe Him to be God’s Son and didn’t understand His mission. They challenged Him concerning His mission.
It would perhaps be difficult to believe that your sibling is the Son of God. You tend to see your brothers and sisters as being equal to yourself, so one of them claiming to be the Messiah would be difficult to accept.
1 Corinthians 15:7 "He appeared to James, then to all the apostles." James was among those to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection.
Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."
James was also present at the meeting of the disciples after the resurrection.
We know the Apostle Paul respected James, for he chose to consult him, and only him, soon after his conversion which occurred sometime around 35 A.D. Paul states this clearly in Galatians 1:19 "I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother." Notice that Paul refers to James as the Lord’s brother. Paul also referred to James as the pillar of the church:
In Galatians 2:9 , Paul said, "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews."
Peter thought highly of him. Peter reported to him upon his release from prison around 44 AD: Acts 12:17 "Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 'Tell James and the brothers about this,' he said, and then he left for another place."
James was very influential both among the Jews and in the Church. He was a very strict Jew himself, but wrote this tolerant letter to converted Jewish Christians sometime between 48 AD and 55 AD. He was probably (although we cannot be certain) between 45 and 50 years old when he penned this letter. He endorsed Paul’s Gentile work, but was himself mainly concerned with Jews. His life work was to win Jews to Christianity.
About a year later, James became chairman of the Council of the Church in Jerusalem. He was well respected by both Jews and Christians because he was very politically correct for his time and was able to negotiate on both sides of the issue between Jews and Gentiles.
Acts 15:12-29 "The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: 'Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed His concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for Himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ‘After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear My name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages.’
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.
“Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
“Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said, so we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."
So James ruled that pagans who turned to God were to abstain from food offered to idols, from the meat of strangled animals, and also from fornication. No other rules were imposed on Gentiles, which made them happy. And Jews felt vindicated because the Gentiles were held to some of their Laws.
Paul sought James’s advice and respected him enough to follow it as shown in Acts 21:18-26: "The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, 'You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you.
“There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.'
“The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.”
Further scriptural evidence of James’s relationship to Jesus is found in Luke 24:10 where it says, "It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles." When Christ was crucified, notice how Mary was identified as the “mother of James” rather than the mother of Jesus. And in (Jude 1) Jude identified himself as “…a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.”
The fact that he called himself ‘a servant of Jesus Christ’ only goes to show that he was convinced that Jesus was God’s Son. He was not equal to Jesus, that’s why he did not say he was His brother. This is quite a departure from the Lord’s brothers initial response to Him and His claims of Messiahship.
The fact that Mary and Jude identified themselves with James, but not as relatives of Jesus, was a way of placing Christ above them rather than equal to them. But to better clarify who he was, Jude claimed James as his brother because James was so well-known.
Many scholars have tried to claim that James was actually from a former marriage of Joseph’s and wasn’t truly a brother of Jesus, but this verse, among many others, clearly states that Mary was the mother of James, putting their theory to rest.
1 Corinthians 9:5 "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?" This verse indicates that James was probably married and had his wife accompany him on his travels.
In addition to what the Scriptures tell us about James, historians tell us that he became known by the Jews as ‘James the Just’ because of his strict observance of the law. He was known as an unusually good man who spent so much time on his knees in prayer that they became hard and callous like a camel’s knees.
The martyrdom of James came in Jerusalem because he refused to refute the Gospel of Jesus. By 62 AD Jews were embracing Christianity in large numbers. Ananus, the High Priest, and the Scribes who were lawmakers and the Pharisees who represented a strong religious political party, assembled the Sanhedrin or high court and commanded James, “the brother of Jesus who was called Christ”, to proclaim from one of the galleries of the Temple that Jesus was not the Messiah. Instead, James cried out that Jesus was the Son of God and Judge of the World.
Then his enraged enemies hurled him to the ground and stoned him until one of them ended his sufferings with a club while he was on his knees praying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Shortly thereafter, about 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, perhaps in part because the Jews had usurped the authority only the Romans had of executing someone.
Ultimately, our belief about the men purported to be the brothers of Jesus is less important than who we believe Jesus to be. Although we want to have our facts straight regarding His family, we know our place in eternity is determined only by our relationship with Him--our standing in God's family through our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior--for as Jesus Himself said in Luke 8:21, "These are My mother and brothers, those who know the will of God and do it."
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The Power Within You
August 26
“When you heard the true teaching of the Good News about your salvation, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His special mark of ownership upon you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He had promised. That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for His people until God gives full freedom to those who are His to the praise and glory of His name,” Ephesians 1:13, 14.
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit for He is God’s proof that you belong to Him. God gave you the Holy Spirit to show that God will make you free when the final day comes,” Ephesians 4:30.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Sometimes we forget that there is an on-going spiritual warfare, we forget that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against wickedness, against spiritual powers in high places,” Ephesians 6:12. We are involved in an on-going battle against a defeated foe.
Jesus arose from the tomb to manifest the complete power of the Living God within Him. He alone has conquered “death, hell and the grave,” Hosea 13:14. When He “led captivity captive He gave gifts to men,” Ephesians 4:8, and by those gifts He continues to show Himself strong in the behalf of believers today.
He has not promised those who are His own shall never have trials to face or enemies to confront. Indeed, He said, “If the world persecuted Me, you can expect that it will hate you,” John 15:18, I John 3:13.
In John 7:7, Jesus said to His own brothers who did not believe in Him, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” However, after the resurrection of the Lord, two of His brothers, James and Jude, were touched by the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaimed His truth until their own martyrdom.
In Acts 1:13-15 we are given the names of those who were present when the Holy Spirit fell upon believers and that list included Mary, the mother of Jesus among many others:
“When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
As these believers of old needed the power of the Holy Spirit to withstand the persecution that was unleashed against them, so must we appropriate the gift of His presence and power within us to battle the evil of our day. Let us surrender ourselves to the glorious member of the Triune Godhead who indwells us so we need never bow before any earthly potentate or ever succumb to the wiles of the enemy of our soul.
“When you heard the true teaching of the Good News about your salvation, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His special mark of ownership upon you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He had promised. That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for His people until God gives full freedom to those who are His to the praise and glory of His name,” Ephesians 1:13, 14.
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit for He is God’s proof that you belong to Him. God gave you the Holy Spirit to show that God will make you free when the final day comes,” Ephesians 4:30.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Sometimes we forget that there is an on-going spiritual warfare, we forget that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against wickedness, against spiritual powers in high places,” Ephesians 6:12. We are involved in an on-going battle against a defeated foe.
Jesus arose from the tomb to manifest the complete power of the Living God within Him. He alone has conquered “death, hell and the grave,” Hosea 13:14. When He “led captivity captive He gave gifts to men,” Ephesians 4:8, and by those gifts He continues to show Himself strong in the behalf of believers today.
He has not promised those who are His own shall never have trials to face or enemies to confront. Indeed, He said, “If the world persecuted Me, you can expect that it will hate you,” John 15:18, I John 3:13.
In John 7:7, Jesus said to His own brothers who did not believe in Him, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” However, after the resurrection of the Lord, two of His brothers, James and Jude, were touched by the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaimed His truth until their own martyrdom.
In Acts 1:13-15 we are given the names of those who were present when the Holy Spirit fell upon believers and that list included Mary, the mother of Jesus among many others:
“When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
As these believers of old needed the power of the Holy Spirit to withstand the persecution that was unleashed against them, so must we appropriate the gift of His presence and power within us to battle the evil of our day. Let us surrender ourselves to the glorious member of the Triune Godhead who indwells us so we need never bow before any earthly potentate or ever succumb to the wiles of the enemy of our soul.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
POST FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 25--EARLY POSTING--Psalm 91
August 25
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
Psalm 91 affirms the intent of our Almighty God to use His great power for the blessing and protection of those who love Him. That is not to say we should presume upon His help if we put ourselves deliberately into dangerous situations.
In Matthew 4:10 when the evil one told Jesus to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple because the Word promises deliverance from danger, the Lord said, “Get thee behind Me, satan! It is written, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God…”
As Jesus made clear, we must not compromise our safety for the sake of being a dare-devil, but neither should we fear stepping out in faith to serve the purposes of the Kingdom of Christ because we are concerned about the contempt or the attacks of those who do not share our understanding of the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…” Mark 16:15.
Let us be faithful to the imperative given to us by our Lord and Savior in order that all men may know Him and receive His unspeakable gift (II Corinthians 9:15), but never let us flagrantly presume upon His promise to keep us in safety if we deny the common sense He’s given us. May we ever boldly serve the Lord our God, but may we never tempt Him.
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
Psalm 91 affirms the intent of our Almighty God to use His great power for the blessing and protection of those who love Him. That is not to say we should presume upon His help if we put ourselves deliberately into dangerous situations.
In Matthew 4:10 when the evil one told Jesus to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple because the Word promises deliverance from danger, the Lord said, “Get thee behind Me, satan! It is written, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God…”
As Jesus made clear, we must not compromise our safety for the sake of being a dare-devil, but neither should we fear stepping out in faith to serve the purposes of the Kingdom of Christ because we are concerned about the contempt or the attacks of those who do not share our understanding of the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…” Mark 16:15.
Let us be faithful to the imperative given to us by our Lord and Savior in order that all men may know Him and receive His unspeakable gift (II Corinthians 9:15), but never let us flagrantly presume upon His promise to keep us in safety if we deny the common sense He’s given us. May we ever boldly serve the Lord our God, but may we never tempt Him.
The 'Faith' Chapter
August 24
Hebrews, Chapter 11—the ‘Faith’ Chapter
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
May we ever be mindful that we are a continuation of an on-going saga of faith. May we be inspired by those who have gone before us and may we be determined, with the help of the Christ we love and the Holy Spirit who strengthens us, to leave a legacy of faith to those who will follow us
Hebrews, Chapter 11—the ‘Faith’ Chapter
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
May we ever be mindful that we are a continuation of an on-going saga of faith. May we be inspired by those who have gone before us and may we be determined, with the help of the Christ we love and the Holy Spirit who strengthens us, to leave a legacy of faith to those who will follow us
Friday, August 22, 2014
Encouraged and Strengthened
August 23
Jesus tells us in John 15:18 and the beloved Apostle John reiterates to us in I John 3:13 that we as believers will be disdained by the world. The wrath of the haters of the good news of salvation lashed out at Jesus unto death and at John who was sorely persecuted by unbelievers who attempted to kill him but could not.
In these days of accelerated persecution of Christians, may we who know Christ as Savior and Lord hold fast to our commitment to Him. May we not be shaken in our resolve to follow Him, even unto death, if necessary. May we say with Job, who lost all things in the great trial of his faith, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” Job 13:15.
Persecution of followers of Jesus, though it has intensified in the 20th and 21st Centuries, is not a new thing. From the earliest followers of Christ, even until now, the enemy of God, who is also the enemy of God’s people has used his minions to slaughter believers in Christ in his attempt to destroy the Church.
This persecution began with the Apostles as history verifies. Here is a brief compilation of the deaths of the Apostles who were among the earliest Christian martyrs. The first martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death in Jerusalem by a frenzied mob that hated the Christ he loved and of whom he witnessed to them (see Acts 6:8-8:1).
How the Apostles Died:
1. Matthew was killed by the sword in Ethiopia.
2. Mark was dragged by horses through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt until he died.
3. Luke was hanged in Greece.
4. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome on an X shaped cross.
5. James the brother of Jesus was thrown over a hundred feet from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem when he refused to deny Christ. When he survived the fall, he was beaten to death with a fuller’s club.
6. James the Great, the fisherman called by Jesus, was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded him was so touched by James’s faith that he was overcome by conviction, declared his new faith, and knelt beside James to be beheaded also.
7. Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, witnessed Christ in Asia, including Turkey. He was flayed to death by a whip in present day Armenia.
8. Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross in Patras, Greece after being severely whipped by seven soldiers who tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. Witnesses to his execution quoted him as saying, “The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” It took two days for him to expire and he preached to his executioners for the entire time until he died.
9. Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear during one of his missionary trips to India.
10. Jude was slain with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Jesus.
11. Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus, was stoned and then beheaded.
12. Paul was tortured then beheaded in Rome by the evil Emperor Nero in A.D. 67 after a lengthy imprisonment. It was during the time of his incarceration that Paul wrote his many epistles which comprise a large part of the New Testament.
13. John, the Beloved Apostle, was boiled in a huge caldron of oil during a wave of persecution in Rome; however, he was miraculously delivered from death. He was sentenced to the prison island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. He was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died an old man, the only Apostle to die peacefully.
May we be encouraged and strengthened in our faith by the courage of these brave men who gave themselves for the glory of the Christ they loved and served. May we, as they did, be willing to endure any fate rather than to deny the Lord who gave Himself for us.
Jesus tells us in John 15:18 and the beloved Apostle John reiterates to us in I John 3:13 that we as believers will be disdained by the world. The wrath of the haters of the good news of salvation lashed out at Jesus unto death and at John who was sorely persecuted by unbelievers who attempted to kill him but could not.
In these days of accelerated persecution of Christians, may we who know Christ as Savior and Lord hold fast to our commitment to Him. May we not be shaken in our resolve to follow Him, even unto death, if necessary. May we say with Job, who lost all things in the great trial of his faith, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” Job 13:15.
Persecution of followers of Jesus, though it has intensified in the 20th and 21st Centuries, is not a new thing. From the earliest followers of Christ, even until now, the enemy of God, who is also the enemy of God’s people has used his minions to slaughter believers in Christ in his attempt to destroy the Church.
This persecution began with the Apostles as history verifies. Here is a brief compilation of the deaths of the Apostles who were among the earliest Christian martyrs. The first martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death in Jerusalem by a frenzied mob that hated the Christ he loved and of whom he witnessed to them (see Acts 6:8-8:1).
How the Apostles Died:
1. Matthew was killed by the sword in Ethiopia.
2. Mark was dragged by horses through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt until he died.
3. Luke was hanged in Greece.
4. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome on an X shaped cross.
5. James the brother of Jesus was thrown over a hundred feet from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem when he refused to deny Christ. When he survived the fall, he was beaten to death with a fuller’s club.
6. James the Great, the fisherman called by Jesus, was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded him was so touched by James’s faith that he was overcome by conviction, declared his new faith, and knelt beside James to be beheaded also.
7. Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, witnessed Christ in Asia, including Turkey. He was flayed to death by a whip in present day Armenia.
8. Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross in Patras, Greece after being severely whipped by seven soldiers who tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. Witnesses to his execution quoted him as saying, “The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” It took two days for him to expire and he preached to his executioners for the entire time until he died.
9. Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear during one of his missionary trips to India.
10. Jude was slain with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Jesus.
11. Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus, was stoned and then beheaded.
12. Paul was tortured then beheaded in Rome by the evil Emperor Nero in A.D. 67 after a lengthy imprisonment. It was during the time of his incarceration that Paul wrote his many epistles which comprise a large part of the New Testament.
13. John, the Beloved Apostle, was boiled in a huge caldron of oil during a wave of persecution in Rome; however, he was miraculously delivered from death. He was sentenced to the prison island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. He was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died an old man, the only Apostle to die peacefully.
May we be encouraged and strengthened in our faith by the courage of these brave men who gave themselves for the glory of the Christ they loved and served. May we, as they did, be willing to endure any fate rather than to deny the Lord who gave Himself for us.
Christian Martyrs
August 22
More Christians have died for their faith than followers of all other religions combined. While Christians make up a third of the world's population, they suffer 80 percent of its religious discrimination. More believers died for their faith in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined.
In John 15:18, 19 Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
In John 16:33 Jesus went on to say, “in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”
He also said that He has spoken these things so we will have peace.
It’s not easy to have peace when the world around you seems to be teetering on self-destruction. It’s not easy to have peace when man’s inhumanity to man seems to be at a fever pitch. It’s not easy to have peace when the people of God seem to be the prime objects of the vitriol of the unbelieving world. But peace is what Jesus has promised to us, and peace is what we claim.
How can we claim peace when we live in a bellicose world? How can we have peace when airliners are shot out of the sky by warring factions on the ground? How can we have peace when an entire religious system believes it must subdue all other faiths under its control through bloodshed before their concept of peace can be realized? How can we have peace when cities vie for the title of ‘Murder Capital of the Country’?
It’s because Jesus says our peace isn’t dependent upon any of these things. In John 14:27, He said, “Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give to you; not as the world gives peace, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The peace Jesus gives to us is not contingent on the world. His peace comes from knowing Him and being set free from sin and death because of His propitiatory life, death, and resurrection. It is the peace David spoke of in our beloved Psalm 23.
Here the sweet psalmist said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yes, I may walk though the valley of the shadow of death, but I will fear no evil: for He is with me; His rod and His staff they comfort me. 5 He prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: He anoints my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
We will not want for peace when peace is needful in our circumstances. Even if we must face death for our faith, we will have His comfort and His assurance that we are secure in the hollow of His hand. If we be like Stephen, the first Christian martyr who was stoned for His faith, we will be bold as he was and at the moment our life depart, we, like him, shall “…see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father,” Acts 7:55, 56, waiting to receive us to our eternal abode with Him!
May we be like Meriam Ibrahim who endured being chained in a dungeon rather than to abandon her faith in Jesus. She walked through “the valley of the shadow of death,” but she did not fear the evil men who persecuted her. She, like Stephen, had the peace that Jesus gives and that the world can’t take away.
May each of us cling to our faith, hold fast to our Jesus, so when the hard days of trial come, we shall be found secure in the hollow of Christ’s hand, holding fast to His peace.
More Christians have died for their faith than followers of all other religions combined. While Christians make up a third of the world's population, they suffer 80 percent of its religious discrimination. More believers died for their faith in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined.
In John 15:18, 19 Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
In John 16:33 Jesus went on to say, “in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”
He also said that He has spoken these things so we will have peace.
It’s not easy to have peace when the world around you seems to be teetering on self-destruction. It’s not easy to have peace when man’s inhumanity to man seems to be at a fever pitch. It’s not easy to have peace when the people of God seem to be the prime objects of the vitriol of the unbelieving world. But peace is what Jesus has promised to us, and peace is what we claim.
How can we claim peace when we live in a bellicose world? How can we have peace when airliners are shot out of the sky by warring factions on the ground? How can we have peace when an entire religious system believes it must subdue all other faiths under its control through bloodshed before their concept of peace can be realized? How can we have peace when cities vie for the title of ‘Murder Capital of the Country’?
It’s because Jesus says our peace isn’t dependent upon any of these things. In John 14:27, He said, “Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give to you; not as the world gives peace, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The peace Jesus gives to us is not contingent on the world. His peace comes from knowing Him and being set free from sin and death because of His propitiatory life, death, and resurrection. It is the peace David spoke of in our beloved Psalm 23.
Here the sweet psalmist said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yes, I may walk though the valley of the shadow of death, but I will fear no evil: for He is with me; His rod and His staff they comfort me. 5 He prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: He anoints my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
We will not want for peace when peace is needful in our circumstances. Even if we must face death for our faith, we will have His comfort and His assurance that we are secure in the hollow of His hand. If we be like Stephen, the first Christian martyr who was stoned for His faith, we will be bold as he was and at the moment our life depart, we, like him, shall “…see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father,” Acts 7:55, 56, waiting to receive us to our eternal abode with Him!
May we be like Meriam Ibrahim who endured being chained in a dungeon rather than to abandon her faith in Jesus. She walked through “the valley of the shadow of death,” but she did not fear the evil men who persecuted her. She, like Stephen, had the peace that Jesus gives and that the world can’t take away.
May each of us cling to our faith, hold fast to our Jesus, so when the hard days of trial come, we shall be found secure in the hollow of Christ’s hand, holding fast to His peace.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
He Is That Bread
August 21
“Don’t work for food that spoils; rather, work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food because on Him has God the Father put His power,” John 6:27.
The essence of what Jesus is saying here is that the food that sustains temporal life is limited in its power. Yes, the body must be nourished and in order for it to remain in strength, consuming food is essential, but no matter how well we eat of the fruit of the vine and no matter how fully we satisfy ourselves of the meat served at our table, we will one day perish. Temporal food, like temporal life, has an expiration date.
But the food Jesus wants to impart to us is the ‘Bread of Life,” (see John 6:35), and He is that Bread. When we partake of Jesus, when we receive the salvation He shed His blood to supply for us, we are taking into our spirits of the sustenance of real and eternal life. When we partake of Jesus, we are consuming the spiritual food that will allow us to be alive for evermore.
He broke the bread and poured the wine at the Last supper and said, “Take, eat, for this is My body, broken for you; and drink of the cup, for this is My blood,” Matthew 26:26. Jesus was here affirming that His sacrifice for man is the only thing that can sustain life that is eternal. His death in our behalf sealed the covenant of life He carried out in our behalf.
Because the entire concept is ethereal, He promised to send a seal to make it concrete for us. He promised to send His Holy Spirit to assure believers that they are eternally alive because they have partaken of Christ’s Body and Blood. In II Corinthians 1:22, Paul states it thusly, “He put His mark on us to show that we are His and He put His Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all He has promised.”
When we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, when we begin to partake of the spiritual food that is Christ, we have the sustenance we need for life eternal. As Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh," John 6:51.
If the people of the world will partake of the salvation Jesus gives and of the spiritual food that He supplies, the world will live. If we turn our backs on Him, we will live and move and have our being as we consume the fruit of time but we will perish eternally. May we have eyes to see the difference and may we choose the eternal Truth that is Jesus, the Bread that sustains eternal life.
“Don’t work for food that spoils; rather, work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food because on Him has God the Father put His power,” John 6:27.
The essence of what Jesus is saying here is that the food that sustains temporal life is limited in its power. Yes, the body must be nourished and in order for it to remain in strength, consuming food is essential, but no matter how well we eat of the fruit of the vine and no matter how fully we satisfy ourselves of the meat served at our table, we will one day perish. Temporal food, like temporal life, has an expiration date.
But the food Jesus wants to impart to us is the ‘Bread of Life,” (see John 6:35), and He is that Bread. When we partake of Jesus, when we receive the salvation He shed His blood to supply for us, we are taking into our spirits of the sustenance of real and eternal life. When we partake of Jesus, we are consuming the spiritual food that will allow us to be alive for evermore.
He broke the bread and poured the wine at the Last supper and said, “Take, eat, for this is My body, broken for you; and drink of the cup, for this is My blood,” Matthew 26:26. Jesus was here affirming that His sacrifice for man is the only thing that can sustain life that is eternal. His death in our behalf sealed the covenant of life He carried out in our behalf.
Because the entire concept is ethereal, He promised to send a seal to make it concrete for us. He promised to send His Holy Spirit to assure believers that they are eternally alive because they have partaken of Christ’s Body and Blood. In II Corinthians 1:22, Paul states it thusly, “He put His mark on us to show that we are His and He put His Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all He has promised.”
When we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, when we begin to partake of the spiritual food that is Christ, we have the sustenance we need for life eternal. As Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh," John 6:51.
If the people of the world will partake of the salvation Jesus gives and of the spiritual food that He supplies, the world will live. If we turn our backs on Him, we will live and move and have our being as we consume the fruit of time but we will perish eternally. May we have eyes to see the difference and may we choose the eternal Truth that is Jesus, the Bread that sustains eternal life.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
On His Side
August 20
“Look up to the skies. Who created all these stars? He leads out the Army of Heaven one by one and calls all the stars by name. Because He is strong and powerful, not one of them is missing,” Isaiah 40:26.
“Surely, Your goodness and love will follow me always, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” Psalm 23:6.
Believers in Christ stand on these promises. Isaiah 40:26 states that because of the strength of the God we serve, we will not be lost on that day when Jesus comes back in power with His legions of angels to do battle with the forces that have aligned themselves against all godliness.
In John 18:9, Jesus said, “I have not lost one of those you have given to Me." Because the Word affirms that everyone who trusts in Jesus will be saved, we are unshakable in our commitment to those assurances. We know the Word of God is “yea and amen,” II Corinthians 1:20, so we are resolute in our acceptance of His assurances to us.
Yet we know that both of these promises and many others like them in the Old Testament were made originally to the Jewish people. We respect them as the chroniclers of the Holy Writ and we honor them for their faithfulness in maintaining the integrity of God’s Word.
We know that their scribes were meticulous in copying the words the Lord had given to His prophets. We know they destroyed a whole page of writing if one jot or tittle were found to be in error. We know they copied each letter scrupulously and would not allow any error to mar the absolute veracity of God’s hallowed dictates.
We believe that goodness and mercy and love will indeed follow His people always and we believe and are sure that His hedge is around them today. Though the stirrings of hatred against them are being manifested not only by Hamas in Gaza but also in countries in Europe, we know that Israel has a shield around her that exceeds the hedge provided by her Iron Dome.
Why can we be sure God is guarding His people? We can be sure because the Word tells us He is. When all the world is gathered together against Israel, when Jerusalem is a burdensome stone to the entire earth (see Zechariah 12:3), we know the Holy One will be a defense to His people.
When all the nations of the earth are gathered to Jerusalem to fight against it (see Zechariah 14:2), God’s arms of protection will be wrapped around His people. And we know that in that day when He shows Himself to be strong in the behalf of His ancient people the Jews, we will see the fullness of His promise, “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you,” Genesis 12:3, come to pass.
May we not be found among those who poke their finger in the eye of God by hating those He loves. May we be found among those who are forever on the side of the Holy One.
“Look up to the skies. Who created all these stars? He leads out the Army of Heaven one by one and calls all the stars by name. Because He is strong and powerful, not one of them is missing,” Isaiah 40:26.
“Surely, Your goodness and love will follow me always, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” Psalm 23:6.
Believers in Christ stand on these promises. Isaiah 40:26 states that because of the strength of the God we serve, we will not be lost on that day when Jesus comes back in power with His legions of angels to do battle with the forces that have aligned themselves against all godliness.
In John 18:9, Jesus said, “I have not lost one of those you have given to Me." Because the Word affirms that everyone who trusts in Jesus will be saved, we are unshakable in our commitment to those assurances. We know the Word of God is “yea and amen,” II Corinthians 1:20, so we are resolute in our acceptance of His assurances to us.
Yet we know that both of these promises and many others like them in the Old Testament were made originally to the Jewish people. We respect them as the chroniclers of the Holy Writ and we honor them for their faithfulness in maintaining the integrity of God’s Word.
We know that their scribes were meticulous in copying the words the Lord had given to His prophets. We know they destroyed a whole page of writing if one jot or tittle were found to be in error. We know they copied each letter scrupulously and would not allow any error to mar the absolute veracity of God’s hallowed dictates.
We believe that goodness and mercy and love will indeed follow His people always and we believe and are sure that His hedge is around them today. Though the stirrings of hatred against them are being manifested not only by Hamas in Gaza but also in countries in Europe, we know that Israel has a shield around her that exceeds the hedge provided by her Iron Dome.
Why can we be sure God is guarding His people? We can be sure because the Word tells us He is. When all the world is gathered together against Israel, when Jerusalem is a burdensome stone to the entire earth (see Zechariah 12:3), we know the Holy One will be a defense to His people.
When all the nations of the earth are gathered to Jerusalem to fight against it (see Zechariah 14:2), God’s arms of protection will be wrapped around His people. And we know that in that day when He shows Himself to be strong in the behalf of His ancient people the Jews, we will see the fullness of His promise, “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you,” Genesis 12:3, come to pass.
May we not be found among those who poke their finger in the eye of God by hating those He loves. May we be found among those who are forever on the side of the Holy One.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Believe and Receive
August 19
“Jesus is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all,” Ephesians 1:21-23.
The Church, though irrelevant in and of itself, is considered by the Lord to be the earthly compliment to His Heavenly persona. We can add nothing to Christ's divinity, but He does not consider Himself to be complete until He will be united with His bride.
As He sanctifies and shapes us after the likeness to Himself, He gradually transforms His bride into an entity that will fully glorify God. Unless and until the Bride of Christ is conformed to the image of the Lord, she is unfit for her intended abode in Heaven. While no mortal can attain that celestial residence alone, with Jesus as Savior and Lord, every believer’s home in heaven is assured.
While other religions anticipate a place with God for eternity, it is only Christianity that makes such an exalted residence possible because of the initiative of the Deity. Other belief systems deny the interjection of an exalted being who loved man so much that He sacrificed Himself for man’s eternal salvation.
In no religion but that established on the work of Jesus at Calvary is an individual’s eternal soul assured of an abode in Heaven because the Holy One sacrificed Himself that the espouser of the faith might be redeemed. Every other religion requires that there be a performance of some deed, a compliance with some task in order for salvation to become a reality.
Only Christianity affirms that a man may earn hell, “the wages of sin is death…” If an individual decides to achieve his own salvation, he will be paid in full for his endeavor, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” and it can only be received by accepting the freely given treasure from the hand of the Savior who spend Himself to purchase it. (See Romans 6:21.)
If this seems illogical or impossible, it is because one is attempting to grasp an infinite truth with finite understanding. Until we have “the mind of Christ,” I Corinthians 2:16, we can’t understand how a Being who has all power and authority can sacrifice Himself for lowly worms like us. How precious that we do not have to understand, we need only believe and receive.
“Jesus is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all,” Ephesians 1:21-23.
The Church, though irrelevant in and of itself, is considered by the Lord to be the earthly compliment to His Heavenly persona. We can add nothing to Christ's divinity, but He does not consider Himself to be complete until He will be united with His bride.
As He sanctifies and shapes us after the likeness to Himself, He gradually transforms His bride into an entity that will fully glorify God. Unless and until the Bride of Christ is conformed to the image of the Lord, she is unfit for her intended abode in Heaven. While no mortal can attain that celestial residence alone, with Jesus as Savior and Lord, every believer’s home in heaven is assured.
While other religions anticipate a place with God for eternity, it is only Christianity that makes such an exalted residence possible because of the initiative of the Deity. Other belief systems deny the interjection of an exalted being who loved man so much that He sacrificed Himself for man’s eternal salvation.
In no religion but that established on the work of Jesus at Calvary is an individual’s eternal soul assured of an abode in Heaven because the Holy One sacrificed Himself that the espouser of the faith might be redeemed. Every other religion requires that there be a performance of some deed, a compliance with some task in order for salvation to become a reality.
Only Christianity affirms that a man may earn hell, “the wages of sin is death…” If an individual decides to achieve his own salvation, he will be paid in full for his endeavor, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” and it can only be received by accepting the freely given treasure from the hand of the Savior who spend Himself to purchase it. (See Romans 6:21.)
If this seems illogical or impossible, it is because one is attempting to grasp an infinite truth with finite understanding. Until we have “the mind of Christ,” I Corinthians 2:16, we can’t understand how a Being who has all power and authority can sacrifice Himself for lowly worms like us. How precious that we do not have to understand, we need only believe and receive.
Monday, August 18, 2014
But Christ Alone
August 18
I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers" idols. Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD,”
Ezekiel20:23-26.
God and His immutable word were not the basis for the righteousness of His people Israel. They had forsaken His way for the way that “seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death,” Proverbs 14:13.
Mankind today seems abysmally unaware of that reality. Mankind today, from the leadership who initiates edicts that are contrary to the law of God to each individual who complacently follows ungodly laws, are contributing to the downfall of our race.
In Romans 6:15-19, the Apostle Paul addresses the topic from a different perspective. Here he says, “What then? Shall we sin [transgress God's law] because we are not under the law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”
The conclusion we must consider then is that it is not merely our thoughts or our behaviors, or our actions that determine our standing before the Holy One; rather, it is the motivation, the source of our thoughts, our behaviors, our actions that truly identify us as who we are.
The source of the values to which we subscribe identify who is the sovereign in our lives and make clear exactly who it is to whom we bow our knee. Are we servant and worshiper of the true and living Christ or do we bow before the enemy of our souls in order to obtain his fleeting favors?
The understanding of the source of our values, our thoughts, our behaviors, our actions also reveals whether idolatry is present at the core of our being. Have we made our ‘self’ our god? If we are to avoid the spiritual death which is the result of following after any entity but Christ alone, we must assure that the God we worship is neither the evil one nor the self. Our worship must be lifted only to the God who inhabits the ages and who holds everything that exists in the hollow of His hand.
I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers" idols. Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD,”
Ezekiel20:23-26.
God and His immutable word were not the basis for the righteousness of His people Israel. They had forsaken His way for the way that “seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death,” Proverbs 14:13.
Mankind today seems abysmally unaware of that reality. Mankind today, from the leadership who initiates edicts that are contrary to the law of God to each individual who complacently follows ungodly laws, are contributing to the downfall of our race.
In Romans 6:15-19, the Apostle Paul addresses the topic from a different perspective. Here he says, “What then? Shall we sin [transgress God's law] because we are not under the law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”
The conclusion we must consider then is that it is not merely our thoughts or our behaviors, or our actions that determine our standing before the Holy One; rather, it is the motivation, the source of our thoughts, our behaviors, our actions that truly identify us as who we are.
The source of the values to which we subscribe identify who is the sovereign in our lives and make clear exactly who it is to whom we bow our knee. Are we servant and worshiper of the true and living Christ or do we bow before the enemy of our souls in order to obtain his fleeting favors?
The understanding of the source of our values, our thoughts, our behaviors, our actions also reveals whether idolatry is present at the core of our being. Have we made our ‘self’ our god? If we are to avoid the spiritual death which is the result of following after any entity but Christ alone, we must assure that the God we worship is neither the evil one nor the self. Our worship must be lifted only to the God who inhabits the ages and who holds everything that exists in the hollow of His hand.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
These Signs Will Follow
August 17
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover,” Mark 16:17, 18.
Our God has made great and precious promises (see II Peter 1-4). There have been times and places where these affirmations of His presence and power in the behalf of His people have drawn souls to the Savior. This truth was discovered by a young scholar who did research in the archives of many churches in Europe. As he delved into the history of each church at its inception, he discovered that a major move of the Holy Spirit had preceded the establishment of each of them.
But not everyone who is touched by the Spirit of the Living God desires to see Jesus lifted up when the Holy Spirit moves. In Acts 8:9-14, we are told the story of Simon the sorcerer. Here it says:
“Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.’
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.”
Simon was astonished by what he saw. Indeed, as a sorcerer, he understood trickery and he knew the power of the evil one who had enabled him to dupe the people. When he saw real, raw power, he wanted it.
Acts 8:15-24 goes on to say, “…When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’
“Peter answered: ‘May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart, for I see that you are full of bitterness and are captive to sin.’
“Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.’”
Simon’s initial motivation seemed to be a desire to have the Holy Spirit’s power within him in order that he might continue to demonstrate supernatural abilities to the people around him for his own gain. As Peter said, Simon was attracted to the power of God but his attraction was motivated by his captivity to sin.
When Simon considered Peter’s charge to repent, however, he knew the Apostle’s words were spoken in power and he begged that Peter would pray for his deliverance. Like Simon, many of us are attracted to the power we seen in men of faith and we like the opportunity to associate with them. Like Simon, however, we must repent of any self-oriented motivation and allow Jesus to make us spiritually clean vessels within whom the Holy Spirit may make His abode.
Before we can be tabernacles of the Holy Spirit, we must allow Jesus to be on the throne of our hearts. When He is, He will employ the gifts He’s promised as they will glorify His own holy name.
We will not be part of the equation; we will not seek our own glory. Our only desire will be that demons release their captives, tongues be spoken in truth, anything that assails God’s people will be rendered impotent, and the word of faith will heal the sick and set the captives free—that Jesus may be lifted up in the hearts and minds and lives of lost and dying men that they may become alive in Him.
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover,” Mark 16:17, 18.
Our God has made great and precious promises (see II Peter 1-4). There have been times and places where these affirmations of His presence and power in the behalf of His people have drawn souls to the Savior. This truth was discovered by a young scholar who did research in the archives of many churches in Europe. As he delved into the history of each church at its inception, he discovered that a major move of the Holy Spirit had preceded the establishment of each of them.
But not everyone who is touched by the Spirit of the Living God desires to see Jesus lifted up when the Holy Spirit moves. In Acts 8:9-14, we are told the story of Simon the sorcerer. Here it says:
“Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.’
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.”
Simon was astonished by what he saw. Indeed, as a sorcerer, he understood trickery and he knew the power of the evil one who had enabled him to dupe the people. When he saw real, raw power, he wanted it.
Acts 8:15-24 goes on to say, “…When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’
“Peter answered: ‘May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart, for I see that you are full of bitterness and are captive to sin.’
“Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.’”
Simon’s initial motivation seemed to be a desire to have the Holy Spirit’s power within him in order that he might continue to demonstrate supernatural abilities to the people around him for his own gain. As Peter said, Simon was attracted to the power of God but his attraction was motivated by his captivity to sin.
When Simon considered Peter’s charge to repent, however, he knew the Apostle’s words were spoken in power and he begged that Peter would pray for his deliverance. Like Simon, many of us are attracted to the power we seen in men of faith and we like the opportunity to associate with them. Like Simon, however, we must repent of any self-oriented motivation and allow Jesus to make us spiritually clean vessels within whom the Holy Spirit may make His abode.
Before we can be tabernacles of the Holy Spirit, we must allow Jesus to be on the throne of our hearts. When He is, He will employ the gifts He’s promised as they will glorify His own holy name.
We will not be part of the equation; we will not seek our own glory. Our only desire will be that demons release their captives, tongues be spoken in truth, anything that assails God’s people will be rendered impotent, and the word of faith will heal the sick and set the captives free—that Jesus may be lifted up in the hearts and minds and lives of lost and dying men that they may become alive in Him.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Trust Him
August 16
“…I am the Lord that healeth thee,” Exodus 15:26
A Christian lady who is a member of an Assemblies of God Church tells the story of an experience she had as a young believer who grew up in the Roman Catholic faith but became a Pentecostal when she married her husband.
The young couple had moved from their hometown to a neighboring state but whenever they went home for a visit, the young wife would always visit an elderly Italian lady who had been her grandmother’s best friend.
During one of these visits, the older woman asked abruptly, “What religion are you?”
The young visitor was somewhat taken aback because her old friend had been Catholic all her life and she feared she would be offended to discover her conversion to another faith, but she told her the truth.
The old lady, whose name was Mary Grace, responded in a surprising way. She said, “That’s good!”
The younger woman replied, “Mrs. DelGlazzio, you surprise me!”
The stunned look on her guest’s face made Mrs. DelGlazzio laugh. Then she told her story:
When I was a young woman, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. There was nothing to be done for my condition, for in those days (the turn of the Twentieth Century) medicine had not advanced as it has today.
Every day my doctor would come in as I lay in my bed and he was inevitably followed by my priest. One day, their visits overlapped. They thought I was asleep so they began talking about my condition. The priest asked the doctor how long he thought it would be until my illness took my life. The doctor said he thought it would be a matter of days, if not hours.
When they left my room, I began to weep and to pray to God. I said, “Jesus, I have two little boys! I can’t die! Please help me to be well so I can live to raise my children.”
At the turn of the Twentieth Century in America, a Pentecostal revival was sweeping the land. It had begun in California at a place called Azuza Street but it didn’t take long until pockets of Pentecostal believers were cropping up around the country, including in the immigrant community, of which Mrs. DelGlazzio was a part.
One of the members of the local Italian community had heard the message of salvation and healing and power in Jesus’ name and he embraced it.
Within a half hour of the departure of the doctor and the priest this Pentecostal believer entered Mrs. DelGlazzio’s home and walked into her bedroom where she appeared to be sleeping. He knelt down beside her bed and prayed a powerful prayer that reiterated her own prayer.
He said, “Lord Jesus, this young woman cannot die. She has two little boys to raise and a husband who needs her. I command that she be made every bit whole and well in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen.”
Mrs. DelGlazzio concluded her story by saying, “The next morning when the priest and the doctor arrived at my home, I prepared breakfast for them.”
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. Whatever YOUR need is, Jesus is the provision for your need. He is the full supply for everything you lack. He hears you. He loves you. He will help you. Trust Him.
“…I am the Lord that healeth thee,” Exodus 15:26
A Christian lady who is a member of an Assemblies of God Church tells the story of an experience she had as a young believer who grew up in the Roman Catholic faith but became a Pentecostal when she married her husband.
The young couple had moved from their hometown to a neighboring state but whenever they went home for a visit, the young wife would always visit an elderly Italian lady who had been her grandmother’s best friend.
During one of these visits, the older woman asked abruptly, “What religion are you?”
The young visitor was somewhat taken aback because her old friend had been Catholic all her life and she feared she would be offended to discover her conversion to another faith, but she told her the truth.
The old lady, whose name was Mary Grace, responded in a surprising way. She said, “That’s good!”
The younger woman replied, “Mrs. DelGlazzio, you surprise me!”
The stunned look on her guest’s face made Mrs. DelGlazzio laugh. Then she told her story:
When I was a young woman, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. There was nothing to be done for my condition, for in those days (the turn of the Twentieth Century) medicine had not advanced as it has today.
Every day my doctor would come in as I lay in my bed and he was inevitably followed by my priest. One day, their visits overlapped. They thought I was asleep so they began talking about my condition. The priest asked the doctor how long he thought it would be until my illness took my life. The doctor said he thought it would be a matter of days, if not hours.
When they left my room, I began to weep and to pray to God. I said, “Jesus, I have two little boys! I can’t die! Please help me to be well so I can live to raise my children.”
At the turn of the Twentieth Century in America, a Pentecostal revival was sweeping the land. It had begun in California at a place called Azuza Street but it didn’t take long until pockets of Pentecostal believers were cropping up around the country, including in the immigrant community, of which Mrs. DelGlazzio was a part.
One of the members of the local Italian community had heard the message of salvation and healing and power in Jesus’ name and he embraced it.
Within a half hour of the departure of the doctor and the priest this Pentecostal believer entered Mrs. DelGlazzio’s home and walked into her bedroom where she appeared to be sleeping. He knelt down beside her bed and prayed a powerful prayer that reiterated her own prayer.
He said, “Lord Jesus, this young woman cannot die. She has two little boys to raise and a husband who needs her. I command that she be made every bit whole and well in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen.”
Mrs. DelGlazzio concluded her story by saying, “The next morning when the priest and the doctor arrived at my home, I prepared breakfast for them.”
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. Whatever YOUR need is, Jesus is the provision for your need. He is the full supply for everything you lack. He hears you. He loves you. He will help you. Trust Him.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Settled As It Is Established
August 15
“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. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” Hebrews 11:5,6.
If Enoch was translated, how can the word be true that says, “It is appointed to man once to die…” Hebrews 9:27? This question perplexes many believers who adhere to not only the intent but to the letter of the word. Given their resolve to be fully committed to the Bible, how can they juggle this seeming discrepancy?
And this is not the only verse that causes believers in Christ consternation and that gives unbelievers fuel for the fire of doubt they are continually fanning with the hope it will consume all faith in its flames. Another is that which says Jesus died on Good Friday and arose on Sunday morning because the Bible says He was in the tomb for three days.
As I Corinthians 15:4 says, “…He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” A little quick counting on your fingers confirms that from 3 P.M. Friday (according to our reckoning of time) when Jesus died to Sunday morning at sunrise when He arose is not three days.
So do we dismiss the entirety of scripture as a passel of lies because our understanding of the word is limited to our finite ability to comprehend it? The obvious answer to that question is that we must not. What we should do is to endeavor to grasp the intent of the mind of our Heavenly Father so we will know what He intends that we know.
We should solicit the help of the Holy Spirit Whom Christ said He would send to us to “teach all truth,” John 16:13. If it doesn’t appear that He is teaching or that we are learning the truth as it is set forth in the Bible, perhaps it is because we are not ready in our level of maturity to “rightly handle the word of truth,” II Timothy 2:15.
Just as we do not teach trigonometry or advanced biology to kindergärtners, neither does the God who loves us expect us to grasp His living truth that is beyond our ken. What He does expect is that we delve deeply into the holy writ and consume voluminous amounts of the holy word in order that we might attain maturity in the things that are eternal.
When we have done that, the scripture that He wants us to know will be understood by us at the precise moment He wants us to know it. There will be no mysteries for us to unravel for He will spread the truth before us as He did for Peter when he questioned God about sharing His word with gentiles.(see Acts 10:11-15).
There were few outside the Jewish nation who knew the truth of God prior to the resurrection of Christ, “when the fullness of time was come, and God sent His Son to bear our sins,” Galatians 4:4, but when that glorious event had been accomplished, everything changed and the gospel became available to all mankind.
So, too, will all truth be made known to all men at its appointed time, and when it is fully known, “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” Romans 14:11.
May we bow before Him now. May we confess Him now. For “now is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation,” II Corinthians 6:2. No vague concept that we don’t understand should ever cloud that glorious truth that is so clearly stated to us.
Can we not allow the fact that Enoch did not see death to remain with God? For indeed, he is the precursor to the reality that we shall not taste death! (See Matthew 16:28). I John 3:14 tells us that we pass from death to life when we receive Jesus as our Savior, so like Enoch, death cannot hold us.
Can we not accept that Jesus was in the tomb for a portion of Friday, all of Saturday, and gloriously arose at the beginning of Sunday morning? Indeed we should, for those three days that He sojourned in the grave represent the work He did to “set the captives free,” prophesied in Isaiah 61:1 and fulfilled on the glorious Sunday morning when He arose!
Let us allow the transformation of our temporal existence from fleeting exercises in futility to reflections of His own holy life settle the matter of the veracity of Holy Writ forever in our minds, even as it is forever established in eternity.
“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. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” Hebrews 11:5,6.
If Enoch was translated, how can the word be true that says, “It is appointed to man once to die…” Hebrews 9:27? This question perplexes many believers who adhere to not only the intent but to the letter of the word. Given their resolve to be fully committed to the Bible, how can they juggle this seeming discrepancy?
And this is not the only verse that causes believers in Christ consternation and that gives unbelievers fuel for the fire of doubt they are continually fanning with the hope it will consume all faith in its flames. Another is that which says Jesus died on Good Friday and arose on Sunday morning because the Bible says He was in the tomb for three days.
As I Corinthians 15:4 says, “…He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” A little quick counting on your fingers confirms that from 3 P.M. Friday (according to our reckoning of time) when Jesus died to Sunday morning at sunrise when He arose is not three days.
So do we dismiss the entirety of scripture as a passel of lies because our understanding of the word is limited to our finite ability to comprehend it? The obvious answer to that question is that we must not. What we should do is to endeavor to grasp the intent of the mind of our Heavenly Father so we will know what He intends that we know.
We should solicit the help of the Holy Spirit Whom Christ said He would send to us to “teach all truth,” John 16:13. If it doesn’t appear that He is teaching or that we are learning the truth as it is set forth in the Bible, perhaps it is because we are not ready in our level of maturity to “rightly handle the word of truth,” II Timothy 2:15.
Just as we do not teach trigonometry or advanced biology to kindergärtners, neither does the God who loves us expect us to grasp His living truth that is beyond our ken. What He does expect is that we delve deeply into the holy writ and consume voluminous amounts of the holy word in order that we might attain maturity in the things that are eternal.
When we have done that, the scripture that He wants us to know will be understood by us at the precise moment He wants us to know it. There will be no mysteries for us to unravel for He will spread the truth before us as He did for Peter when he questioned God about sharing His word with gentiles.(see Acts 10:11-15).
There were few outside the Jewish nation who knew the truth of God prior to the resurrection of Christ, “when the fullness of time was come, and God sent His Son to bear our sins,” Galatians 4:4, but when that glorious event had been accomplished, everything changed and the gospel became available to all mankind.
So, too, will all truth be made known to all men at its appointed time, and when it is fully known, “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” Romans 14:11.
May we bow before Him now. May we confess Him now. For “now is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation,” II Corinthians 6:2. No vague concept that we don’t understand should ever cloud that glorious truth that is so clearly stated to us.
Can we not allow the fact that Enoch did not see death to remain with God? For indeed, he is the precursor to the reality that we shall not taste death! (See Matthew 16:28). I John 3:14 tells us that we pass from death to life when we receive Jesus as our Savior, so like Enoch, death cannot hold us.
Can we not accept that Jesus was in the tomb for a portion of Friday, all of Saturday, and gloriously arose at the beginning of Sunday morning? Indeed we should, for those three days that He sojourned in the grave represent the work He did to “set the captives free,” prophesied in Isaiah 61:1 and fulfilled on the glorious Sunday morning when He arose!
Let us allow the transformation of our temporal existence from fleeting exercises in futility to reflections of His own holy life settle the matter of the veracity of Holy Writ forever in our minds, even as it is forever established in eternity.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Life Forevermore
August 14
“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,’" Luke 9:62.
“But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul,” Hebrews 10:39.
The looking back depicted in these verses is not reflecting to evaluate the progress made since one decided to leave the world to embrace the Kingdom of Christ. It is rather the sentiment of Lot's wife, who looked back with longing for what she had left. Rather than being grateful for the Lord’s deliverance from the sin-sick city from which she was fleeing, she yearned after the temporal trappings she had to leave behind. Her looking back revealed that her heart remained in Sodom.
People of God are required to look toward an awesome vision of future glory in the presence of the Lord and to desire the eternal above the temporal. Abraham is a clear example of a man who was willing to forsake all he had in order to move toward the will of God for his life. Abraham looked for a city built by God, leaving his family, his inheritance, his homeland behind without ever looking back.
Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Each of us must examine our own heart to discover our true self, the self who lives behind the facade of church attendance and communal worship. Are we like Lot’s wife who looked back with longing at what she left behind in Sodom? Or are we like Abraham who looked forward to living closer to and serving God more fully?
May each of us be found in the center of the will of our Savior. May our love for Him go far beyond the external--far beyond the communal worship and collective praise to an inner devotion; for in the center of His will, in the hollow of His hand will be found our life forevermore.
“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,’" Luke 9:62.
“But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul,” Hebrews 10:39.
The looking back depicted in these verses is not reflecting to evaluate the progress made since one decided to leave the world to embrace the Kingdom of Christ. It is rather the sentiment of Lot's wife, who looked back with longing for what she had left. Rather than being grateful for the Lord’s deliverance from the sin-sick city from which she was fleeing, she yearned after the temporal trappings she had to leave behind. Her looking back revealed that her heart remained in Sodom.
People of God are required to look toward an awesome vision of future glory in the presence of the Lord and to desire the eternal above the temporal. Abraham is a clear example of a man who was willing to forsake all he had in order to move toward the will of God for his life. Abraham looked for a city built by God, leaving his family, his inheritance, his homeland behind without ever looking back.
Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Each of us must examine our own heart to discover our true self, the self who lives behind the facade of church attendance and communal worship. Are we like Lot’s wife who looked back with longing at what she left behind in Sodom? Or are we like Abraham who looked forward to living closer to and serving God more fully?
May each of us be found in the center of the will of our Savior. May our love for Him go far beyond the external--far beyond the communal worship and collective praise to an inner devotion; for in the center of His will, in the hollow of His hand will be found our life forevermore.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth, who lived from 1859-1947, was a fiery Pentecostal preacher whose powerful ministry reached the globe. Thousands of people were healed,delivered, and raised from the dead during his mighty preaching of the Word of God.
The foundation of his work was simple:" First, read the Word of God. Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you. Third believe the Word of God. Fourth, act on the Word of God."
Lord Jesus, grant to believers today a double portion of the spirit of this servant of Yours who brought glory to Your holy name by his total reliance on You and his complete belief in Your Word.
The foundation of his work was simple:" First, read the Word of God. Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you. Third believe the Word of God. Fourth, act on the Word of God."
Lord Jesus, grant to believers today a double portion of the spirit of this servant of Yours who brought glory to Your holy name by his total reliance on You and his complete belief in Your Word.
...by Smith Wigglesworth
August 12
From a sermon by Smith Wigglesworth:
We are dull of comprehension because we so often let the cares of this world blind our eyes; but if we can be open to God, we shall see that He has a greater plan for us in the future than we have ever seen in the past. It is God’s delight to make possible to us that which seems impossible, and when we reach a place where He alone has right of way, then all the things that have been misty and misunderstood will be cleared up.
This like precious faith that Peter is writing about is a gift that God is willing to give to all of us, and I believe God wants us to receive it so that we may subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, and, if the time is come, to stop the mouths of lions. We should be able under all circumstances to triumph, because we have no confidence in ourselves, but our confidence is only in God. It is always those people who are full of faith that have a good report, that never murmur, that are in the place of victory, that are not in the place of human order but of divine order, since God has come to dwell in them.
This like precious faith is for all; but there may be some hindrance in your life that God will have to deal with. It seems to me as if I had had a thousand road engines come over my life to break me up like a potter’s vessel. There is no other way into the deep things of God but a broken spirit. There is no other way into the power of God. God will do the exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think for us when He can bring us to the place where we can say with Paul, “I live no longer, and Another, even Christ, has taken the reins and the rule.”
I understand God by His Word. I cannot understand God by impressions or feelings; I cannot get to know God by sentiments. If I am going to know God, I am going to know Him by His Word. I know I shall be in heaven, but I could not build on my feelings that I am going to heaven. I am going to heaven because God’s Word says it, and I believe God’s Word. And “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10;17.
In Mark 11:24 we read, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” The previous verse speaks of mountains removed, difficulties cleared away. Veneering won’t do. We must have reality, the real working of our God. We must know God. We must be able to go in and hold converse with God. We must also know the mind of God toward us, so that all our petitions are always on the line of His will.
As this like precious faith becomes a part of you, it will make you so that you will dare to do anything. And remember, God wants daring men, men who will dare all, men who will be strong in Him and dare to do exploits. How shall we reach this plane of faith? Let go your own thoughts, and take the thoughts of God, the Word of God. If you build yourself on imaginations you will go wrong.
You have the Word of God and it is enough. A man gave this remarkable testimony concerning the Word: “Never compare this Book with other books. Comparisons are dangerous. Never think or never say that this Book contains the Word of God. It is the Word of God. It is supernatural in origin, eternal in duration, inexpressible in value, infinite in scope, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, universal in interest, personal in application, inspired in totality. Read it through. Write it down. Pray it in. Work it out. And then pass it on.”
And truly the Word of God changes a man until he becomes an epistle of God. It transforms his mind, changes his character, moves him on from grace to grace, makes him an inheritor of the very nature of God. God comes in, dwells in, walks in, talks through, and sups with him who opens his being to the Word of God and receives the Spirit who inspired it.
When I was going over to New Zealand and Australia, I had many to see me off. There was an Indian doctor who was riding in the same car with me to the docks. He was very quiet and took in all things that were said on the ship. I began to preach, of course, and the Lord began to work among the people. In the second-class part of the ship there was a young man and his wife who were attendants on a lady and gentleman in the first-class. And as these two young people heard me talking to them privately and otherwise, they were very much impressed. Then the lady they were attending got very sick. In her sickness and her loneliness she could find no relief. They called in the doctor, and the doctor gave her no hope.
And then, when in this strange dilemma — she was a great Christian Scientist, a preacher of it, and had gone up and down preaching it — they thought of me. Knowing the conditions, and what she lived for, that it was late in the day, and that in the condition of her mind she could only receive the simplest words, I said to her, “Now you are very sick, and I won’t talk to you about anything save this; I will pray for you in the name of Jesus, and the moment I pray you will be healed.”
And the moment I prayed she was healed. That was this like precious faith in operation. Then she was disturbed. Now I could have poured in oil very soon. But I poured in all the bitter drugs possible, and for three days I had her on cinders. I showed her her terrible state, and pointed out to her all her folly and the fallacy of her position. I showed her that there was nothing in Christian Science, that it is a lie from the beginning, one of the last agencies of hell. At best a lie, preaching a lie, and producing a lie.
Then she wakened up. She became so penitent and broken-hearted. But the thing that stirred her first was that she had to go to preach the simple gospel of Christ where she had preached Christian Science. She asked me if she had to give up certain things. I won’t mention the things, they are too vile. I said, “What you have to do is to see Jesus and take Jesus.” When she saw the Lord in His purity, the other things had to go. At the presence of Jesus all else goes.
This opened the door. I had to preach to all on the boat. This gave me a great opportunity. As I preached, the power of God fell, conviction came and sinners were saved. They followed me into my cabin one after another. God was working there.
Then this Indian doctor came. He said, “What shall I do? I cannot use medicine any more.” “Why?” “Oh, your preaching has changed me. But I must have a foundation. Will you spend some time with me?” “Of course I will.” Then we went alone and God broke the fallow ground. This Indian doctor was going right back to his Indian conditions under a new order. He had left a practice there. He told me of the great practice he had. He was going back to his practice to preach Jesus.
If you have lost your hunger for God, if you do not have a cry for more of God, you are missing the plan. There must come up from us a cry that cannot be satisfied with anything but God. He wants to give us the vision of the prize ahead that is something higher than we have ever attained. If you ever stop at any point, pick up at the place where you have dropped through, and begin again under the refining light and power of heaven and God will meet you. And while He will bring you to a consciousness of your own frailty and to a brokenness of spirit, your faith will lay hold of Him and all the divine resources, His light and compassion will be manifested through you, and He will send the rain.
Shall we not dedicate ourselves afresh to God? Some say, “I dedicated myself last night to God.” Every new revelation brings a new dedication. Let us seek Him.
From a sermon by Smith Wigglesworth:
We are dull of comprehension because we so often let the cares of this world blind our eyes; but if we can be open to God, we shall see that He has a greater plan for us in the future than we have ever seen in the past. It is God’s delight to make possible to us that which seems impossible, and when we reach a place where He alone has right of way, then all the things that have been misty and misunderstood will be cleared up.
This like precious faith that Peter is writing about is a gift that God is willing to give to all of us, and I believe God wants us to receive it so that we may subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, and, if the time is come, to stop the mouths of lions. We should be able under all circumstances to triumph, because we have no confidence in ourselves, but our confidence is only in God. It is always those people who are full of faith that have a good report, that never murmur, that are in the place of victory, that are not in the place of human order but of divine order, since God has come to dwell in them.
This like precious faith is for all; but there may be some hindrance in your life that God will have to deal with. It seems to me as if I had had a thousand road engines come over my life to break me up like a potter’s vessel. There is no other way into the deep things of God but a broken spirit. There is no other way into the power of God. God will do the exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think for us when He can bring us to the place where we can say with Paul, “I live no longer, and Another, even Christ, has taken the reins and the rule.”
I understand God by His Word. I cannot understand God by impressions or feelings; I cannot get to know God by sentiments. If I am going to know God, I am going to know Him by His Word. I know I shall be in heaven, but I could not build on my feelings that I am going to heaven. I am going to heaven because God’s Word says it, and I believe God’s Word. And “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10;17.
In Mark 11:24 we read, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” The previous verse speaks of mountains removed, difficulties cleared away. Veneering won’t do. We must have reality, the real working of our God. We must know God. We must be able to go in and hold converse with God. We must also know the mind of God toward us, so that all our petitions are always on the line of His will.
As this like precious faith becomes a part of you, it will make you so that you will dare to do anything. And remember, God wants daring men, men who will dare all, men who will be strong in Him and dare to do exploits. How shall we reach this plane of faith? Let go your own thoughts, and take the thoughts of God, the Word of God. If you build yourself on imaginations you will go wrong.
You have the Word of God and it is enough. A man gave this remarkable testimony concerning the Word: “Never compare this Book with other books. Comparisons are dangerous. Never think or never say that this Book contains the Word of God. It is the Word of God. It is supernatural in origin, eternal in duration, inexpressible in value, infinite in scope, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, universal in interest, personal in application, inspired in totality. Read it through. Write it down. Pray it in. Work it out. And then pass it on.”
And truly the Word of God changes a man until he becomes an epistle of God. It transforms his mind, changes his character, moves him on from grace to grace, makes him an inheritor of the very nature of God. God comes in, dwells in, walks in, talks through, and sups with him who opens his being to the Word of God and receives the Spirit who inspired it.
When I was going over to New Zealand and Australia, I had many to see me off. There was an Indian doctor who was riding in the same car with me to the docks. He was very quiet and took in all things that were said on the ship. I began to preach, of course, and the Lord began to work among the people. In the second-class part of the ship there was a young man and his wife who were attendants on a lady and gentleman in the first-class. And as these two young people heard me talking to them privately and otherwise, they were very much impressed. Then the lady they were attending got very sick. In her sickness and her loneliness she could find no relief. They called in the doctor, and the doctor gave her no hope.
And then, when in this strange dilemma — she was a great Christian Scientist, a preacher of it, and had gone up and down preaching it — they thought of me. Knowing the conditions, and what she lived for, that it was late in the day, and that in the condition of her mind she could only receive the simplest words, I said to her, “Now you are very sick, and I won’t talk to you about anything save this; I will pray for you in the name of Jesus, and the moment I pray you will be healed.”
And the moment I prayed she was healed. That was this like precious faith in operation. Then she was disturbed. Now I could have poured in oil very soon. But I poured in all the bitter drugs possible, and for three days I had her on cinders. I showed her her terrible state, and pointed out to her all her folly and the fallacy of her position. I showed her that there was nothing in Christian Science, that it is a lie from the beginning, one of the last agencies of hell. At best a lie, preaching a lie, and producing a lie.
Then she wakened up. She became so penitent and broken-hearted. But the thing that stirred her first was that she had to go to preach the simple gospel of Christ where she had preached Christian Science. She asked me if she had to give up certain things. I won’t mention the things, they are too vile. I said, “What you have to do is to see Jesus and take Jesus.” When she saw the Lord in His purity, the other things had to go. At the presence of Jesus all else goes.
This opened the door. I had to preach to all on the boat. This gave me a great opportunity. As I preached, the power of God fell, conviction came and sinners were saved. They followed me into my cabin one after another. God was working there.
Then this Indian doctor came. He said, “What shall I do? I cannot use medicine any more.” “Why?” “Oh, your preaching has changed me. But I must have a foundation. Will you spend some time with me?” “Of course I will.” Then we went alone and God broke the fallow ground. This Indian doctor was going right back to his Indian conditions under a new order. He had left a practice there. He told me of the great practice he had. He was going back to his practice to preach Jesus.
If you have lost your hunger for God, if you do not have a cry for more of God, you are missing the plan. There must come up from us a cry that cannot be satisfied with anything but God. He wants to give us the vision of the prize ahead that is something higher than we have ever attained. If you ever stop at any point, pick up at the place where you have dropped through, and begin again under the refining light and power of heaven and God will meet you. And while He will bring you to a consciousness of your own frailty and to a brokenness of spirit, your faith will lay hold of Him and all the divine resources, His light and compassion will be manifested through you, and He will send the rain.
Shall we not dedicate ourselves afresh to God? Some say, “I dedicated myself last night to God.” Every new revelation brings a new dedication. Let us seek Him.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
OOPS! Sorry!
I have mistakenly posted the blog for August 13 today. I will post the August 12 blog tomorrow.
If Your Faith Is Being Assailed, Remember...
August 13
The ‘prince and power of the air,” Ephesians 2:2, the one who is “the god of this world,” II Corinthians 4:4, has come against you with a whirlwind of confusion and doubt that has as its intent the destruction of a strong Christian who is not only raising his children in “the nurture and wisdom and admonition of the Lord,” Ephesians 6:4, but is also a “living epistle, written on tables of the heart and read of all men,” II Corinthians 3:2.
If the wicked one succeeds in bringing the seeds of discontent that he has sown within you to fruition, he will not only have successfully destroyed the commitment you made before the Lord to love Christ with every fiber of your being, but you will also allow him to succeed in robbing those who are watching you live your Christianity of the witness you are to those who do not believe..
And if you think the young believers around you won’t be impacted by your abdication of your role as spiritual father to those you have nurtured in the faith,I beg you to consider the statistical evidence regarding natural fathers:
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Source: Center for Disease Control)
• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26, 1978.)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.)
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes (Source: Rainbows for all Gods Children.)
• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992)
Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, a mature believer such as yourself is a role model to younger Christians. If you can chose to abrogate your commitment to the Lord because you aren’t content with the way His will is unfolding in your life, you are giving permission to countless young believers to do the same thing if glitches come along in their lives.
But the bottom line isn’t how your actions impact other people; the bottom line is what is motivating your actions. To say one is not happy is to state a truth that anyone who has progressed beyond the idyllic honeymoon stage of his faith can say. All manner of trials bring challenges to a walk of faith.
Financial problems bring challenges. Watching parents grow old and die brings challenges. Disappointments on the job bring challenges. And the list can go on ad nauseum—and the list impacts an individual’s ability to cope with the trials and to maintain a spirit of surrender to the Lord.
But the beauty of being a Christian is that God doesn’t expect us to be happy all the time! No, He doesn’t or Jesus wouldn’t have said, “If the world hated and persecuted Me, so will it hate and persecute you,” John 15:18. The Lord doesn’t expect His people to be happy because He knows happiness is based on circumstances that change.
One minute a man might be euphoric because all is well in his world and the next minute he may be devastated (like Job and his wife who in her misery said, “Why not curse God and die!” Job 2:9). What HE DOES EXPECT THE CHRISTIAN TO DO IS TO APPROPRIATE THE PROMISE OF NEHEMIAH 8:10, “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!”
He knows the believer needs strength to overcome the challenges of life and the attacks of the enemy and He knows that kind of strength—to be committed to Him, to spouse, to family (even to a drudgerous job) requires something outside oneself! It requires being anchored to Jesus, it requires being fully committed to your ‘First Love.’
And the reality is that unless a man is holding fast to Jesus, he will not hold fast to any other commitment. If a man can seriously entertain the notion of abrogating his commitment to love his wife, or to help his aging parents or to maintain a drudgerous job, it is only because he has first abrogated his commitment to love Jesus and to put Him and His will first in his life.
If JESUS IS YOUR PRIORITY, YOU WILL ACCEPT THE ENTIRETY OF HIS STATED WILL AS YOUR OWN WILL. If Jesus has slipped from the throne of your heart, your heart will not be faithful to any of its commitments.
The solution to your ‘happiness’ which is fleeting is to root it in “the joy of the Lord.” The secret to loving your spouse is falling in love with Christ again, for the Word tells us that “GOD IS LOVE AND THEY WHO DWELL IN LOVE DWELL IN GOD,” I John 4:8. If a man loves Jesus with every fiber of his being as he should, he will love not only his wife but his family and be loyal to them and to his job. He will love himself because he knows he is bought with an incalculable price (see II Corinthians 9:15.) He will love with a love that is anchored to commitment to Jesus.
When we let Jesus be ‘the center of it all,’ it will all be as it should be. Apart from Him, we cannot succeed. With Him, we cannot fail.
The ‘prince and power of the air,” Ephesians 2:2, the one who is “the god of this world,” II Corinthians 4:4, has come against you with a whirlwind of confusion and doubt that has as its intent the destruction of a strong Christian who is not only raising his children in “the nurture and wisdom and admonition of the Lord,” Ephesians 6:4, but is also a “living epistle, written on tables of the heart and read of all men,” II Corinthians 3:2.
If the wicked one succeeds in bringing the seeds of discontent that he has sown within you to fruition, he will not only have successfully destroyed the commitment you made before the Lord to love Christ with every fiber of your being, but you will also allow him to succeed in robbing those who are watching you live your Christianity of the witness you are to those who do not believe..
And if you think the young believers around you won’t be impacted by your abdication of your role as spiritual father to those you have nurtured in the faith,I beg you to consider the statistical evidence regarding natural fathers:
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Source: Center for Disease Control)
• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26, 1978.)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.)
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes (Source: Rainbows for all Gods Children.)
• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992)
Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, a mature believer such as yourself is a role model to younger Christians. If you can chose to abrogate your commitment to the Lord because you aren’t content with the way His will is unfolding in your life, you are giving permission to countless young believers to do the same thing if glitches come along in their lives.
But the bottom line isn’t how your actions impact other people; the bottom line is what is motivating your actions. To say one is not happy is to state a truth that anyone who has progressed beyond the idyllic honeymoon stage of his faith can say. All manner of trials bring challenges to a walk of faith.
Financial problems bring challenges. Watching parents grow old and die brings challenges. Disappointments on the job bring challenges. And the list can go on ad nauseum—and the list impacts an individual’s ability to cope with the trials and to maintain a spirit of surrender to the Lord.
But the beauty of being a Christian is that God doesn’t expect us to be happy all the time! No, He doesn’t or Jesus wouldn’t have said, “If the world hated and persecuted Me, so will it hate and persecute you,” John 15:18. The Lord doesn’t expect His people to be happy because He knows happiness is based on circumstances that change.
One minute a man might be euphoric because all is well in his world and the next minute he may be devastated (like Job and his wife who in her misery said, “Why not curse God and die!” Job 2:9). What HE DOES EXPECT THE CHRISTIAN TO DO IS TO APPROPRIATE THE PROMISE OF NEHEMIAH 8:10, “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!”
He knows the believer needs strength to overcome the challenges of life and the attacks of the enemy and He knows that kind of strength—to be committed to Him, to spouse, to family (even to a drudgerous job) requires something outside oneself! It requires being anchored to Jesus, it requires being fully committed to your ‘First Love.’
And the reality is that unless a man is holding fast to Jesus, he will not hold fast to any other commitment. If a man can seriously entertain the notion of abrogating his commitment to love his wife, or to help his aging parents or to maintain a drudgerous job, it is only because he has first abrogated his commitment to love Jesus and to put Him and His will first in his life.
If JESUS IS YOUR PRIORITY, YOU WILL ACCEPT THE ENTIRETY OF HIS STATED WILL AS YOUR OWN WILL. If Jesus has slipped from the throne of your heart, your heart will not be faithful to any of its commitments.
The solution to your ‘happiness’ which is fleeting is to root it in “the joy of the Lord.” The secret to loving your spouse is falling in love with Christ again, for the Word tells us that “GOD IS LOVE AND THEY WHO DWELL IN LOVE DWELL IN GOD,” I John 4:8. If a man loves Jesus with every fiber of his being as he should, he will love not only his wife but his family and be loyal to them and to his job. He will love himself because he knows he is bought with an incalculable price (see II Corinthians 9:15.) He will love with a love that is anchored to commitment to Jesus.
When we let Jesus be ‘the center of it all,’ it will all be as it should be. Apart from Him, we cannot succeed. With Him, we cannot fail.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Unless We Are Willing
August 11
“Therefore put to death…fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry,” Colossians 3:5.
“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them,” Ephesians 5:5-7.
The essential nature of this idolatry is selfishness, the worship of the self. A person's desire becomes the object of his affections and devotion. This sin is readily discernible in the ‘driven’ individual who pursues his goal without regard to cost. The driven individual will sacrifice anything—his marriage, his relationship with his children, his standing in the community, his faith—in order to obtain the object of his desire.
That object might be an elicit love that causes him to fly in the face of the Tenth Commandment (see Deuteronomy 5:21). As the Word states clearly, “ You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Yet, covetousness, the desire for more, the lust for what is not ours, drives many people to sin. Just as an illicit attraction can drive us to commit adultery, the desire to possess wealth, to own more things can drive us to rob ourselves of quality relationships with our families and friends in order to pursue the fruit of wealth. Some of us are driven to steal from others in variance to the Eighth Commandment, “Thou shall not steal, “ (see Exodus 20:15).
If we are professing believers in Christ, the ultimate theft is of our relationship with the Holy One, for He is not deceived by our pseudo surrender to Him while we are actually negating everything He stands for by the pursuit of “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life,” I John 2:16.
If we do not espouse Christ, none of this matters to us, for we are creatures of the world and we are subject to its goals and desires. We will spend ourselves to attain the trappings of wealth and power and to indulge every guilty pleasure the world can afford to us.
But if we are the Lord’s; if we have laid our lives at His feet, He expects a change in us—He expects a transformative change away from the enticements of the temporal which are fleeting and toward the promises of Heaven which are eternal. Which direction will we take our faith?
Will we compartmentalize our lives into segments—some worldly and some spiritual—believing that we are giving God His due by allocating a portion of our lives to church attendance and fellowship with others of “like precious faith,” II Peter 1:1 while being at the same time consumed with the world?
Or will we be among those who forsake all in order to fulfill the plan and purpose of God for our lives? Unless we are willing to abandon our ‘self’ to the Lord’s higher purpose, we cannot obtain the totality of His provision for us in time, nor can we achieve life’s greatest goal—the assurance of Heaven.
“Therefore put to death…fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry,” Colossians 3:5.
“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them,” Ephesians 5:5-7.
The essential nature of this idolatry is selfishness, the worship of the self. A person's desire becomes the object of his affections and devotion. This sin is readily discernible in the ‘driven’ individual who pursues his goal without regard to cost. The driven individual will sacrifice anything—his marriage, his relationship with his children, his standing in the community, his faith—in order to obtain the object of his desire.
That object might be an elicit love that causes him to fly in the face of the Tenth Commandment (see Deuteronomy 5:21). As the Word states clearly, “ You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Yet, covetousness, the desire for more, the lust for what is not ours, drives many people to sin. Just as an illicit attraction can drive us to commit adultery, the desire to possess wealth, to own more things can drive us to rob ourselves of quality relationships with our families and friends in order to pursue the fruit of wealth. Some of us are driven to steal from others in variance to the Eighth Commandment, “Thou shall not steal, “ (see Exodus 20:15).
If we are professing believers in Christ, the ultimate theft is of our relationship with the Holy One, for He is not deceived by our pseudo surrender to Him while we are actually negating everything He stands for by the pursuit of “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life,” I John 2:16.
If we do not espouse Christ, none of this matters to us, for we are creatures of the world and we are subject to its goals and desires. We will spend ourselves to attain the trappings of wealth and power and to indulge every guilty pleasure the world can afford to us.
But if we are the Lord’s; if we have laid our lives at His feet, He expects a change in us—He expects a transformative change away from the enticements of the temporal which are fleeting and toward the promises of Heaven which are eternal. Which direction will we take our faith?
Will we compartmentalize our lives into segments—some worldly and some spiritual—believing that we are giving God His due by allocating a portion of our lives to church attendance and fellowship with others of “like precious faith,” II Peter 1:1 while being at the same time consumed with the world?
Or will we be among those who forsake all in order to fulfill the plan and purpose of God for our lives? Unless we are willing to abandon our ‘self’ to the Lord’s higher purpose, we cannot obtain the totality of His provision for us in time, nor can we achieve life’s greatest goal—the assurance of Heaven.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
My Redeemer Lives!
MY REDEEMER LIVES - NICOLE C MULLEN VIDEO WITH LYRICS nonHD ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p4G2GbPYQA Cached
my redeemer lives - nicole c mullen video with lyrics. my redeemer lives - nicole c mullen video with lyrics ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p4G2GbPYQA Cached
my redeemer lives - nicole c mullen video with lyrics. my redeemer lives - nicole c mullen video with lyrics ...
Why I Agree with an Atheist on Israel by Dr. Jim Denison
August 10
Sam Harris is one of the best-known atheists in the world. He has written several books and scores of articles denouncing religion in all its forms, recently claiming that "science must destroy religion."
Why, then, do I agree with him regarding Israel and Hamas? Because he's exactly right.
Harris asks this profound question: What would each side do if they had the power to do it? He then answers his question: Israel has the power to kill every Palestinian, but strives to spare non-combatants wherever possible and seeks to live at peace with its neighbors.
By contrast, Hamas declares in its charter that it seeks the annihilation of Israel and its Jewish citizens. If the military capacities of the two were reversed, the outcome would be far different.
Nonetheless, much of the world continues rallying to the side of Hamas and condemning Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made global headlines recently with his claim that Israel's actions in Gaza surpassed "even Hitler's." Celebrities Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz published a widely-distributed letter accusing Israel of "genocide."
A writer in The Wall Street Journal noted that "what we are witnessing today in the surge of poisonous anti-Semitism around the world, particularly in Europe, would have delighted Hitler and his Nazi followers."
Some of the examples he cites: Jews in the Netherlands have been forced to remove mezuzas from their doorjambs; a Belgian doctor refused to treat an elderly Jewish woman with a fractured rib; a synagogue in Sweden was recently vandalized.
Protesters in France have been chanting "gas the Jews" and "kill the Jews" at public rallies. Jews are fleeing France in greater numbers than ever before. Anti-Semitic graffiti has appeared across Rome; reports of hate speech in Britain are up significantly. Explosives were recently thrown at a synagogue in western Germany.
It is time for religious and political leaders to take a stand. While we should seek peace and security for all people, Palestinians as well as Israelis, we must use our influence to stem the global tide of anti-Semitism wherever and however we can. If any race can be vilified on racial grounds, no race is safe.
Whether you're an atheist like Sam Harris or an evangelical Christian like me, or somewhere in between, I urge you to use your influence to confront the malignancy of anti-Semitism in our day.
Each time I visit the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, I stop to reflect on this statement from Martin Niemöller, the anti-Nazi German pastor who spent eight years in a concentration camp: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."
By speaking for the Jews, you speak for all of humanity. And for yourself.
Sam Harris is one of the best-known atheists in the world. He has written several books and scores of articles denouncing religion in all its forms, recently claiming that "science must destroy religion."
Why, then, do I agree with him regarding Israel and Hamas? Because he's exactly right.
Harris asks this profound question: What would each side do if they had the power to do it? He then answers his question: Israel has the power to kill every Palestinian, but strives to spare non-combatants wherever possible and seeks to live at peace with its neighbors.
By contrast, Hamas declares in its charter that it seeks the annihilation of Israel and its Jewish citizens. If the military capacities of the two were reversed, the outcome would be far different.
Nonetheless, much of the world continues rallying to the side of Hamas and condemning Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made global headlines recently with his claim that Israel's actions in Gaza surpassed "even Hitler's." Celebrities Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz published a widely-distributed letter accusing Israel of "genocide."
A writer in The Wall Street Journal noted that "what we are witnessing today in the surge of poisonous anti-Semitism around the world, particularly in Europe, would have delighted Hitler and his Nazi followers."
Some of the examples he cites: Jews in the Netherlands have been forced to remove mezuzas from their doorjambs; a Belgian doctor refused to treat an elderly Jewish woman with a fractured rib; a synagogue in Sweden was recently vandalized.
Protesters in France have been chanting "gas the Jews" and "kill the Jews" at public rallies. Jews are fleeing France in greater numbers than ever before. Anti-Semitic graffiti has appeared across Rome; reports of hate speech in Britain are up significantly. Explosives were recently thrown at a synagogue in western Germany.
It is time for religious and political leaders to take a stand. While we should seek peace and security for all people, Palestinians as well as Israelis, we must use our influence to stem the global tide of anti-Semitism wherever and however we can. If any race can be vilified on racial grounds, no race is safe.
Whether you're an atheist like Sam Harris or an evangelical Christian like me, or somewhere in between, I urge you to use your influence to confront the malignancy of anti-Semitism in our day.
Each time I visit the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, I stop to reflect on this statement from Martin Niemöller, the anti-Nazi German pastor who spent eight years in a concentration camp: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."
By speaking for the Jews, you speak for all of humanity. And for yourself.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Leviathan
August 9
“He beholds every high thing; he is king over the children of pride,” Job 41:34.
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
“Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.
“Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing. The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. Arrows do not make it flee; sling stones are like chaff to it. A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
“Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. It makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.
Nothing on earth is its equal—a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
Leviathan, the mighty beast, terrible in its allure and in its monstrous intent is much afoot today. The evil one described in Job 41 still “goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” I Peter 5:8. We who “live and move and have our being,” Acts 17:28, must be ever mindful that there is a terrible foe whose desire is to destroy us, to destroy our relationship with Christ, to destroy our witness among men.
And in being mindful of his ploys, we must ever remember that “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world,” I John 4:4. No matter how much satan rages, we will not be defeated, for we are “more than conquerors through Christ who loves us,” Romans 8:37.
“He beholds every high thing; he is king over the children of pride,” Job 41:34.
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
“Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.
“Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing. The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. Arrows do not make it flee; sling stones are like chaff to it. A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
“Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. It makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.
Nothing on earth is its equal—a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
Leviathan, the mighty beast, terrible in its allure and in its monstrous intent is much afoot today. The evil one described in Job 41 still “goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” I Peter 5:8. We who “live and move and have our being,” Acts 17:28, must be ever mindful that there is a terrible foe whose desire is to destroy us, to destroy our relationship with Christ, to destroy our witness among men.
And in being mindful of his ploys, we must ever remember that “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world,” I John 4:4. No matter how much satan rages, we will not be defeated, for we are “more than conquerors through Christ who loves us,” Romans 8:37.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Pray for a Third Great Awakening!
August 8
Keep praying for revival! Perhaps a Third Great Awakening will result!
From the writing of Bill Federer:
Thomas Jefferson started a church... which he tells of in his Memorandum Book, Jefferson noted: "I have subscribed to the building of an Episcopalian church, two hundred dollars; a Presbyterian church, sixty dollars, and a Baptist church, twenty-five."
An unverified story printed in the Boston newspaper: Christian Watchman, July 14, 1826, reported that Jefferson dined at Monticello prior to the Revolution with Baptist Pastor Andrew Tribble.
Jefferson had inquired of Pastor Tribble how Baptist church government worked, then commented that he "considered it the only form of pure democracy that exists in the world... It would be the best plan of government for the American colonies."
Jefferson then 'organized' a church, drafting "Subscriptions to Support a Clergyman in Charlottesville," February 1777, as recorded by Julian P. Boyd in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson:
"We the subscribers... desirous of encouraging and supporting the Calvinistic Reformed church, and of deriving to ourselves, through the ministry of its teachers, the benefits of Gospel knowledge and religious improvement...by regular education for explaining the holy scriptures...
Approving highly the political conduct of the Rev. Charles Clay, who, early rejecting the tyrant and tyranny of Britain, proved his religion genuine by its harmonies with the liberties of mankind...and, conforming his public prayers to the spirit and the injured rights of his country, ever addressed the God of battles for victory to our arms...
We expect that the said Charles Clay shall perform divine service and preach a sermon in the town of Charlottesville on every 4th...Sunday or oftener if a regular rotation with the other churches...will admit a more frequent attendance.
And we further mutually agree with each other that we will meet at Charlottesville ...every year...and there make a choice by ballot of three wardens to collect our said subscriptions...for the use of our church."
The Calvinistic Reformed Church met in the Albemarle Courthouse for seven years.
Jefferson supported the evangelical Rev. Charles Clay, who was a distant older cousin of the statesman and orator Henry Clay.
Jefferson noted in his Memorandum Book, August 15, 1779:
"Paid. Revd. Charles Clay in consideration of parochial services."
As Virginia's Governor, Jefferson wrote in 1779:
"The reverend Charles Clay has been many years rector of this parish and has been particularly known to me..In the earliest stage of the present contest with Great Britain while the clergy of the established church in general took the adverse side, or kept aloof from the cause of their country, he took a decided and active part with his countrymen, and has continued to prove...his attachment to the American cause."
The Calvinist Reformed Church ceased meeting when subscribers Philip Mazzei and John Harvie moved away, and when Jefferson, depressed after the death of his wife and several children, sailed off to serve as U.S. ambassador to France in 1783.
The religious revival in Virginia continued as part of the 'Second Great Awakening.'
Methodist evangelist Jesse Lee, who traveled a circle of cities, reported in 1787 the "circuits that had the greatest revival of religion" included Albermarle county.
Virtually all Baptist and Methodist churches were of mixed races.
In 1788, Rev. John Leland, a friend of Jefferson's and pastor of Goldmine Baptist Church of Louisa, Virginia, personally baptized over 400.
In Charlottesville, attorney William Wirt wrote in 1795 of the preaching of Presbyterian Rev. James Waddell: "Every heart in the assembly trembled in unison. His peculiar phrases that force of description that the original scene appeared to be, at that moment, acting before our eyes...The effect was inconceivable. The whole house resounded with the mingled groans, and sobs, and shrieks of the congregation."
James Madison, who was a member of St. Thomas Parish where Rev. James Waddell taught, exclaimed of him: "He has spoiled me for all other preaching."
Madison invited Presbyterian preachers speak his Montpelier estate, such as Samuel Stanhope Smith and Nathaniel Irwin, of whom he wrote:
"Praise is in every man's mouth here for an excellent discourse he this day preached to us."
Methodist Rev. Lorenzo Dow, nicknamed "Crazy Dow," traveled over ten thousand miles preaching to over a million people. His autobiography at one time was the 2nd best-selling book in America, exceeded only by the Bible.
Rev. Lorenzo Dow held a preaching camp meeting near Jefferson's home, writing in his Journal that on April 17, 1804:
"I spoke in...Charlottesville near the President's seat in Albermarle County...to about four thousand people, and one of the President's daughters (Mary Jefferson Eppes) who was present."
In the lawless Kentucky frontier, Rev. James McGready and his small church agreed in 1797: "Therefore, we bind ourselves to observe the third Saturday of each month for one year as a day of fasting and prayer for the conversion of sinners in Logan County and throughout the world.
We also engage to spend one half hour every Saturday evening, beginning at the setting of the sun, and one half hour every Sabbath morning at the rising of the sun in pleading with God to revive His work."
In June of 1800, 500 members of James McGready's three congregations gathered at the Red River for a "camp meeting" lasting several days, similar to Scottish "Holy Fairs" where teams of open-air preachers rotated in a continuous stream of sermons.
On the final day: "'A mighty effusion of the Spirit' came on everyone 'and the floor was soon covered with the slain; their screams for mercy pierced the heavens.'"
In July of 1800, the congregation planned another camp meeting at the Gaspar River. Surpassing their expectations, 8,000 people arrived, some from over 100 miles away:
"The power of God seemed to shake the whole assembly. Towards the close of the sermon, the cries of the distressed arose almost as loud as his voice. After the congregation was dismissed the solemnity increased, till the greater part of the multitude seemed engaged in the most solemn manner. No person seemed to wish to go home-hunger and sleep seemed to affect nobody-eternal things were the vast concern. Here awakening and converting work was to be found in every part of the multitude; and even some things strangely and wonderfully new to me."
On AUGUST 7, 1801, though Kentucky's largest city had less than 2,000 people, 25,000 showed up at revival meetings in Cane Ridge, Kentucky.
Arriving from as far away as Ohio, Tennessee, and the Indiana Territory, they heard the preaching of Barton W. Stone and other Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian ministers.
Rev. Moses Hodge described: "Nothing that imagination can paint, can make a stronger impression upon the mind, than one of those scenes.
Sinners dropping down on every hand, shrieking, groaning, crying for mercy, convulsed; professors praying, agonizing, fainting, falling down in distress, for sinners or in raptures of joy!...As to the work in general there can be no question but it is of God. The subjects of it, for the most part are deeply wounded for their sins, and can give a clear and rational account of their conversion.
Prior to the Revolution, there was a FIRST Great Awakening. It was influenced by Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Rev. William Tennent, Rev. Jonathan Edwards, Rev. George Whitefield, Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen, Rev. Gilbert Tennent, Rev. Samuel Finley and other preachers.
The FIRST Great Awakening resulted in the founding of the Universities of Pennsylvania (1740), Princeton (1746), Columbia (1754), Brown (1764), Rutgers (1766), and Dartmouth (1770).
The SECOND Great Awakening led to the conversion of a third of Yale's student body through the efforts of its President Timothy Dwight.
Spreading to other colleges, hundreds of students entered the ministry and pioneered the foreign missions movement. Young men, along with the first women missionaries, were sent to the American West, and as far away as Burma and Hawaii.
The SECOND Great Awakening contributed to the founding of the American Bible Society, the Society for the Promotion of Temperance, the Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ and the Seventh-Day Adventists.
Christians helped reform prisons, cared for the handicapped and mentally ill, and worked to abolish slavery.
George Addison Baxter, a skeptical professor at Washington Academy in Virginia, published an account of his travels throughout Kentucky, which was printed in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, March of 1802: "The power with which this revival has spread, and its influence in moralizing the people, are difficult for you to conceive, and more so for me to describe...I found Kentucky, to appearance, the most moral place I had ever seen. A profane expression was hardly ever heard. A religious awe seemed to pervade the country.
Never in my life have I seen more genuine marks of that humility which...looks to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of acceptance with God...I was indeed highly pleased to find that Christ was all and in all in their religion... and it was truly affecting to hear with what agonizing anxiety awakened sinners inquired for Christ, as the only physician who could give them any help.
Those who call these things 'enthusiasm,' ought to tell us what they understand by the Spirit of Christianity....Upon the whole, sir, I think the revival in Kentucky among the most extraordinary that have ever visited the Church of Christ, and all things considered, peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of that country...
Something of an extraordinary nature seemed necessary to arrest the attention of a giddy people, who were ready to conclude that Christianity was a fable, and futurity a dream. This revival has done it; it has confounded infidelity, awed vice to silence, and brought numbers beyond calculation under serious impressions."
Keep praying for revival! Perhaps a Third Great Awakening will result!
From the writing of Bill Federer:
Thomas Jefferson started a church... which he tells of in his Memorandum Book, Jefferson noted: "I have subscribed to the building of an Episcopalian church, two hundred dollars; a Presbyterian church, sixty dollars, and a Baptist church, twenty-five."
An unverified story printed in the Boston newspaper: Christian Watchman, July 14, 1826, reported that Jefferson dined at Monticello prior to the Revolution with Baptist Pastor Andrew Tribble.
Jefferson had inquired of Pastor Tribble how Baptist church government worked, then commented that he "considered it the only form of pure democracy that exists in the world... It would be the best plan of government for the American colonies."
Jefferson then 'organized' a church, drafting "Subscriptions to Support a Clergyman in Charlottesville," February 1777, as recorded by Julian P. Boyd in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson:
"We the subscribers... desirous of encouraging and supporting the Calvinistic Reformed church, and of deriving to ourselves, through the ministry of its teachers, the benefits of Gospel knowledge and religious improvement...by regular education for explaining the holy scriptures...
Approving highly the political conduct of the Rev. Charles Clay, who, early rejecting the tyrant and tyranny of Britain, proved his religion genuine by its harmonies with the liberties of mankind...and, conforming his public prayers to the spirit and the injured rights of his country, ever addressed the God of battles for victory to our arms...
We expect that the said Charles Clay shall perform divine service and preach a sermon in the town of Charlottesville on every 4th...Sunday or oftener if a regular rotation with the other churches...will admit a more frequent attendance.
And we further mutually agree with each other that we will meet at Charlottesville ...every year...and there make a choice by ballot of three wardens to collect our said subscriptions...for the use of our church."
The Calvinistic Reformed Church met in the Albemarle Courthouse for seven years.
Jefferson supported the evangelical Rev. Charles Clay, who was a distant older cousin of the statesman and orator Henry Clay.
Jefferson noted in his Memorandum Book, August 15, 1779:
"Paid. Revd. Charles Clay in consideration of parochial services."
As Virginia's Governor, Jefferson wrote in 1779:
"The reverend Charles Clay has been many years rector of this parish and has been particularly known to me..In the earliest stage of the present contest with Great Britain while the clergy of the established church in general took the adverse side, or kept aloof from the cause of their country, he took a decided and active part with his countrymen, and has continued to prove...his attachment to the American cause."
The Calvinist Reformed Church ceased meeting when subscribers Philip Mazzei and John Harvie moved away, and when Jefferson, depressed after the death of his wife and several children, sailed off to serve as U.S. ambassador to France in 1783.
The religious revival in Virginia continued as part of the 'Second Great Awakening.'
Methodist evangelist Jesse Lee, who traveled a circle of cities, reported in 1787 the "circuits that had the greatest revival of religion" included Albermarle county.
Virtually all Baptist and Methodist churches were of mixed races.
In 1788, Rev. John Leland, a friend of Jefferson's and pastor of Goldmine Baptist Church of Louisa, Virginia, personally baptized over 400.
In Charlottesville, attorney William Wirt wrote in 1795 of the preaching of Presbyterian Rev. James Waddell: "Every heart in the assembly trembled in unison. His peculiar phrases that force of description that the original scene appeared to be, at that moment, acting before our eyes...The effect was inconceivable. The whole house resounded with the mingled groans, and sobs, and shrieks of the congregation."
James Madison, who was a member of St. Thomas Parish where Rev. James Waddell taught, exclaimed of him: "He has spoiled me for all other preaching."
Madison invited Presbyterian preachers speak his Montpelier estate, such as Samuel Stanhope Smith and Nathaniel Irwin, of whom he wrote:
"Praise is in every man's mouth here for an excellent discourse he this day preached to us."
Methodist Rev. Lorenzo Dow, nicknamed "Crazy Dow," traveled over ten thousand miles preaching to over a million people. His autobiography at one time was the 2nd best-selling book in America, exceeded only by the Bible.
Rev. Lorenzo Dow held a preaching camp meeting near Jefferson's home, writing in his Journal that on April 17, 1804:
"I spoke in...Charlottesville near the President's seat in Albermarle County...to about four thousand people, and one of the President's daughters (Mary Jefferson Eppes) who was present."
In the lawless Kentucky frontier, Rev. James McGready and his small church agreed in 1797: "Therefore, we bind ourselves to observe the third Saturday of each month for one year as a day of fasting and prayer for the conversion of sinners in Logan County and throughout the world.
We also engage to spend one half hour every Saturday evening, beginning at the setting of the sun, and one half hour every Sabbath morning at the rising of the sun in pleading with God to revive His work."
In June of 1800, 500 members of James McGready's three congregations gathered at the Red River for a "camp meeting" lasting several days, similar to Scottish "Holy Fairs" where teams of open-air preachers rotated in a continuous stream of sermons.
On the final day: "'A mighty effusion of the Spirit' came on everyone 'and the floor was soon covered with the slain; their screams for mercy pierced the heavens.'"
In July of 1800, the congregation planned another camp meeting at the Gaspar River. Surpassing their expectations, 8,000 people arrived, some from over 100 miles away:
"The power of God seemed to shake the whole assembly. Towards the close of the sermon, the cries of the distressed arose almost as loud as his voice. After the congregation was dismissed the solemnity increased, till the greater part of the multitude seemed engaged in the most solemn manner. No person seemed to wish to go home-hunger and sleep seemed to affect nobody-eternal things were the vast concern. Here awakening and converting work was to be found in every part of the multitude; and even some things strangely and wonderfully new to me."
On AUGUST 7, 1801, though Kentucky's largest city had less than 2,000 people, 25,000 showed up at revival meetings in Cane Ridge, Kentucky.
Arriving from as far away as Ohio, Tennessee, and the Indiana Territory, they heard the preaching of Barton W. Stone and other Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian ministers.
Rev. Moses Hodge described: "Nothing that imagination can paint, can make a stronger impression upon the mind, than one of those scenes.
Sinners dropping down on every hand, shrieking, groaning, crying for mercy, convulsed; professors praying, agonizing, fainting, falling down in distress, for sinners or in raptures of joy!...As to the work in general there can be no question but it is of God. The subjects of it, for the most part are deeply wounded for their sins, and can give a clear and rational account of their conversion.
Prior to the Revolution, there was a FIRST Great Awakening. It was influenced by Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Rev. William Tennent, Rev. Jonathan Edwards, Rev. George Whitefield, Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen, Rev. Gilbert Tennent, Rev. Samuel Finley and other preachers.
The FIRST Great Awakening resulted in the founding of the Universities of Pennsylvania (1740), Princeton (1746), Columbia (1754), Brown (1764), Rutgers (1766), and Dartmouth (1770).
The SECOND Great Awakening led to the conversion of a third of Yale's student body through the efforts of its President Timothy Dwight.
Spreading to other colleges, hundreds of students entered the ministry and pioneered the foreign missions movement. Young men, along with the first women missionaries, were sent to the American West, and as far away as Burma and Hawaii.
The SECOND Great Awakening contributed to the founding of the American Bible Society, the Society for the Promotion of Temperance, the Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ and the Seventh-Day Adventists.
Christians helped reform prisons, cared for the handicapped and mentally ill, and worked to abolish slavery.
George Addison Baxter, a skeptical professor at Washington Academy in Virginia, published an account of his travels throughout Kentucky, which was printed in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, March of 1802: "The power with which this revival has spread, and its influence in moralizing the people, are difficult for you to conceive, and more so for me to describe...I found Kentucky, to appearance, the most moral place I had ever seen. A profane expression was hardly ever heard. A religious awe seemed to pervade the country.
Never in my life have I seen more genuine marks of that humility which...looks to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of acceptance with God...I was indeed highly pleased to find that Christ was all and in all in their religion... and it was truly affecting to hear with what agonizing anxiety awakened sinners inquired for Christ, as the only physician who could give them any help.
Those who call these things 'enthusiasm,' ought to tell us what they understand by the Spirit of Christianity....Upon the whole, sir, I think the revival in Kentucky among the most extraordinary that have ever visited the Church of Christ, and all things considered, peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of that country...
Something of an extraordinary nature seemed necessary to arrest the attention of a giddy people, who were ready to conclude that Christianity was a fable, and futurity a dream. This revival has done it; it has confounded infidelity, awed vice to silence, and brought numbers beyond calculation under serious impressions."
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