A Story Without End

     The unmatched, inconceivable, incomprehensible, exhaustless story of Bethlehem. The very idea that God would humble Himself and become a human being! For real? Yes, for REAL!

      The many different stories that have come down to us from so many different cultures and people groups, show with what longing people have held to the original promise of God. No matter how far from God, no matter how fallen from the original creation we have degenerated, we have looked and cried for the fulfillment of that first promise: “God said to the serpent...I will put enmity (hatred) between you and the woman, between your seed and her SEED...” (Genesis 3:14-15) From Eve's joyous hope at the birth of her firstborn: “I have gotten a man from the Lord”, (Genesis 4:1) down through the centuries the hope still burned, though it grew dim and almost went out. All people everywhere looked for the time when a Savior would come to us to save us from the power and penalty of sin.

      We have chafed under the lash of our taskmaster – Satan. And while there have been people who lived for God, who set worthy examples of what God can do for us in breaking the chains of the devil, yet they too were sinners and unable to help anyone else. We needed, and still need, power outside of ourselves, yet wielded by Someone Who understands us completely. The “Desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7) must come, but how long O Lord, how long?

      “In the fulness of the time” set by our Heavenly Father, Whose purposes know no haste nor delay, “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5) Whoa! Redemption from sin is great, but to also be taken in as God's children? To be treated as God treats His Son? This is beyond comprehension! To be as pure and holy as Jesus the Son of God? To be overcomers as He overcame? To bask in the approbation of the Father? What a glorious privilege, yea destiny, is ours! And all because of a Baby born in a manger in Bethlehem.

      While we are never God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are, yet because of that Baby born in Bethlehem we can be “partakers of the divine nature”. (2 Peter 1:4) Because of that Baby of Bethlehem, in Whom was mysteriously blended the Divine and the human, there can be in us a blending of the human and the Divine. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) That Baby, born into this world as any other baby is born, nurtured and marked as any other human is nurtured and marked in the womb of a mother; that infant now has grown up and has been seated at the right hand of God on the throne of the universe! Jesus, the Son of Man, at God's right hand, shows us how loved we are by God.  That Baby reveals the plans God has for every human baby born into this world.  “How precious are Your thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17)

Kept By The Cross

     The Cross of Christ is the “power of God unto salvation”. (Romans 1:16) Everything we need to know about God, or indeed can know about Him, is revealed in the Cross. For all eternity we will find in this Cross our science and our song. The Cross is also what will keep all of God's created beings, including us, from ever sinning again.

      In speaking about the Cross of Jesus, I am not referring to just the two pieces of wood on which our Lord was crucified. Rather it refers to the process by which God has revealed His character of self-sacrificing love, which led to the plan for our salvation.

      The power of God as revealed in the Cross involves different aspects of God's plan for our salvation. It involves forgiveness of our sins, and how wonderful that is!  But the sad thing is that the large majority of Christians today stop right there. They seem to think that forgiveness is all that is needed. In fact it has been stated that even the angels will find the forgiving power of the cross to be what keeps them from falling. Unfortunately, this reveals a very shallow understanding of the gospel.

      Before the creation of our earth Lucifer, in heaven, rebelled against God and led a third of the angelic host to follow him in his rebellion. As the angels who did not rebel have watched the continued working out of Lucifer's (now Satan's) principles as well as God's principles, they are able to understand and rejoice in God's plan of government. But what will keep them from repeating Satan's fall in some far distant future? Is it the “forgiving power of the cross”? They haven't sinned, and need no forgiveness. The forgiveness that means so much to us means nothing to them personally.

      Even for us, the infinite value of God's forgiveness is not enough. While we are thankful for the forgiveness that comes to us as a result of Jesus' death in our behalf, we need more than forgiveness. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1John 2:1) What happens when Jesus ends His work as our Advocate? In the far distant future when we are livng the life of the saved, will it be the memory of an event far in the past that keeps us from falling again? Will we obey God because we don't want to have to be forgiven again? Is the fact that we have been forgiven enough to keep us from falling again now?

What we will rely on in the future, and what we need to experience now, is the Keeping Power of the Cross. What all of the intellegent creation of God will have is that power of the Cross that keeps us from falling. The apostle Peter, talking to the “elect”, says they are those: “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation”. (1 Peter 1:5)

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling...” (Jude 1:24) Being perfect is no guarantee that you won't sin. Sin originated in the heart of one who was in the very presence of God. Adam and Eve were perfect, without any tendency toward rebellion against God, yet they fell. So what will keep us in the future? It is only the power of God as revealed in the Cross of Christ. The more we study the Cross, the more humble, submissive, and obedient we will become. The view of what God was willing to do for our salvation leads to a love that will not fail. “We love Him because He first loved us”. (1 John 4:19) 

      It is this love from God that grows in us and keeps us from sinning against Him. We can have that power of love now working in us to keep us from falling. As this love grows we become ever more secure against the evil of transgressing God's law. And it all begins by “looking at Him Whom we have pierced”. (Zechariah 12:10) The more we look, the more love grows, and the more God's power grows in us; until His power completely controls us and we are fully secure in Him.

 

Veteran's Day 2013

      Veteran's Day. A day we stop to remember those who have served in our nation's military services in defense of our freedoms. We owe an unpayable debt to those who were willing to go wherever they were sent, to do whatever they were asked to do, in many cases giving their life.

      Without taking anything away from the veterans to whom we owe so much, I want us to turn our attention to some veterans we don't usually think of in this context.

There is a continual war going on between God and Satan. The whole world is enlisted on one side or the other. We need to remember the veterans of this war who have “fought the good fight of faith” while led by the “Captain of our salvation”, Jesus Christ, the ultimate martyr in laying down His life for our salvation.  Many have paid the ultimate price in this war so that we can know the joy of salvation. 

      We think of the Apostles. In following Jesus they also gave their lives in loyalty to Christ, leaving an example of faithfulness for us to follow. In John 17:20 Jesus prayed for His disciples, but also for those of us who never saw Jesus in person but believe because of their words and lives of faithfulness. As we believe, so Jesus' prayer is answered.  But these veterans began with Abel back in the beginning, who was killed “because his deeds were righteous.”

      And so it has been down through the centuries. The freedoms we enjoy to worship God as we believe, is a result of many who fought and gave their lives in an effort to worship the True God. The Huguenots of France, the English Puritans, the Protestants of Holland and Spain. John Knox in Scotland, Martin Luther in Germany, Huss and Jerome in the city of Prague. The Waldensees in the Alps, and so many others whose names are known only to God right now.

      We are indebted for our Bibles to those who were willing to give their lives to preserve copies when the devil, through a corrupt church, sought to destroy all the copies they could find. Again there were people, many times including children, who gave their lives to preserve the Word of God which reveals His will so we could have the abundance of spiritual light we enjoy today.

      These are the veterans we need to keep in our memories. Veterans of the Lord's army. Veterans to whom we owe our religious knowledge and freedoms. While we honor the veterans of our USA, let's also lift our eyes higher and remember “those who died in faith, not having received the promise”.  May we prove worthy of their example, and look forward to fellowshiping with them in “that city whose Builder and Maker is God”.

  

Gospel Of Jesus

            The Remnant People of Revelation, the last group of God's people on earth, are given a message to give to the world that will prepare its inhabitants for the return of Jesus the second time.  That message is called "the everlasting gospel"  in Revelation 14:6. 

            Just before Jesus died on the cross He answered a couple questions by His disciples as to what would be happening just before He returned.  In Matthew 24:14 Jesus says:  "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." 

            So what is this "everlasting gospel",  this "gospel of the kingdom" that must be given to all the world before Jesus can return?  In Mark 1:14-15 we are told: "....Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying: the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Repent and believe the gospel."

            It's interesting that in Matthew 4 we are presented with Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  One of those temptations was an offer of all the kingdoms of the world if He would just worship Satan -- acknowledge his supremacy.  Jesus refused.  Next we see Him going around all Galilee preaching "the gospel of the kingdom",  inviting everyone to become part of His kingdom.   Jesus is the King of a greater kingdom, and in Matthew 5-7 He tells us about His kingdom and what kind of people will live there.

           In Christ's kingdom the emphasis is on character.  The "gospel of the kingdom", which is "the everlasting gospel", is all about being transformed in character, becoming like Jesus in every aspect of life.  The Good News is that God's original plan for us hasn't changed one bit.  Even though we rebelled against Him and have been horribly rebellious, hateful and evil, God's grace is greater than our sin.  He still loves us and promises to transform us into His likeness.  His love is so powerful that the mean can become tender and kind, the proud can become humble and meek, the immoral can become pure and holy. 

            All around us we see the terrible results of our rebellion against God's government.  Our efforts to live without His law are plainly revealed in the society we see all around us.  The perfect justice of God requires that we bear the penalty of our sins by being utterly destroyed.  But God sent His Son to die in our place.  On Jesus fell the perfect justice of God as He suffered the death we deserve. 

            Because justice has been satisfied in the death of Jesus, we are given a small window of opportunity (our life span) to submit ourselves to our Creator.  We are invited to flee the kingdom of sin and enter the kingdom of Christ.  When we enter His kingdom, a new nature is implanted in us.  We become new people.  The Holy Spirit takes possession of our mind.  We are given "the mind of Christ".    We forsake our old life, everything is changed.  We begin following Jesus here on this earth, just as we will follow Him in heaven.  "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.  Old things are passed away.  Now look!  all things have become new."      (2 Corinthians 5:17)

            This is the gospel of the kingdom, the everlasting gospel; that we are not left to the sinful life we have chosen.  We can, through Jesus Christ, be changed into the holy, happy, obedient people God originally created us to be.  God says:  "I know the thoughts that I have toward you, thoughts of peace, not evil. Restoring our unity even closer than when I created you, so keep moving forward in hope!"              (Jeremiah 29:11)

Labor Day

     The Fall season has begun. Another Labor Day is behind us, so summer is officially over. I was thinking about the artificiality of it all. This appointed day marks the beginning of a new school year, yet the young people I know have been back in school for quite awhile now. Except colleges which won't start for two or three weeks yet. All the stores were open with all the sales people on their feet. In fact many had extended hours and extra sales people available, so no holiday for them. While I know there are some exceptions, I would venture to say the people who had the day off were those who really didn't need the day off.

      But it is good to have a day dedicated as a reminder of the dignity of labor. For too many people the idea has taken root that the best way to live is to not have to work. The more time we can spend in pleasure seeking and being entertained, the better. Yet work is necessary. Good honest work that brings out the sweat was appointed by God for our good. When humans chose to rebel against God and His way of life, He appointed hard work to help safeguard us from the works of the devil. Physical work is necessary for physical health, mental and moral health, and also our spiritual well being. In every contingency of our life here in this world of sin, our Heavenly Father shows His love by giving us principles of living that will help protect us from the Satan, the Destroyer.

      It is good though, to have a day off from time to time. God has appointed us a Sabbath, a day of rest, that comes every week on the seventh day of the week. But aside from the weekly Sabbath our loving Father has also ordered that, from time to time, we take time to get away from our daily work and find rest. However, God's method of rest and our sinful method of rest are very different. We need to look at God's plan for “holidays” to see how we should spend our “time off”.

      Seven different feasts were appointed by God to the Jews “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord” where they were to leave their ordinary work and find rest in God. The time off would be spent in seeking a closer walk with God by focusing on His goodness and helping those who are less fortunate. Jesus echoed this order when here on earth with the invitation: “Come unto Me all who labor and are burdened with care”.  His promise is that we will find rest for our souls. It is here that we are to find a real and lasting rest.

      Our problems come from within our sinful selves. We carry the burden of guilt and sin and over time it will crush us. That is Satan's plan.  He only seeks to destroy everything God has created, and that includes us.  When we take time off, we “take a break”, but then add to our burden, our stress, by spending the time in gluttony and self indulgence. We look for something to entertain and anesthetize our self.

      But God calls us to find true rest, pure rest, by remembering His goodness and mercy to us. We should go over the many ways He has shown His loving kindness and the blessings we are given every day. Jesus calls on us to find rest for our soul.  It is a soul hunger that we have and a soul healing that we need.  It is our spiritual nature that needs nurturing and feeding. We try to cure the cancer of our soul with a band-aid, when we need to come to the Great Physician and let Him cut in and remove the death that lives inside. Only in Jesus will we find the true rest that we want and need. Only in submission to His will, His way of living, will we find the rest and freedom that we were created to enjoy. Let's meditate on an example we are given as to how we might spend the next holiday we have. 

     "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading....Then he said to them:  go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet.  Send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.  For this day is holy unto our Lord.  Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."  (Nehemiah 8:8,10)

      

   

Heir To The Throne

     "I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."  (Luke 15:7)

     There has been a lot on TV the past couple days about the new baby born into the English royal family who is heir to the throne of Great Britain.  Before Kate went into labor there were hundreds of news people from all over the world camped out in front of the hospital.  The "due date" had come and people from all over were waiting to see when the baby would actually be born.  Once Kate entered the hospital and labor began the interest was ramped up to a fever pitch.  There were all kinds of reports when the baby was actually born, and then today when the new parents came out of the hospital with the new baby the crowds were overwhelming.  The TV network said there was going to be a special tonight called:  Royal Baby, Heir to the Throne. 

     It made me think of the interest and celebration in heaven that Jesus spoke about in the text quoted above.  Jesus said that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven a person must be "born again".  When a sinner, a rebel against God, repents and gives the throne of their heart over to the direction and keeping of God; when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the individual and there is a "new birth", what joy and happiness must there be in heaven!  It far exceeds the joy and honor shown here on earth.  And the person born anew is now an heir to the throne of the universe! 

     We become children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus.  As God says: "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."  (Romans 8:17)  Think about it!  Not an earthly throne, with a life that lasts a few years and then is gone.  Not a life subject to disease, death, and forgetfulness.  Rather a life that measures with the life of God - an eternity of joy and peace with honor that comes from God and all the intelligent beings God created.  As Jesus says:  "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."  (John 6:27)       "Forgetting those things which are behind,  and reaching forward to those things that are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."   (Philippians 3:14-15)

  

Meditations On The 4th Of July -- Life

     Our Declaration of Independence here in the USA states that humans are, by virtue of their creation by God, endowed with certain rights.  Not all are listed, but 3 are.  1) Life, 2) Liberty, and 3) The Pursuit of Happiness.  Today we are going to share some thoughts on the first of our God given rights - Life.

     Life is given by God.  We are created by God, our life is sustained by the power of God.  No human has the power to give life and therefore do not have any innate right to take away life.  We do not originate ourselves, and  should therefore recognize our dependence on that Power outside of ourselves.  The Bible is filled with references to this fact:

     "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and we are his"  (Psalm 100:3)     

     "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."  (Genesis 2:7)

     Life is a mystery.  This ability to know, think, do, grow and remember, comes from the One God Who gives life.  From that moment on we are completely dependent on Him.  Therefore it is essential that we do all we can to find out how God, our Creator and Sustainer expects us to use this marvelous gift.  Too often we think  "this is my life", and  "I'll do it my way".  But it is God's life, given to me so I can share in His infinite love and happiness. 

     However, just because I was given a gift, and therefore it is by rights mine, there are conditions as to its continuance.  Life can only exist under certain conditions.  Since God is the source of life, it can only continue when it is in harmony with Him.  The rules of life are not arbitrary, neither are they unknowable.  They are not something to be guessed at or found out by trial and error.  God's life, and His rules for life, are set in stone.  They are immutable.  They are simple, direct, and easy to understand.  Read them in Exodus 20, then see how they were lived in practical human life in the life of Jesus Christ.

Having It All - 1

          You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. {Jeremiah 29:13}  How great is your desire to know God, to really be close to Him?  Do you understand that in order to have life, the truly good life, you must know God?  There is no life without an intimate connection with God. That connection can only come through Jesus Christ. The word of God says: “This is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)  For emphasis this truth is repeated: “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5:11-12) 

           We can only have life by having a connection with God that is known as being one with God - “I (Jesus) in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23) - then is follows that the purpose of our life here is to get that connection and then nurture it. This connection, this LIFE, cannot be had by a mere casual acquaintance. We are not to think that a knowing about God is the same as the knowledge of God that we must have in order to have eternal life. Eternal life is God’s original plan for us. His plan all along has been for His creation to life forever, to live with Him in joy and happiness for as long as He lives.  

           But we are clearly told that we will never have that intimate knowledge, that connection of oneness, unless we are totally and completely engaged in the seeking of God.  Our seeking for God must be with our whole heart.  Our continual aim must be to find and keep our connection with God, because we will find Him only when our whole heart is engaged in the effort.  It must not be a careless seeking. It cannot be an on again off again idea.  Our whole goal must be to have our character, our very nature, transformed into Christ’s likeness.

           Will you join me in making this your goal?  Next time we will talk about why this effort must be total, and how this connection can be made and maintained.