Month: September 2024

 

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:8-9)

God did something special when He called Abram (later named Abraham) out of Ur of the Chaldees and promised Abram all of Canaan. But when Abram brought his nephew Lot with him into the land, it wasn’t long until there was conflict. Abram and Lot each had big herds of livestock, and their workers fought over the better grazing lands.

Abram and Lot each claimed to serve Yahweh as God instead of the local Canaanite idols, and their conflict made them look like hypocrites. The logical solution was to separate the flocks and take them to different grazing lands. But who would go where? That is when Abram used his right to lay down his rights.

Abram said to his nephew, If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left. Abram was the eldest and God promised the land to Abram (not to Lot), this was pure generosity.

This was true generosity, not weakness. Abram could fight when it was the right thing to do (Genesis 14). He didn’t yield to Lot out of weakness but out of love and trust in God. Because Abram lived with an eternal perspective, a few acres of grazing land didn’t seem worth fighting for.

The giving up of rights is a theme throughout the Bible. God was glorified when Jesus, out of love, waived his right to an existence that knew no human suffering or trial by experience (Philippians 2:5-11). God was glorified when Paul, out of love, waived his right to be supported by the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14-18). In Genesis 13, Abram fulfilled the New Testament principle of love: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

But if we give up our rights, who will look out for us? Abram could do this because he learned that God would provide for him, and so Abram did not have to worry about being too generous. In this case, Abram was willing to let God look out for his interests. Right or left, it didn’t matter to Abram, because God would be there.

There are times to stand on principle and claim a right – the Bible also gives examples of this. Sometimes doing this is good for others and not only for us. Yet we are grateful for the generosity God shows to us, and we seek to show that to others.

We can do what is right by committing our rights to God.

 

We make decisions every day. Most decisions are trivial, ike what to eat for lunch. Some decisions are more important, such as which vocation to pursue. And some decisions are life-altering, such as whether or not to get married. But you and I both know the most important decision we will ever make is where to spend eternity.

 

In Matthew 25:46, Jesus described the two eternal destinations: “[The unrighteous] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” After death, everybody will live forever in either heaven or hell. There’s no third alternative, which makes this the most consequential decision of your life.

 

At some point, you chose to follow Jesus Christ and spend eternity in heaven. But what about the people you know and love? They also must decide their eternal destination before it’s too late. How can you help them choose eternity in heaven?

 

In Matthew 7, Jesus used three sharp contrasts that illustrate this crucial choice:

 

1. There are two paths: one leads to life; the other leads to destruction. Jesus said, “The gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (vv. 13–14).

 

The fact that every person who isn’t a Christian is on the wide path leading to hell is difficult, especially if that includes our friends or family. That’s why most people today—including over 60% of evangelical Christians—embrace Satan’s lie that there are valid ways to heaven other than faith in Christ alone.

 

But Jesus was clear: few people will enter heaven, while many will enter hell. The only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). There are two paths, Jesus said, but only one leads to heaven.

 

2. There are two followers: one obeys God; the other pays God lip service. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father … will enter” (v. 21).

Simply saying Jesus is Lord doesn’t necessarily make somebody a Christian. It’s possible to profess faith in Christ but not possess faith in Christ. So who will enter the kingdom of heaven? Jesus said it’s the person who does God’s will.

 

In John 6:40, Jesus said, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life.” God’s will is that you trust in Christ alone for salvation—but that’s not the end of it. There’s an inseparable connection in the Bible between belief and obedience. Good works don’t produce eternal life, but they prove that there is eternal life.

 

3. There are two houses: one is built on rock; the other is built on sand. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. … Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:24–27).

 

When storms come into our lives, they reveal the true nature of our faith. For those who build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ, the hope of heaven stands secure. But those who chose to build their lives on any other foundation don’t have that hope, so when storms come, they are swept away.

 

These examples from Scripture can help people understand the enormous choice before them: heaven or hell. There’s no time to lose. Our friends, family, and neighbors must make this decision about eternity, so let’s help them choose heaven!

 

While reading various commentaries and devotionals, here are some statements worth saving and thinking about.

If we have had the former rains of conversion/justification we whould be seeking and praying for latter rains of growth/sanctification.

Faith can clearly see where reason is blind.

Men give advice; God gives guidance.

Upon the return of Jesus our rememberence of Him will no longer be of Him weighted with and scarred with the sin’s of the world that He bore, but as Holiness, Glorious, Splendor, and Majesty. The scars will be there but we will see Him fully in all of his Glory and Honor. 

Jesus perfect sacrifice -fulfilling in perfect moral purity the prescriptions of the ceremonial law, which but clothe in outward form the universal consciousness that nothing stained or faulty is worthy to be given to God. 

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. (Genesis 4:3-5) Here, it was one lamb for a man  (Genesis 4:3-5). Later, at the Passover, it would be one lamb for a family Exo 12:1-51. Then, at the Day of Atonement, it was one lamb for the nation ( Leviticus 23:27-28 ). Finally, with Jesus, there was one Lamb who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

“It ought to be a daily disappointment when our Lord does not come; instead of being, as I fear it is, a kind of foregone conclusion that he will not come just yet.” (Spurgeon)

One reason we may not hear God speak to us is that there are uncontrolled emotions drowning out His voice. And of all the emotions that drown out God’s voice, perhaps none is more potent than fear.

 God wants us to enjoy this life, not just to endure it.

While reading various commentaries and devotionals, here are some statements worth saving and thinking about.

Sin will take you where you don’t want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, cost you more than you can afford to pay, deafen your ears to the HolySpirit, and blind you to things of God. 

Remember—God is always very near and working on our behalf. When we see immediate answers to our prayers, we should rejoice. When He doesn’t answer immediately, we should trust. The time we spend in prayer is precious because we are entering into and recognizing the presence of a God for whom nothing is impossible. Give Him time to work!

Paul said we labor and strive “according to His power, which mightily works within [us].” We are not striving alone or even side-by-side with God. Instead, we have God’s power working in us and through us to accomplish His purpose.

We are not born into this world spiritually neutral. The Bible says we come into this world separated from God. Yet He instigated a plan to restore that broken relationship.

There is no good news unless you understand the bad news. What you believe about sin determines what you believe about salvation. And Paul didn’t mince words. He wrote, “You were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds” (v. 21). You cannot fully appreciate what Jesus has done for you until you understand the desperate condition we are all in apart from Christ.

 The only reason to know God’s will is so you can obey it for the purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do. It is God’s will for us to trust, follow, obey, cling to, and rely upon Him, and to love others, be generous, help the widows and orphans, be joyful, rejoice, patient, and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Many people today are discontent with traditional religious beliefs, so they’re constructing their own faith. Their beliefs are a curious blend of two parts Bible, one part pop psychology, and one part prejudice, sprinkled with a dash of superstition. Even many Christians today are engaging in what I call “religion by mathematics”: they add to what God has said in His Word, or they subtract anything they find distasteful or restrictive. They might reject what the Bible says about hell or sexual morality.

The starting place for knowing the will of God is knowing the Word of God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It is impossible to apply God’s Word in your life if you don’t know God’s Word. In Hosea 4:6, God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” You can never know God’s will apart from God’s Word.

 Noah did not have to shut the door to keep anyone out of the ark; God alone did it. After the same pattern, it is never the duty of God’s servants to disqualify people from salvation. If the door is to be shut, God will shut the door. God’s servants may warn, but God holds final judgment – not man.

Some sort of comfort may, for a time, be derived from false trust in the worldly, but it is an empty comfort – and great is its grief when the failure is discovered to the soul.

While reading various commentaries and devotionals, here are statements worth saving and thinking about.

Let God use every person and problem to continue conforming you to the image of Christ 

The keys to assurance are right doctrine and right living. God’s Word is truth. Obedience, faith, trust, and reliance in it cement Assurance in our hearts. Being neglectful of God’s Word results in fake, weak, and lukewarm assuance that will never ever sustain the heart and mind.

You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in you.

Face your giants today clothed in the armor of Christ. Let God prepare you for battle. Our enemies are on every side, and so must our armor be.

Day by day, morning by morning, begin your walk with Him in the calm trust that God is at work in everything.

 “You are brothers and sisters in Christ. Now act like it!” 

Stop relying on self-motivation and start leveraging Holy Spirit led self-discipline.

Stop focusing on what you don’t have and start expressing gratitude to God for what you do have.

Make it your goal to be kind to everyone; you never know who might be in need of the human touch of kindness. It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor.

When you feed your heart and mind with [the Bible’s] truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.

God has no limits. His reserves are overflowing without end. He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

 

I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot.

–Ecclesiastes 3:22

It happens all the time: parents establish strict rules about the movies their child can’t watch, the clothes they can’t wear, and the places they can’t go with their friends–and as soon as the child moves out, all those standards go out the window. Suddenly that child is doing things they never would have done while living under their parents’ roof. Why does that happen?

The fact is, external rules may or may not change a person’s behavior, but they cannot change the inward desires that fuel that behavior. The only way to achieve lasting change in a person’s external behavior is by changing their inward nature. That’s the theme Paul presented in Colossians 2.

Remember, there were false teachers in the church at Colossae who were saying, “Jesus Christ is important, but He’s not enough. To be a card-carrying member of the Christian faith, you need something else.” One group said you need human philosophy. A second group said you need to adhere to a man-made list of rules. A third group said you need a mystical experience.

A fourth group of false teachers in the Colossian church: the ascetics. Ascetics believe in depriving yourself of pleasures in life such as food and drink, sex, or money. Asceticism was particularly popular among Christians in the Middle Ages–they would wear scratchy shirts, sleep on hard beds, deprive themselves of food, or abstain from bathing.

Why would people engage in these bizarre practices? Asceticism flowed out of a philosophy called dualism, which is the idea that anything material is bad and only the spiritual is good. Now, Paul talked a lot about the flesh being evil. But he was not saying our bodies are evil because they’re flesh; he was saying our flesh has been infected by sin. There’s nothing about flesh that is evil in and of itself. The ascetics didn’t understand this. They believed the flesh was evil, and the only way to cleanse the flesh was to deprive it of certain pleasures.

Asceticism is similar to legalism–both involve trying to make yourself holy before God by following certain practices. But here is the shade of difference: Legalism says you earn God’s approval by keeping certain artificial regulations. Asceticism says you earn God’s approval by cleansing yourself of sin, and you do that by starving your body of pleasure. But God’s Word says depriving yourself of pleasure does not make you righteous before God.

 

 

John’s vision of the returning Christ in Revelation 19:11-16 reveals marvelous truths about the Lord’s conquest of sin and his restoration of righteousness. John captures many details that show how Christ’s glorious return sets in motion his final battle with sin, thus paving the way for a restored Eden. We examine a few of these features in this column and the next one.

1. Jesus rides a white horse from heaven.

This is in stark contrast to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in which the Son of Man rides a borrowed donkey. A horse is used for war; a donkey, for peace. A horse is a symbol of conquest; a donkey, a vehicle of humility.

Jesus comes humbly the first time as the Suffering Servant, but he rides with the clouds of heaven victoriously as the conquering king in his return to earth. This illustrates that Jesus has won complete victory over Satan, sin, and death. The pristine Garden of Eden is about to be restored as the last Adam regains what the first Adam lost – dominion over the earth, and immortality.

2. Jesus is called “Faithful and True.” 

The Lord is not merely a proclaimer of faithfulness and truthfulness, or even an exemplar of these qualities. Rather, he is divine faithfulness and truth incarnate.

Despite the names Jesus’ opponents call him – a demon-possessed Samaritan (John 8:48), a blasphemer (Matt. 26:65), and an illegitimate child (John 8:41), to name a few –  he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He has promised to return, and now he proves once again that he keeps his word. Eden wilts under the corruption of sin. The new Eden blooms with life-giving truth.

3. With justice, Jesus judges and makes war. 

Since Adam’s fall, mankind has rushed to judgment and war, but rarely with justice in mind. Adam and Eve are quick to pass the buck when God questions them about their disobedience. Their firstborn son, Cain, murders his brother, and human history launches into a descending spiral of violence from that point forward.

But when Christ returns, he wages a perfectly just war. The Son of God is neither weak nor aloof. His holiness demands justice. His sovereignty commands warfare against the ungodly who seek to usurp his throne. At his triumphant return, he wages a solitary war – the angels and saints who accompany him are but observers – destroying all who stand on the wrong side of divine justice.

4. Jesus’ eyes are like a fiery flame, and he wears many crowns. 

The blazing eyes of Jesus describe his piercing holiness, as well as his omniscience. In John’s vision of the risen Lord in Revelation 1:13-14, he sees “one like the Son of Man” with “eyes like a fiery flame.” And in the opening lines of the letter to the church at Thyatira, Jesus describes himself as “the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame” (Rev. 2:18).

Jesus also wears many crowns. These crowns are not stephanoi, or garlands of victory, such as those placed on the heads of athletes, but diadema, or royal crowns fit for the King of kings.

The seven diadems on the seven heads of the dragon (Rev. 12:3), and the ten diadems on the ten horns of the beast from the sea (Rev. 13:1), are usurpers’ crowns. The wearers of these crowns claim authority to which only Christ is entitled. Here, Jesus wears the “many crowns” as radiant proof that he alone possesses all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

5. Jesus has a name written that no one knows except himself. 

When Adam falls, his banishment from Eden severs mankind’s face-to-face fellowship with God. As such, much of what could be known of God is hidden from Adam – and from us.

In a letter to the church at Pergamum, Jesus promises the victor a white stone inscribed with a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it (Rev. 2:17). In the fulfillment of this pledge, disciples are made like our Lord. His own name is to become ours.

One day, we will know what Adam could have known about God – not just intellectually, but experientially. As John writes, “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:2-3).

6. He wears a robe dipped in blood. There is considerable disagreement among Bible commentators as to whose blood stains the robe of Jesus. Is it Jesus’ own blood? The blood of the martyrs? Or is it the blood of the wicked who oppose Christ at his return? Could it be all of these?

Perhaps it’s best to see the blood-stained robe as both prophetically fulfilled and anticipatory. In Isaiah 63, the blood is not Messiah’s own, but the blood of his foes – a foretelling of what occurs in Revelation 19:15-21. In other words, Isaiah predicts what is about to happen to Jesus’ enemies at his return.

At the same time, the blood on Jesus’ robe could be his own – a reminder of his shed blood at Calvary, even for the sake of the ungodly who trample on it. That blood symbolizes Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, and death, and his authority to rule with a rod of iron. The blood of Jesus is redemptive; the blood of his enemies is retributive.