Tag: loves

32.h. “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven”

 

Matthew 10:16  “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Being a follower of Jesus ( a faithfully surrendered humble, repentant, reliant, trusting, and obedient, heart) has brought persecution to millions of his followers. They have been driven away from their homes, banished from families, every material thing taken away, beaten, despised, murdered, slandered, lost jobs, laughed at, etc… There are those right now in countries around the world where this is commonplace. They truly are physically and mentally persecuted. There are people in these countries who honor and glorify following Jesus Christ in the face of persecution every single day. Their love for Jesus Christ and obedience to Him is greater than life apart from Him, no matter the physical or mental cost to them this side of eternity. There is nothing like persecution to weed out true followers from those who are not. 

It is hard to fully understand this type of faithful trust, surrender, and obedience in what we call civilized countries where persecution is nothing more than a strange look or comment from unbelievers. This is not persecution. When life is somewhat easy and prosperous and there is no challenge to a person’s faith, it is easy to be very complacent and neglectful in our Christian walk. In fact, there is little evidence we are even Christian. Are we so blinded by cultural and social norms that we are not even aware that we outwardly deny Christ by the way we live?

Each individual Christian life should supply enough evidence – evidence that can be seen by the world – that they are indeed Christians. It is to be feared that many modern Christians if arrested for the crime of following Jesus and tried in a court, would have the charges dismissed for a lack of evidence. (Guzik)

We should examine our hearts and minds in light of, does my life honor and glorify Jesus Christ in such a way that if obedient following Him became a crime punishable by death, I would be the first arrested? Or, is it more than likely they would just pass me by not even giving me a second look?  How shameful would this be? How many will enter eternity saying Lord, Lord, only to hear in response, “depart from Me, I never knew you”?

17.s. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 12:20   Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

 Isaiah 49:5-6   And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

 Isaiah 53:10-12    Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 Luke 9:23-24     And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus’s thought of the cross just a few days away, His main concern was that God was glorified.  His purpose on earth was to redeem, save, and demonstrate God’s love for mankind.  It is hard for me to come close to understanding the commitment and longing and desire of Jesus to honor and glorify God, knowing what just a few days away would yield great physical and emotional pain.  He knew what He was facing.  He knew His purpose and was willing to die on the cross for it to honor and glorify God and redeem mankind.  

I can wrap my mind around taking a bullet, fast death, for someone you love, but willing to be tortured, beaten, whipped, and nailed to a cross for the sins of every human being is an act of love so humble, pure, and holy it seems beyond understanding. What a Savior we have in Jesus Christ.  In light of this, how should we live our lives?  The writer of Hebrews said: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

16.y. “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness”

John 10:16  So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Isaiah 53:10-12     Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Philippians 2:6-8     who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

It is hard to imagine the grace, mercy, and love Jesus Christ willingly poured out on the world.  The King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God, chose obedience to God the Father and willingly and with joy, went to the cross to bear our sins.  Jesus had full authority to choose obedience to God’s will.  He chose to give us life through His death and resurrection.  It is good for us to remember the great price that was paid by the King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God.  He did this for each individual person, yes YOU.

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Though the offer/gift of grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation is offered to everyone it is not accepted, received, or believed by everyone.  Many reject and deny this gift.  Condemnation and eternal punishment await everyone who rejects and denies the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation.  Trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ.

62. I will teach you the fear of the LORD

Deuteronomy 31:12   Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Deuteronomy 29:29    “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Psalms 34:11-14     Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.  Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Psalms 19:7-11     The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;  the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7     And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

I have thought often about “The fear of the LORD”.  Many times I come up with both reverence and afraid and see both in scripture.  I found this explanation from Ligonier Ministries.

We need to make some important distinctions about the biblical meaning of “fearing” God. These distinctions can be helpful, but they can also be a little dangerous. When Luther struggled with that, he made this distinction, which has since become somewhat famous: He distinguished between what he called a servile fear and a filial fear.

The servile fear is a kind of fear that a prisoner in a torture chamber has for his tormentor, the jailer, or the executioner. It’s that kind of dreadful anxiety in which someone is frightened by the clear and present danger that is represented by another person. Or it’s the kind of fear that a slave would have at the hands of a malicious master who would come with the whip and torment the slave. Servile refers to a posture of servitude toward a malevolent owner.

Luther distinguished between that and what he called filial fear, drawing from the Latin concept from which we get the idea of family. It refers to the fear that a child has for his father. In this regard, Luther is thinking of a child who has tremendous respect and love for his father or mother and who dearly wants to please them. He has a fear or an anxiety of offending the one he loves, not because he’s afraid of torture or even of punishment, but rather because he’s afraid of displeasing the one who is, in that child’s world, the source of security and love.

I think this distinction is helpful because the basic meaning of fearing the Lord that we read about in Deuteronomy is also in the Wisdom Literature, where we’re told that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The focus here is on a sense of awe and respect for the majesty of God. That’s often lacking in contemporary evangelical Christianity. We get very flippant and cavalier with God as if we had a casual relationship with the Father. We are invited to call Him Abba, Father, and to have the personal intimacy promised to us, but still, we’re not to be flippant with God. We’re always to maintain a healthy respect and adoration for Him.

Living for God is intentional

Genesis 6:11  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Genesis 7:1     Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 13:13     Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

Ezekiel 8:17   Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger?

Hosea 4:1-2     Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;  there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Psalms 11:5    The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Romans 2:13     For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Deuteronomy 6:3    Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

2 Chronicles 34:27    because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.

Deuteronomy 30:12-14     It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

James 2:21-25     Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;  and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Luke 1:6    And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

One would think that the more wrong a person sees being done that they would become more and more concerned about doing what is right.  Yet it seems as though the more we see and hear of wrong it just sets a new norm and dilutes and clouds and blinds us to what is right.

In the early 80’s I can remember an older pastor friend telling me that something troubled him.  He said that he had realized that the church (christians) always seemed to be 10 to 15 years behind what the culture was adopting.  What was not acceptable became questionable which became acceptable over time.

As a culture walks blindly further and further away from God, it seems to drag, pull and entice the church (individual christians) along the same path.  The path of what a life of humble service, heart honoring, mind and soul following, and heart deep obeying God, is over grown with false truth, false hope, and false behaviors.

What must happen to capture the hearts of individuals to keep pure to the truth of God’s word.  The serpent said it cleverly “did not God say…” using enough of God’s word to make sense of a lie and entice Adam and Eve to sin.  There are plenty in this world who can twist the word of God into lies and leave many questioning what is true and honorable in the sight of God.

How do we stay unpolluted from a culture that is running at warp speed away from God?  Reading His word with a heart like David when he said

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
 test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me,
 and lead me in the way everlasting.”

With so much technology and immediate sharing of thoughts and ideas through media outlets, it is no wonder confusion to what is pure, holy, right and true happens.  One would think the easiest way to stop this downward spiral would be to get back to a simpler life without all of the technology.  History would tell us this is not true, for the heart of man seems to have always been set on satisfying self and denying God.

One would think that seclusion away from interference and influence of others who do not know God might help.  We only have to look at Adam and Eve,  Cain and Able, and the 40 years of God’s people in the wilderness to know that the heart of mankind, when yielded to, will choose to follow what is right in their own mind and for their own satisfaction whether for good or evil.

Choice has been given to each human.  This choice allows them determine to follow their sinful nature or to humbly submit to honoring, serving, following and obeying God.

Spend time in His word – live for Him – seek Him – desire Him – love Him -learn from Him – honor Him – follow Him – obey Him – listen to Him – worship Him – glorify Him – want to be lead by Him – Grow in knowledge and understanding of Him.

Living for self is natural.  Living for God is intentional.

In His word

Psalms 119:137   Righteous are you, O LORD, and right are your rules.  You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.  My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.  Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.  I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.  Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.  Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.  Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.

Psalms 19:7-9     The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;  the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Nehemiah 9:33     Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.

We might say that God’s written word is an incomplete display of His character and nature; that is, there is more to God than what we can receive from His word. But what we do have in His word is accurate and properly displays to us who He is.

We might say that the God who actually exists is not different than His written revelation to us. He is greater than what can be comprehended through His written word, but He is not different than what is revealed to us through that word.

God’s words are especially helpful for establishing that He is very faithful. We often judge a person’s faithfulness by seeing if their words and their actions match. Along with other believers through the centuries, the Psalmist could say that the words of God and the actions of God were and are consistent, and show Him to be very faithful.

“Trust in the reliability of God’s word is directly proportionate to one’s trust in the Lord himself.” (VanGemeren)

“The Bible mirrors the character of God. Anyone who cares about knowing what is righteous and wants to act righteously should study the Bible.” (Boice)

Zeal implies energy and action. The appreciation of the Psalmist for the word of God was not passive. The living and active word of God brought forth a living and active response from the Psalmist. “Thus we see every man is eaten up with some kind of zeal. The drunkard is consumed with drunkenness, the whore-monger is spent with his whoredom, the heretic is eaten with heresies. Oh, how ought this to make us ashamed, who are so little eaten, spent, and consumed with the zeal of the word! . . . Oh, what a benefit it is to be eaten up with the love and zeal of a good thing!” (Greenham, cited in Spurgeon)

Psalm 99

Psalms 99:1  The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.  Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.   Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!  Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the LORD, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.  O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.  Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

Matthew Henry Commentary:

Still we are celebrating the glories of the kingdom of God among men, and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell more upon the Old-Testament dispensation and the manifestation of God’s glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the Messiah’s kingdom and the evangelical worship, to neglect the divine regimen they were then under, and the ordinances that were then given them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come must not lessen our esteem of good things present.

I like how Matthew ends this commentary with the statement of good things to come and good things present.  Sometimes we get overwhelmed with the present and which, somehow, we were ushered into the presence of Jesus, leaving this world behind.  Our God reigns and we are not to forget that even in the present and what overwhelms us, we are to turns our eyes to Him alone.  He has said to lay our burdens on Him, we are to trust Him.

Trials and Trouble

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Psalms 81:7  In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah

Psalms 50:15     and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalms 91:14     “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.  When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.  

Exodus 2:23    During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.

Exodus 14:10    When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD.  

Exodus 14:30     Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 20:18    Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off  and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”  Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”  The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

James 1:12     Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Troubles and trials come to all man.  None of us are immune to this.  We like to think it is not going to come into our life but it does.  So, when it comes how do we do? How do we respond?  Do we have a place of refuge, hope, and comfort to where we can run and find peace and KNOW without a doubt we are protected?  I am sure if we knew the hour at which it was to come we would prepare for it.  Yet the moment is unknown and never is.  The response can very.  Some may shrink back in despair.  Others may get mad, try to handle it on their own, or blame others, become vindictive, and retaliate.  We have seen many of these responses and some of them we have even had ourselves. I think the response is closely related to how close we are to God.  If we are living complacent to humbly serving Him, and if we are neglecting reading His word, and if our desire is more self centered than honoring, following and obeying Him there is a good chance we will find very little peace, hope, and refuge.  Yet if we purpose and desire to stay close to Him, humbly bow to His sovereign hand, acknowledge He is in control and will protect, comfort and lead us through the valley of the shadow of death our response will have a totally different beginning and journey through it.  Stay in His word.  Study it.  stay close to Him in prayer.  Commit each day to Him.  Ask Him to guide your path in a way that honors Him.  Ask Him to open your ears to hear His whispers.  Seek to follow and obey Him.  Trials and troubles will surely be part of our live this side of eternity.  Let them find you in His ever loving arms of comfort, refuge, peace, hope, strength, and love.

 

Resurrection and the Life

“ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

John 5:19  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

John 11:25     Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Philippians 3:21    who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Colossians 1:16     For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Psalms 27:14    Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

God’s promise of life “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”  The corner stone of our foundation is in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Upon this foundation throughout our life we have opportunity to build; love, faith, joy, hope, happiness, patience, courage, power, generosity, kindness for the single purpose of humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying God.   Look at life with this lens and commit to that which glorifies Him alone.