Wednesday, December 30, 2009

"Never Alone"

(Apologies. Another repeat, from 2005.)


Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are never alone. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). In the best of times, the worst of times, and the ordinary, mundane, and everyday living of our lives, we exist in proximity to One nearer to us than our next heartbeat. "In Him, we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:25). We are as fish swimming in the ocean that is God, and in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are given eyes to see the great fact of our existence.


"Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty" (Isaiah 33:17).


Not only is our Heavenly Father present both with and within us, He is also willing and able to help us in whatever our current needs may be. He is "for us" as Paul wrote to the Romans, and the throne of grace is ever before us, offering help in time of need (Romans 8:31; Hebrews 4:16). There is always Somebody to turn to for believers, there is always Somebody to trust, and there is always Somebody who can do something about our present state and condition. "They cried unto Thee, and were delivered: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded" (Psalm 22:5).


Let us open our eyes and our hearts to the great fact. Let us come both humbly and confidently to the throne of grace, never fearing that we will be rejected. "He that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). The Lord Jesus has made a way for us, and indeed, He is the way (John 14:6). Thus, the faithful can come, and the failing can come. The joyful can come, and the discouraged can come. The trusting can come, and those tempted to doubt can come. And while the full-hearted can come with their songs of exultation, the throne of grace is just as much a place for the broken hearted with their tears of pain. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1).


The Spirit of God and the Word of God beckon us in this moment to "look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Our Heavenly Father calls us to rest our hearts in His own blessed heart, and to find our needs met in the only place where needs are met. And the invitation of the Lord Jesus rings through the ages to all who will approach the throne of grace by way of His blood, His name and His ongoing work of interceding for all whose "faith is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness..."


"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

(Matthew 11:28-30)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Privilege of His Vineyard

(A repeat from 2005)


Responsibility becomes privilege when the labors of life are recognized as being performed in the Lord's vineyard.

"Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Colossians 3:23).


"I have to do" becomes "I get to do" as we realize that "whatsoever ye do" bears the potential for worship and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. God does not categorize our lives into the sacred and the secular as we walk with Him, but rather calls us to the realization that altars are everywhere for the born again believer.

It is more than possible to cut the grass in the joy of Christ as we do it with Him, and for Him. Or care for the baby. Or drive to work. Or perform our work. Or brush our teeth. Or deal with problems and challenges. Or breathe the next breath. Or anything, excepting sin. Anything, and everything. Anywhere, and everywhere. Any time, and all the time.

The salvation of the Lord Jesus is far greater and more invasive than we normally realize. He has infused His life, love, zest and Divine enthusiasm into everything in our lives, and we fail to experience the gift only because of ignorance or unbelief. Our blessed Lord is near - He is here - and He purposes to walk with and within us to enable a joyous life of love, faith and obedience in all things. We were made for this, and let us encourage each other continually to open our eyes and see the beauty of the vineyard in which we labor. Even more, let us behold the beauty of the vineyard's Master because He is here, and we are privileged - we get to do all that we do with Him and for Him.


"I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
(II Corinthians 6:16)

Monday, December 28, 2009

"To Live"

(Friends: I shared with a friend today that I am honored and blessed to be surrounded by a company of trusting saints who somehow peer into black nights and see the Light that "shineth in darkness." So many of you are such examples to me of loving faith and devotion to God, and this is dedicated to all of you who bear continual witness to my heart that our Lord's tomb is empty, His heavenly throne occupied, and His Spirit mightily at work in those who believe the Word of God in the face of any and every challenge. I thank God, and I thank you. Glen)



"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).

Every born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has been unchangeably enlivened in our being and innermost personhood by the entrance of the Holy Spirit into our spirit. The Apostle Paul in fact declares that we are therein as eternally alive from the dead as is the Lord Jesus Himself.

"Christ being raised from the dead diet no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:9-11).

In being and personhood, we are eternally alive in Christ. The application and experience of such life by faith, however, is a different matter. We may or may not "live" in the sense of trusting God in the day to day challenges of life in a fallen world. Countless opportunities await our determination to believe the Word of God by affirming its truth, and submitting ourselves to the particular paths that genuine faith always beckons us to walk. We are most alive in the sense of practical experience and application when pressed to such trust, and when we must "live by faith."

The world would have us believe that those most alive are the most wealthy, the most healthy, the most beautiful, the most happy, and the most secure. The Bible counters this world of shadowed illusion by its declaration that "to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). That is, to know, love, trust, obey, and share the Lord Jesus with others is life - "Christ... is our life" (Colossians 3:4). In fact, if we could quantify life in some form of measure, the most alive person in the world at present would likely be some trusting saint who has apparently lost everything, but who nevertheless believes with all his heart that he has everything because he has the living Christ.

We are most alive, we are only consciously and vibrantly alive when we are trusting God. Thus, He determines and allows the challenges of the winepress whereby the sweet and new wine of the Holy Spirit flows in our hearts by the crushing that causes faith to be a matter of our very survival. It is a hard way, and one that will often break our hearts. But it is a living way, the living way of He who declared "I am the life," and who walked the same path of faith that beckons us - "I live by the Father" (John 14:6; 6:57). Yes, to live is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.


"He is thy life."
(Deuteronomy 30:20)

Friday, December 25, 2009

"A Sacrifice Far Greater"

Conclusion

The conception of the Lord Jesus Christ involved sacrifice. His birth involved sacrifice. His earthly life involved sacrifice. His death involved sacrifice. And His ongoing humanity and high priestly ministry of "ever living to make intercession for us" involves sacrifice (Hebrews 7:25).

When we confess the truth that God loves us, we are testifying of this willingness to forever take up His cross, as it were, in order to devote Himself to us. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit willingly laid aside the infinite perfection and joy of the Godhead in the eternal past by creating the human race in Their image, and then by redeeming us at the cost of blood. As we have stressed in these messages, we have no frame of reference for such grace and mercy. Little wonder then that the Apostle Paul declared that the love of Christ "passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

There is one aspect of participation in the glory, however. Paul prayed that he might know "the fellowship of His sufferings," and he also wrote that we "bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal bodies" (Philippians 3:10; II Corinthians 4:10). Therefore, while we cannot fathom the love of God in intellectual or emotional terms, we do experience such self sacrifice as Christ lives in us, and we live by Him. "The sufferings of Christ abound in us" (II Corinthians 1:5). In born again believers, the Lord Jesus lives the same quality of life by His Spirit that He lived during His incarnation. And He dies the same quality of self sacrificial death. "So then death worketh in us, but life in you" (II Corinthians 4:12).

The particular pains, sorrows, and losses known in us because of this wondrous "hope of glory" do not feel glorious at present (Colossians 1:27). We often may not even know that our difficulties are the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. They may seem to involve merely the normal earthly experiences of a fallen world. However, we must recognize that normal earthly experiences were the heart of self sacrifice in the Lord Jesus. "The Word was made flesh... God was manifest in the flesh" (John 1:14; I Timothy 3:16). Becoming human, embracing its limitations, and suffering its pains involved great loss for our Savior. Being human, while inhabited by the Spirit of God, involves the same for believers, and provides at least some context for a glimpse of our Lord's sacrifice for us.

God's love revealed to us is a wondrous thing, and is the beginning of relationship with Him. "We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). God's love revealed in and by us is an even more wondrous thing, and is the evidence of ongoing relationship with Him. "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). We enter into the depths of His Person when the Divine love that is "shed abroad in our hearts" becomes the Divine love shed forth from our hearts (Romans 5:5; John 7:38). Again, it is a mere glimpse of the infinite love that motivated a sacrifice far greater than we can ever fully know. It is a glimpse nevertheless, and as the Lord Jesus lives, dies, and lives again in us, the wondrous heart of God is revealed in ways that can only be known thereby.

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
(I Peter 5:10-11)

"A Sacrifice Far Greater"

Conclusion

The conception of the Lord Jesus Christ involved sacrifice. His birth involved sacrifice. His earthly life involved sacrifice. His death involved sacrifice. And His ongoing humanity and high priestly ministry of "ever living to make intercession for us" involves sacrifice (Hebrews 7:25).

When we confess the truth that God loves us, we are testifying of this willingness to forever take up His cross, as it were, in order to devote Himself to us. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit willingly laid aside the infinite perfection and joy of the Godhead in the eternal past by creating the human race in Their image, and then by redeeming us at the cost of blood. As we have stressed in these messages, we have no frame of reference for such grace and mercy. Little wonder then that the Apostle Paul declared that the love of Christ "passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

There is one aspect of participation in the glory, however. Paul prayed that he might know "the fellowship of His sufferings," and he also wrote that we "bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal bodies" (Philippians 3:10; II Corinthians 4:10). Therefore, while we cannot fathom the love of God in intellectual or emotional terms, we do experience such self sacrifice as Christ lives in us, and we live by Him. "The sufferings of Christ abound in us" (II Corinthians 1:5). In born again believers, the Lord Jesus lives the same quality of life by His Spirit that He lived during His incarnation. And He dies the same quality of self sacrificial death. "So then death worketh in us, but life in you" (II Corinthians 4:12).

The particular pains, sorrows, and losses known in us because of this wondrous "hope of glory" do not feel glorious at present (Colossians 1:27). We often may not even know that our difficulties are the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. They may seem to involve merely the normal earthly experiences of a fallen world. However, we must recognize that normal earthly experiences were the heart of self sacrifice in the Lord Jesus. "The Word was made flesh... God was manifest in the flesh" (John 1:14; I Timothy 3:16). Becoming human, embracing its limitations, and suffering its pains involved great loss for our Savior. Being human, while inhabited by the Spirit of God, involves the same for believers, and provides at least some context for a glimpse of our Lord's sacrifice for us.

God's love revealed to us is a wondrous thing, and is the beginning of relationship with Him. "We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). God's love revealed in and by us is an even more wondrous thing, and is the evidence of ongoing relationship with Him. "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). We enter into the depths of His Person when the Divine love that is "shed abroad in our hearts" becomes the Divine love shed forth from our hearts (Romans 5:5; John 7:38). Again, it is a mere glimpse of the infinite love that motivated a sacrifice far greater than we can ever fully know. It is a glimpse nevertheless, and as the Lord Jesus lives, dies, and lives again in us, the wondrous heart of God is revealed in ways that can only be known thereby.

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
(I Peter 5:10-11)

Thursday, December 24, 2009

"A Sacrifice Far Greater"

Part 4

The New Testament superlatives of grace declare to us a salvation and a Savior "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

"Life more abundant... peace that passeth all understanding... joy unspeakable and full of glory... exceeding great and precious promises... abounding in hope... the exceeding greatness of His power... abundant mercy... the exceeding riches of His grace... so great salvation... the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (John 10:10; Philippians 4:7; I Peter 1:8; II Peter 1:4; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 1:19; I Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:7; Hebrews 2:3; Ephesians 3:19).
We do well to rejoice in the magnitude of God's goodness provided to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternity will not be long enough to exhaust the abundance of the gift of Himself, and "the things that are freely given to us of God" (I Corinthians 2:12).

We do well also, however, to remember that our gain is in inverse proportion to His loss. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He were rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich "(II Corinthians 8:9). The greatness of His salvation for us was purchased by the greatness of His suffering for us. To the degree we receive grace, He received condemnation. To the degree we know mercy, He knew wrath. To the degree we experience peace, His soul was "exceeding sorrowful" (Matthew 26:38). To the degree we are enabled by His power, He was "crucified through weakness"(II Corinthians 13:4). To the degree we have hope, He felt the despair of "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). To the degree we live, He died. And to the degree God's love for us "passeth knowledge," the Lord Jesus knew the hatred and fiery indignation of His Father's wrath against sin. A superlative salvation is based on superlative suffering that culminated in the Prince of life becoming the participant in a horror of death completely contrary to His nature, being, character, and way.

We are to "rejoice in the Lord always" in great measure and exhilaration of heart (Philippians 4:10). In those who love the Lord Jesus, however, such gladness is rightly tempered by the remembrance of a sacrifice far greater than we will ever know. The acronym "God's Riches At Christ's Expense" (GRACE) says it well. We must remember the cost even as we rejoice. "So great salvation" came by way of so great sorrow, and such remembrance will purify and enhance our experience of so great a Savior.

"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."
(Isaiah 53:5)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

"A Sacrifice Far Greater" Part 3


Our salvation could not have been effected by decree, no, not by even Divine decree. Death was necessary. Someone had to die.

"Christ died" (Romans 5:6).

Literally, "life" died - "I am... the life" (John 14:6). "Ye killed the Prince of life" declared the Apostle Peter to his generation, and to all generations of the sons and daughters of Adam who are complicit in the death of the Lord Jesus (Acts 3:13-14). For our sakes, the Savior entered into a reality that was completely foreign to His nature, being, and eternal existence. Indeed, it is one thing for sinful, fallen beings such as ourselves to die. It is a terrible thing, and tears beyond number stain the myriad faces of a race that has longing for eternity in its heart, but the ravages of time's decay in its body. "They die, and return to their dust" (Psalm 104:29). It is another thing, however, for One whose very essence is life to experience death.


There is little, and perhaps nothing we can write or think or say about this. We have no frame of reference for such a contradiction of soul and being. By definition, it should be impossible for eternal life to die. This nevertheless happened in the spirit, soul, and body of the Lamb of God. Our Lord was "made to be sin" for us, and then suffered the consequences of sin (II Corinthians 5:21). Perfect righteousness became sin. Again, there is no way we think thoughts, feel feelings, or use words for such a horror. The Lord Jesus became what He was not so that we might become what we were not, and "None of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark was the night that our Lord passed through 'ere He found His sheep that was lost" ("The Ninety and Nine" - Elisabeth Cleophane).


We cannot know. Such recognition may be the brightest illumination that can shine within our hearts. We do well to often consider this Light that "shineth in darkness" (John 1:7). It will draw us as near as possible to awareness of a sacrifice far greater than mind, tongue, or pen will ever tell. Most of all, it will fuel and fan the flame of love in our hearts for the glorious One who loves us in a measure far greater than mind, tongue, or pen will ever tell. May it become personal for all of us that Life died in a mystery of contradiction and agony infinitely beyond anything we will ever know.

"He is... a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."
(Isaiah 53:3)

"A Sacrifice Far Greater" Part 3


Our salvation could not have been effected by decree, no, not by even Divine decree. Death was necessary. Someone had to die.

"Christ died" (Romans 5:6).

Literally, "life" died - "I am... the life" (John 14:6). "Ye killed the Prince of life" declared the Apostle Peter to his generation, and to all generations of the sons and daughters of Adam who are complicit in the death of the Lord Jesus (Acts 3:13-14). For our sakes, the Savior entered into a reality that was completely foreign to His nature, being, and eternal existence. Indeed, it is one thing for sinful, fallen beings such as ourselves to die. It is a terrible thing, and tears beyond number stain the myriad faces of a race that has longing for eternity in its heart, but the ravages of time's decay in its body. "They die, and return to their dust" (Psalm 104:29). It is another thing, however, for One whose very essence is life to experience death.


There is little, and perhaps nothing we can write or think or say about this. We have no frame of reference for such a contradiction of soul and being. By definition, it should be impossible for eternal life to die. This nevertheless happened in the spirit, soul, and body of the Lamb of God. Our Lord was "made to be sin" for us, and then suffered the consequences of sin (II Corinthians 5:21). Perfect righteousness became sin. Again, there is no way we think thoughts, feel feelings, or use words for such a horror. The Lord Jesus became what He was not so that we might become what we were not, and "None of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark was the night that our Lord passed through 'ere He found His sheep that was lost" ("The Ninety and Nine" - Elisabeth Cleophane).


We cannot know. Such recognition may be the brightest illumination that can shine within our hearts. We do well to often consider this Light that "shineth in darkness" (John 1:7). It will draw us as near as possible to awareness of a sacrifice far greater than mind, tongue, or pen will ever tell. Most of all, it will fuel and fan the flame of love in our hearts for the glorious One who loves us in a measure far greater than mind, tongue, or pen will ever tell. May it become personal for all of us that Life died in a mystery of contradiction and agony infinitely beyond anything we will ever know.

"He is... a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."
(Isaiah 53:3)


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

"A Sacrifice Far Greater" Part 2


What did the Lord Jesus Christ know, and when did He know it? At what point in His earthly existence did He become self aware of His deity, and the saving purpose for which He came into the world?

There are no definitive Biblical answers to these questions. "Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16). Some might say that as God, our Savior knew from the moment of conception in Mary's womb that He was who He was, and that He had come to redeem us from our sins. I recently heard a very respected friend affirm this. This may be true, and I am comfortable with the possibility and understand its logic.

There are Biblical clues that might lead us to believe otherwise, however. Luke's Gospel tells us that the Lord Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Such growth indicates that omniscience (perfect knowledge) was not a characteristic of our Lord during His earthly sojourn as a human being. He did not relinquish His deity, of course, but enrobing Himself in humanity for our sakes apparently brought limitations necessary for His identification with us. My view is that this may have involved the necessity of discovering His nature and being, and subsequent growth in knowledge thereafter. Through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the teaching of Jewish religious leaders, the Lord Jesus may have come to know who He was, and then grew in the wisdom and knowledge of being God, "manifest in the flesh."

The Bible records that Joseph and his family went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover (Luke 2:42). During this time, the primary subject of the doctors' teaching in the temple would have been God's deliverance of Israel from the yoke of Egyptian bondage through the blood sacrifices of the Passover lambs. The young Jesus would have been exposed to such teaching year by year, and this could have played a role in His coming to understand Himself and His mission. It is interesting that Scripture mentions the annual visits to Jerusalem and the Passover, and the fact that at 12 years old, our Lord's awareness of "My Father's business" is revealed in context of His time in the temple (Luke 2:49).

Most importantly, the truth shines before us that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for us was far greater than we can ever imagine. Becoming human, with its inherent limitations, after eternally having been solely Divine, with its inherent boundlessness of being, nature, and way - what can such condescension involve and imply? This is especially overwhelming if the Lord Jesus had to discover and grow in His self knowledge, because becoming human meant that He temporarily sacrificed the very awareness of who and what He is as God the Son.

"Great is the mystery..." Whatever the truth may be in this holy consideration, our Savior embraced for our sakes a sacrifice far greater than time or eternity will ever tell. We are loved beyond every understanding of the concept we can contemplate. We are the source of joys in the heart of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that were birthed in sorrows forever untold. Our Lord who is God will also forever be a man, and He will forever point a nail-scarred Hand in our direction to proclaim in grace and mercy, "Behold I and the children which God hath given Me" (Hebrews 2:13). Yes, our Lord considers His church as a gift of the Father to Him. But it was a gift that came by way of a sacrifice far greater than time or eternity will ever tell. A cross of shame, agony, forsakenness, and death bears witness to the price of our redemption, and to a dark and terrible hour when the Savior cried out into the darkness of bewilderment and a broken heart...

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
(Matthew 27:46)

Monday, December 21, 2009

"A Sacrifice Far Greater"

(Friends: this one's a bit longer than usual. Thanks for your patience.)

"When He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business? And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them.
And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:42-52).


It was His "Father's business" for the Lord Jesus Christ to be in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the doctors," and astonishing them by His understanding. The time for such ministry was not yet at hand, however, and the Lord Jesus returned home with Joseph and Mary in proper subjection to their authority. "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12).
This episode reminds us of the beginning of the Lord's ministry, and the first of His miracles.

"And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come" (John 2:4).

The truth of the matter is that our Savior's hour had come, and Mary's actions in the matter signaled to Him that the time was fulfilled for ministry and miracles to begin. Thus, He changed water into wine, and the plain obscurity of three decades gave way to three years of the power of God being revealed, and the display of "never man spake like this Man" (John 7:46).

These episodes are intriguing because they raise the question of what did the Lord Jesus know about Himself and His mission, and when did He know it? As God, we might suspect that He omnisciently knew all things. Certainly His knowledge and wisdom were far beyond anyone who ever walked the planet in human feet. As man, however, He enrobed Himself with the limiting garb of humanity, especially in His knowledge of when certain things would happen. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). When considered with the previously mentioned episodes involving his earthly parents, we must conclude that while becoming a man did not affect the substance of His deity, it did affect His experience of it. Again, in the mystery of God "manifest in the flesh," the garb of humanity brought limits to our Lord's awareness and capacity (I Timothy 3:16).
There is relatively little we can know in this most sacred and wondrous of matters. We have no personal frame of reference for infinity being united with the finite, and the Bible addresses the matter only in the most shadowed illumination. We know that the Son of God became man, and will always be man (I Timothy 2:5). We know that He felt the characteristics of humanity in hunger, thirst, tiredness, sorrow, agony, loneliness, and ultimately, death. We know that "He was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). However, we cannot understand the consciousness and awareness of Deity and humanity perfectly united in one ineffable Person who is perfectly God and perfectly man. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16).

What did He know, and when did He know it? The Bible provides very little information concerning the facts of the mystery. What we do know is that the sacrifice of becoming human after having been solely Divine is an eternal reality. The perpetual wounds upon the hands, feet, and heart of our Savior speak to the wonder of such love (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:27). Scripture also reveals that the Son will one day render a final sacrifice of devotion to both God and man that reveals the greatness of His love to both. "And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (I Corinthians 15:28). The Apostle Paul reveals to us the sublime reality that for God to be all in those indwelt by His Spirit, the Son must subject Himself in a manner that likely involves His having eternally taken humanity upon Himself for our sakes.



There is more mystery in this consideration than illumination. However, of this we can be certain: the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ are the most fascinating subjects to which we can attend our hearts and minds. Our hearts and minds were made for this, in fact, and as we ponder the birth of our Savior this week, we do well to realize that Christmas speaks to us of a sacrifice far greater than we can begin to know...




"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He were rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich."
(II Corinthians 8:9)

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."
(Hebrews 2:15)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

"Does Prayer Change Things?"

(Friends: we rarely send out devotionals on weekends, but this own was ready to go. Thanks.)

In one sense, the answer to the question is certainly yes, and in a profound way. The Bible's promises concerning prayer are vast beyond measure, and taken as literally as they were offered, are a force that Satan himself cannot counter (a primary reason our enemy works so hard to hinder our prayers). "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16).

In most literal Scriptural terms, however, the truth of the matter is that prayer, in and of itself, does not and cannot accomplish anything. In fact, it can be a dangerous and deceptive practice if understood wrongly, and if emphasized in a manner that causes us to trust in our God-given and commanded capacity to ask rather than His promise to answer the effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous.

"O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people?" (Psalm 80:4).

Long ago, the people of Israel actually angered God by their praying because there was no heart in their offerings, and no faith in the God they were approaching. They believed, wrongly, that there was merit, effect and power in the practice of prayer, regardless of whether they rightly related to their Lord in consistent faith, devotion, submission, and obedience. They were trusting in their prayers rather than the Answerer of their prayers, and this is the primary truth of genuine communion with God. By defintion, prayer is the admission of our abject need for Divine activity and intervention on our behalf. It is the acknowledgement that the Lord must do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves. Therefore, it cannot be viewed as the agent of change. Prayer does not change things. God changes things, albeit often through our praying.

This is not mere semantics, or an unnecessarily technical way of viewing prayer. Again, God was "angry against the prayer" of His people. We do well, accordingly, to apply ourselves to prayer as Scripturally revealed if we are to have strong confidence and hope in its "availeth much" dynamism. Prayer is not to be prayed for prayer's sake, but rather as the expression of devotion, faith, and submission to the glory and will of God. Prayer is affirming to God and within ourselves that we are not and cannot be the do-er of that which only He can do. It is holding out an empty cup to our Heavenly Father, as it were, and trusting Him to fill it with the content that quenches our thirst. By God's own design, the cup is necessary. But it is not that which fills our void.

Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have been given the sublime gift of His own praying heart revealed in our spirits. "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). We are called into the conscious and vital presence of the infinite, majestic Lord who is also our loving, intimate Father. A way has been made, stained by holy Blood, and our fellowship with God is far more precious to Him than it will ever be to us. "The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Proverbs 15:8). The consideration of such grace is overwhelming, and causes us to desire an understanding and application of prayer that is as faithful to its reality as possible. Prayer does not change things, and it is all the more precious because it does not. Instead, it is an open door the door into the very heart of the God who does change things, and who most importantly, changes us.
"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
(Jeremiah 33:3)

Friday, December 18, 2009

"The Arbiter"

"And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live" (Exodus 33:20).

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Corinthians 4:6).


I recently heard a public figure strongly proclaim that he had learned he did not need anyone to approach God for him, and that he had found redemption through directly coming to the Lord for himself.

I initially found myself agreeing with the gentleman because it is certainly true that every human being must personally relate to the Lord if we are to know Him as He desires to be known. However, the man did not testify that such knowledge cannot be attained without an arbiter, or "go between" who can safely and surely lead us unto God.

"Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (I Peter 3:18).

"There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).


The gulf between the Divine and the human is far too vast for the latter to independently approach the former. His infinite nature conflicts with the reality that we are "but flesh, a wind that passeth away" (Psalm 78:39). Even more, "your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Thus, while the aforementioned gentleman was correct in that we must come to God personally, the truth is that we cannot come to Him personally. The dilemma seems beyond resolution, and the chasm too wide for any hope that we can ever truly know the creator and sustainer of our being.

The Lord Jesus is our resolution and fulfillment of hope. In Him, the Infinite and the finite are so perfectly met together that God and man are one. "I and my Father are one... He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 10:30; 14:9). In our Savior, Heaven and earth united to birth the chief delight of both realms. He alone can bring man to God without violating the holiness of the Divine, and God to man without destroying the very existence of the human. There is no one like the Lord Jesus in both Heaven and earth, and His nature, being, and mediatorial office are the most fascinating subjects our minds can ponder.

No finite human can mediate between God and ourselves. We must determine to come, and believe that we can approach the Holiest. But we must come by the way of that Human who is also Divine, and in whom "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10). I hope that I simply did not listen long enough to the gentleman whom I did not hear given testimony to the grace of the Lord Jesus whereby God can be known in the most loving and intimate communion. There is no other way, and we need no other way.

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith."
(Hebrews 10:19-22)


Thursday, December 17, 2009

"I Am For You"

In yesterday's message, we referenced the truth that God is a being without need. He is self existent, self fulfilled, and self sufficient. "From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God" (Psalm 90:2).

This is cause for much joy and peace in the hearts of born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, particularly in regard to our relationship with Him. There is no parasitical aspect in our Heavenly Father's involvement with us, that is, He is able to be completely for us because His love for us is unencumbered by need. "Charity (love)... seeketh not her own" (I Corinthians 13:5). No other relationship in our lives offers such purity of devotion, and thus only God can safely serve as the primary harbor of our hearts. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38).

In even the healthiest and most godly human relationships in our lives, there is a self interest that cannot be completely avoided. The love of God dwells in the hearts of believers, of course, and by the Holy Spirit we can profoundly devote ourselves to the needs of family, friends, and those with whom we live, work, and minister (Romans 5:5). We are not yet perfected, however, and still live with fleshly human members and capacities that are naturally geared toward selfishness. "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17). There is an element of mutual parasitism in every human bond, and one of the most important prayers we can pray is that the love of the Lord Jesus will increasingly lead and enable us in our relationship with every person in our lives. Thereby, we will more and more experience and express the "I am for you" sensibility of Divine love. "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor" (Ephesians 5:2).

One reason that Heaven will be Heaven is that every person there will be glorified in the perfect selflessness of our Savior. There will no parasitism in that blessed place governed by the Father who gave His beloved Son for those who rebelled against Him. The heart of the Lamb and the Dove will rather beautify the redeemed, and perfect and selfless devotion to God and others will fragrance every relationship. Most importantly, all will know the source and enabling of such love, and all will be forever amazed by the One whose glorious being will require an eternity to survey, admire, cherish, and worship.

"Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on Me."
(Romans 15:2-3)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

"No Taxes"

Watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special again last night with my youngest daughter Emmie (who thinks I am Charlie Brown), I was reminded again of how much impact the reading of the Luke 2 passage by Linus had in my life when I was a child. Even more, I heard a wonderful message on the passage taught by my dear friend and excellent Bible teacher Larry Voas yesterday. So, I suppose it is inevitable that I would share today a few thoughts about Luke's account of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed... For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:1; 11).

Every time I read this passage, the first thought that crosses my mind is that at the same time God was giving to the world the freest gift ever given, an earthly ruler was enacting a tax. Indeed, the Scripture was fulfilled that Bethlehem would be the Messiah's birthplace because of Caesar Augustus's taxation that required Joseph and Mary to travel there.

The truth shining forth from this passage is that there is only one ruler of our hearts and lives who does not view us as a means to His own ends. God does not need the human race. We fulfill no emptiness in Him whereby He must extract a pound of our flesh in order to be supplied, fulfilled, and happy (Acts 17:25). Thus, He will never "tax" us, that is, He will never in this sense mandate that we give Him anything.

On the surface, this does not appear to be true. The Bible itself commands that we give much to our Lord, including worship, trust, praise, thanksgiving, submission, obedience, and most of all, love. "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness" (I Chronicles 16:29). We are to devote our very selves to Him - "Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead" (Romans 6:13). How then can we propose that we are to give nothing to God, and that we actually cannot give anything to a Being who is without need or void?


"What hast thou that thou didst not receive?... He giveth to all life and breath and all things... Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee." (I Corinthians 4:7; Acts 17:25; Deuteronomy 16:17).

Unlike worldly taxation, God's economy requires our giving of that which we have received from Him. Be it offerings of the heart or the hands, our Lord supplies for that which He requires. We are stewards of His bounty, receiving from Him "life and breath and all things," and then being even more blessed as offerings flow from us through the motivation, leading, and enabling of the Holy Spirit. Again, God needs nothing we give back to Him, but rather fulfills the deepest need of our heart by empowering us to love Him as He loves us. And He thereby blesses others through us in a wondrous way.

There are no taxes in God's economy, and in our relationship with Him. In days such as these, this is a glorious thought. And in this Christmas season, as we rejoice in the birth of the freest gift ever given, Luke's account calls us to avail ourselves of our Lord's abundance far more than ever we have. Because as we receive, the gift will not rest in us, but rather flow through us in the fulfillment of His promise...

"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(John 7:38)


"Freely ye have received; freely give."
(Matthew 10:8)


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

"The Glory of One"

It is natural for human beings to want attention, affirmation, and accolade for our accomplishments (alliteration unintended, by the way :) ). It is supernatural to want all glory directed to the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, God must change our hearts if we are to live in the reality that He alone is worthy of all honor.

Even before sin entered the human race, there were harbingers that indicated we would be a race challenged in the matter of giving credit where credit is due. After Eve's creation by God, Adam did not respond with praise and thanksgiving to her Maker. "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man" (Genesis 2:23). Rather than grateful acknowledgement of the amazing creativity and generosity of the Lord in granting the sublime gift of woman to Adam - "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord" - Adam rather viewed Eve in terms of the material (his body) from which she was made (Proverbs 18:22). "My bones... my flesh" exulted the first man, indicating that something must happen in the very fabric of humanity's consciousness and sensibility if we are to fulfill the true reason for our being: "We should be to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:12).

Salvation in Christ births a "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). In every born again believer, therefore, the seed of devotion to God's glory is planted. We still retain our fleshly humanity that is bent toward itself, of course, and we will be often tempted to desire our own honor and glory. In our present generation of self affirmation promoted even in Christian circles, it will be a great challenge to seek and proclaim the glory of One. We must therefore determine within our hearts and minds that as the dew which brought the manna to the children of Israel and then melted into forgottenness, we must do our doings in such an unassuming manner that even our left hand is unaware of the accomplishments of the right (Exodus 16:13-14; Matthew 6:3). "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).

Some things we do will be noticed by others, and we will sometimes be affirmed and thanked. There is nothing wrong with this, and the encouragement of fellow believers is a good thing so long as in our hearts we are directing all credit to the Lord who has led and enabled all accomplishment. We are dust without Him, but we are rare and precious jewels when united to the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. That is, we exist to provide unique composition and capacity for His light to shine within us in the beauty of holiness. Devotion to this truth is peace, the peace of understanding the One in whom we "live and move and have our being" is the source of any goodness known by us (Acts 17:28). Indeed, we do well to remember that left to ourselves and our own devices, our next breath would not be forthcoming...

"He giveth to all life and breath and all things."
(Acts 17:25)

"He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
(II Corinthians 10:17)

Monday, December 14, 2009

"The Man Upstairs?"

I recently read an anecdote of an historical figure I greatly admire and respect in which the man referred to prayer by saying that he needed to "talk to the man upstairs."

I have always considered this phraseology to be unintentionally disrespectful and not in line with Biblical authority. My reaction to the respected figure was therefore one of disappointment. It remains so until this moment, but I have been thinking about the matter in somewhat different terms since reading the anecdote.

"There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).

In the present tense, the Apostle Paul refers to our Lord as "the man Christ Jesus." There is a glorified humanity in Heaven, the Mediator through whom we access our Heavenly Father, and by whom we have confidence that we are received and heard. He sits at His Father's right hand as both God and man, and "ever liveth to make intercession for us" (Hebrews 1:13; 7:25). This eternal mediation for us requires eternal humanity, and thus our Lord permanently enrobed Himself with our nature. Such condescension is one of the greatest expressions of Divine love, that the Son of God who had forever existed in the limitless infinity of the spiritual took upon Himself the limiting and finite garb of time and humanity. "Great is the mystery" declared the Apostle Paul of the fact of the Incarnation (I Timothy 3:16). There is no mystery, however, concerning the motivation that inspired it - "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

I don't expect to ever be comfortable with the terminology of prayer that addresses "the man upstairs." However, it is a fundamental Biblical doctrine that there is a man in the Heaven, "the man Christ Jesus." Perhaps some who use the terminology are inadvertently referencing the blessed truth of such grace, particularly if they mean no disrespect. Most importantly, we worship the God who became man without relinquishing His divinity, and who brought the Infinite and finite together in Himself, and in us.

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."
(Hebrews 2:14)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Amazing People; Amazing Lord

Many of you know about my dear friend Hugh Vickery, Interior Department spokesman and speechwriter (Hugh also teaches a Bible study for Interior Dept. employees every week). You have prayed for his wife Amne, who has battled cancer for more than ten years, and for their children Ian, Bladen, Oliver and Hannah. Mostly, you have been blessed by the ongoing testimony of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and their determination to honor Him in all things, including the great physical and emotional challenges brought on by Amne's condition.

Recently, Hugh has also been facing some physical ailments of his own. He's a very active, robust and athletic fellow, and has long threatened to utterly shellack me if we ever get on a golf course together. :):) I'm sure he will, but presently he's temporarily facing some painful and difficult issues of his own that are making life difficult personally, and also in his ongoing determination to take good care of Amne and the family. I'm confident that he'll be fine, but your continued and enhanced prayers for Hugh, Amne, Ian, Oliver, Bladen, and Hannah will doubtless be much appreciated.

I share this with you to encourage those prayers, but also to share with you a blessing that happened this past weekend. Ian brought home 20 of his friends from Penn State for weekend to work on a charitable project. On Sunday morning, the young people asked Hugh to teach a message from the Bible, and he shared with them passages in James and I Peter that promise joy and God's keeping in the midst of the most difficult trials. Consider the power of such truth coming forth from a man who has known so much difficulty in his wife's long illness, and now in dealing with his own. I doubt that those young people will ever forget the truth that shined forth not only in word, but in living and tangible expression of the truth that trusting believers "bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (II Corinthians 4:10).

I am greatly blessed and honored to be the friend of such believers. And I mindful also that in the 10+ years we have sent out the Orange Moon devotionals, so many of you have been to me the same burning and shining light gleaming brightly in the pain of your particular challenges. I know that many of those challenges continue until this moment, and be sure that I am offering thanksgiving and prayers of intercession for you even as I type these words. You all amaze me, and I can hear you even now chiding me. Yes, I know. Your Lord amazes me even more.

The world has no natural explanation for how Hugh could teach such a message as he did this past Sunday. Satan has no weapon against the God-enabled determination I have witnessed in so many of you that rejects despair and embraces the joy of the Lord Jesus in the midst of sorrow. And few men are as blessed as am I to see the risen Lord Jesus once again walking the earth, albeit this time in the hearts, hands, and feet of so many brothers, sisters, and friends. I am most grateful.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
(I Peter 1:3-8)

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."
(James 1:2-3)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Rod of Love

(Thanks to Char S. for inspiration on this one. And dedicated to my father).

My father passed away when I was 2 years old. He had a congenital heart condition throughout his life, and suffered a heart attack and died just after his 37th birthday (and not too long after the incident I will share with you).

The only thing I remember about my dad is something that may actually be an incident recounted to me by family members. I think, however, it is an actual recollection, and before I share it, let me say that those who knew my father have all told me how much he loved me. I was an only child (which may explain a lot!), and I have often heard through the years that I was the apple of my father's eye. I believe it, and the following is to me a blessed confirmation of the fact.

In the late 1950s, many people had box-shaped televisions that sat on tables specifically designed for the purpose. There was crawlspace underneath the tables, and one day I noticed an interesting looking feature of our TV. A plug attached to it was inserted into the wall. This obviously fascinated my young and curious mind, and I made my way under the table and started manually inspecting the device.

My father noticed that I was playing with the electric plug of the television, and immediately reached under the table to extricate me from the danger. Whether by others' recounting the story, or by recollection of the actual event, my backside still smarts from the spanking I then received. My dad let me know that electric plugs were off limits for small children, and that bad things would happen if I chose to play with one again. I never repeated my crime, and must say that ever since the experience, I have had a healthy respect for electricity.

I wonder if some folks might think it sad that this is my only recollection of my father. I hope not, because it is an especially happy one to me. My dad loved me enough to educate me about a very real peril in my life, and the method he chose did the job as nothing else can do for a two year old. It is never easy for loving parents to discipline their children, and the old axiom really is often true that "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you" (childrens' protests to the contrary). My father loved me enough to hurt me because he knew that the pain of discipline, in whatever form, is one of the greatest educators in our lives.

"Whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth" (Proverbs 3:12).

Note that it is the son of his delight whom the father like unto God chastens. It is also the son of his love. We do our children no favors by coddling wayward attitude or behavior, and Scripture even declares the startling truth that "he that spareth his rod hateth his son" (Proverbs 13:24). Most importantly, this speaks to the greater truth of how beloved we are in the heart of our God of "lovingkindness" and "tendermercies" (Psalm 25:6). Chastening is not our Heavenly Father's primary inclination toward us, nor is it one that He relishes. It is vitally necessary, however, because apart from God's loving willingness to "scourge every son whom he receiveth," none of us would faithfully walk with Him (Hebrews 12:6). We need both the rod and the embrace, and we can be sure that our journey along the path of righteousness will involve both.

God blessed me for a very short time with a father who loved me (and thankfully also, with a mother who loved me for a very long time). I am grateful, and whenever I seem to recall that smarting backside, I give thanks and smile the smile of having been the son of a loving father, "the son in whom he deligheth."

"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
(Proverbs 22:15)

"Righteous Judgment"

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

"Righteous judgment" is God's declaration and assessment of truth as revealed in His Word, as opposed to the "appearance" of our human senses and understanding. "We walk by faith, not by sight" confirmed the Apostle Paul, and while this does not mean that we don't exercise our human faculties, it does mean that we heed Solomon's admonition to "lean not unto thine own understanding" (II Corinthians 5:7; Proverbs 3:5).

Our minds and senses are meant to serve as stewards of the Holy Spirit. We trust Him to work upon and within them to enable our proper perception of reality, and appropriate response. "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). In contrast, we actually see so little in real terms, and make poor choices if, again, our minds are viewed as masters of our destiny rather than servants of God's eternal purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Much exposure to the Word of God is the primary foundation upon which judging righteous judgment rests. We cannot think in accordance with our Lord's thoughts if we do not know what they are. We must also relate personally to God through the indwelling Holy Spirit if we are to exercise good analysis and decision making in the realities of life as it is actually lived. We are literally related to a living Person as born again believers in the Lord Jesus, and our God is imminent and dynamically active in the most personal manner concerning those who trust Him. Finally, we expect our Heavenly Father to illuminate us through the fellowship of devoted and likehearted believers with whom we live our lives. "In the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). We need each other, by God's design, to see His truth in the fullest scope and measure, even as Paul wrote that "we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the church of God unite to illuminate the righteous judgment we are called to exercise. May we avail ourselves fully of these gifts so that appearances will not deceive us, and so that the promise of the Psalmist will be abundantly fulfilled in our lives...

"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
(Proverbs 4:18)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

"Entitled?"

The spacebar on my laptop computer is currently not working well. It is likely easily fixable with a can of compressed air that will remove whatever obstruction under the key is causing it to malfunction, but for now it is quite an irritant. My computer works nevertheless, and thus I have in my hands a machine that allows me to almost instantly send and receive information to and from the entire world. Previous generations could not even imagine such an opportunity, and so the notion that I am irritated by a sticking spacebar is, in real terms, laughable and absurd.

I am reminded of the truth that one of the effects of sin in the human race is that we are plagued by nature with a sense of entitlement. "Ye shall be as gods" claimed the devil to our original forefathers (Genesis 3:5). They embraced the lie, and woven into the flesh of the human race is the dark notion that good things should flow to us because we are who we are and what we are. As the wayward son demanded of his father, "Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me," so we believe ourselves to be worthy of the portion due to us because whether conscious of it or not, our flesh fancies itself as a god worthy of the abundance due to such beings (Luke 15:2).

Nothing could be further from the truth. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die... all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Ezekial 18:4; Romans 6:23). The human race is not divine, and is not even "human," as God defines humanity. In and of ourselves, we are rather flesh, flesh inhabited and dominated by a "law of sin" that would utterly and eternally condemn us apart from our Creator's intervention (Genesis 6:3; Romans 7:23). According to the standard of the God who made us, the only standard that matters, we are worthy of "the second death" and "the lake of fire" spoken of in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 20:14-15). Any notion of entitlement is therefore grievous deception, and must be rejected whenever we sense its presence in us.

It is a gracious God who "giveth to all life and breath and all things," and who "hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us after our iniquities" (Acts 17:25; Psalm 103:10). He desires to redeem us from the hell to which we are actually entitled, and at the greatest cost to Himself. Indeed, the only truly human being who ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ, was worthy of every good thing His Father could bestow upon Him. Instead, "though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (II Corinthians 8:9). In this context, our next breath is known and received as the most marvelous gift of grace, and all sense of entitlement is rightly banished by the loving and amazed sense of gratitude that floods the trusting heart. Entitled? Never. Grateful? Always.

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 5:20-21)

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
(Romans 4:4-5)

Friday, December 4, 2009

"Feet of Clay, Spirits of Gold"

(Thanks to Mark C. for inspiration on this one)

Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have clay feet no less the most ardent rejector of God and His truth. Indeed, expose all of the wayward thoughts we have thought, feelings we have felt, words we have said, and actions we have performed (or neglected to perform), and it would be clear that we are still "waiting for... the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23).

This is not to excuse sin because God's enabling and overcoming power is available to us in every temptation. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13). It is rather to simply acknowledge the truth of the human condition in a fallen world, and to magnify the grace of God in such a manner that we avail ourselves of its redeeming and keeping power. We do ourselves and our world no good by denying the realities of our flesh, and the too many times we have walked after its impulses and inclinations to the detriment of God's glory in our lives.

Most importantly, the clayness of our feet does not affect or exclude the truth of our Christ-inhabited spirits. Nothing changes the fact of our "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). We may not always live in the fact of our spiritual birth and subsequent nature, and we may too often leave a trail of dust rather than the fragrance and fruit of the Holy Spirit. However, if we have believed, "ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:9). The more we understand, affirm and submit ourselves to such truth, the more that we will walk by the nail-scarred, but resurrected feet of our Lord rather than our feet of clay. "Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

Through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus, believers can begin to honor God from where we are. If the frailty of our clay feet has made forgiveness necessary in this hour, it is abundantly available to the honest, repentant heart. "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound... Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee" (Romans 5:20; Psalm 86:5). We may also be feeling our frailty in a particularly challenging way at present, and if so, let us be honest with God and ourselves that we desperately need Him to act on our behalf. He is more than willing to do so, and our calling is to trust that while our feet are composed of clay, our spirits are filled with the pure gold of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, and as we believe His Word, we shall find it abundantly fulfilled that no one has ever trusted in the God and Father of the Lord Jesus and been disappointed for doing so. And no one ever will.

"LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am."
(Psalm 39:4)


"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

Thursday, December 3, 2009

"Expect God"

In a Sunday school class of middle school boys I taught many years ago, I placed a poster on the wall on which the words were printed, "Expect God." "What do you think I mean by this?," I asked the boys.

Immediately, one of them responded, "You mean Jesus is coming again!" "That's a great answer," I said, "and you're right. But I'm actually thinking about a different expectation than that." No other answers were forthcoming, so I shared with them the affirmation of the Psalmist, "My soul, wait thou only upon God. For my expectation is from Him" (Psalm 62:5).

I shared with the boys that if they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, their lives would be saturated with His presence and working in all things. "You will never live a moment in this life or the next in which your Lord is not the great fact and reality of your heart and experience. You may not always see or understand what He is doing, and you may not always be immediately comfortable with what He is doing. But His glory, your good, and the good of those with whom you live will be the truth of your existence. So, gentlemen, expect God."

Three decades have not changed my confidence in what I shared with those young men. Time has rather exponentially enhanced my confidence that God "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11). It has also confirmed that seeing and understanding the ways of His working are often greatly challenging. It can also be decidedly uncomfortable as we are "always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal body" (II Corinthians 4:11). As we determine to expect God, however, that is, as we plant deeply within our hearts that all things in our lives truly are working together for good, we shall not be disappointed. Indeed, our hearts will be full regardless of circumstance, situation, or condition because we are anticipating that the living God will be awaiting us in every venue, and He will be who He is in the blessed, the difficult, and the mundane.

The world, the devil, and the flesh will constantly tempt us to expect everything but God. If we respond in such unbelief, our Heavenly Father may allow us to reap the consequences of our carnal anticipation. If, however, we put to death fleshly and devilish expectations, we will harvest the fruit of the Spirit we have planted. We will find our Lord and know Him because we are believing the Bible that directly or implicitly declares on every page that "to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Expect God... "my expectation is from Him." I hope that some or all of those young men from so long ago remember the exhortation. Even more, I hope they have experienced the truth that their lives are completely saturated with the Lord in whom they "live and move and have their being" (Acts 17:28). Expect God.

"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ."
(Philippians 1:21)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"Through Christ Jesus"

Answered prayers are the product of requests made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you" (John 16:23).

Praying in our Lord's name means that we make our requests based upon the merits of His person and work. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be made rich" (II Corinthians 8:9). The suffering, forsakenness and death of the Lord Jesus on the cross purchased for us not only our eternal salvation, but every gift of God, including answered prayer, that believers will ever receive.

"God... hath raised us up together... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness to us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4; 6; 7).

"Though Christ Jesus." The riches of God's grace "freely given to us" come by way of a cost far greater than we can ever imagine (I Corinthians 2:12). "But none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark was the night our Lord passed through 'ere He found His sheep that was lost" (Elizabeth Cleophane, "The Ninety and Nine"). As we pray, we must remember always that our access is through our Savior's sacrifice. "Having boldness, therefore, brethren, to enter into the holiest through the blood of Jesus... let us draw near" (Hebrews 10:19; 22). And we must also know that the fruits of our access, the answered prayers, are always provided not because of our own merits and person, but because of who the Lord Jesus is, and what He has done.


Keeping such blessed truth in heart and mind will establish an attitude and practice of prayer that will have great impact on every aspect of our lives. Indeed, if the One who is "the heir of all things" is also known as the guarantor of answered prayer, our desire to love, trust, and obey Him will inevitably grow as we "behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord," and are "changed into the same image" (Hebrews 1:2; II Corinthians 3:18). Thus will be fulfilled by grace the qualification for prayer declared by the Apostle John: "Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (I John 3:22).


I often wish I had kept a journal of answered prayer during the 34 years of my Christian life. If I had, every testimony would have glorified a Savior through whom all Divine goodness flows to the trusting sons and daughters of God in Christ. Most pointedly, our Father answers our prayers because long ago He didn't answer the beloved Son who had become the object of His terrible wrath against sin. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). There was no grace at the cross for the Lamb of God so that floodtides of grace might eternally and perpetually flow to the Blood-washed and Spirit-renewed "through Christ Jesus." Our Father answers our prayers accordingly as we pray accordingly, in the name of Jesus our Lord.

"And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
(I Timothy 1:14)

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Peacemaker

The Apostle Paul, the "Hebrew of the Hebrews," was called to "preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Philippians 3:5; Ephesians 3:8). When we consider the virulent animosity between Jew and Gentile that existed in the days of the New Testament, it becomes evident that only God would have called such a man to give himself so completely for such a people.

"He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:14-15).

Far more amazing, and the prototype of the Lord Jesus bringing peace between believing Jew and Gentile, is the wonder that somehow God and man find loving union in Christ. "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (I Corinthians 6:17). Somehow the Divine and the human were perfectly united in our Savior, and "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16). "Great is the mystery" declared Paul, and perhaps just as great - or even more - is the mystery that the salvation of the Lord Jesus constitutes a "new man" in all who believe, a spiritual being literally united with the Spirit of God Himself (II Corinthians 5:17). The born again believer is an actual temple of God wherein the Infinite and the finite find not only peaceful co-existence, but also the loving and joyful marriage of Spirit with spirit wherein God forever remains God, we forever remain ourselves, and the Lord Jesus is forever glorified because He has accomplished the miracle of all miracles. Former rebels become the sons and daughters of God. Creatures of time are immersed in the Timeless. And the Lord Jesus who was "made flesh" reconstitutes fleshly creatures into beings who are spiritual in the essence of our nature. "Ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:9). Only the God who is man, and the man who is God could have accomplished such a wonder, and the Father has given Him a "name which is above every name" as the blessed result (Philippians 2:9). The redeemed also give their Lord the same title, and thus God and man unite forevermore to exalt the crucified and resurrected Peacemaker who has brought them together.

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
(Psalm 85:10)

"The Tree of Life"

Had Adam and Eve partaken of the tree of life (literally, the tree of eternal life - Genesis 3:22) in the Garden of Eden, they would have forever lived knowing in all things God the Father and God the Son, as revealed by God the Holy Spirit.

"This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).

Our original forefathers instead ate of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6). Their existence became something less than life as the sad result, and their consciousness was necessarily fixed on categorizing and coping with the realities of good and evil rather than worshipping the Father and the Son. Adam and Eve's progeny were delivered to an existence wherein spiritual, mental and physical energy must be devoted to determining and promoting that which is good and beneficial, and suppressing that which is evil and detrimental. It is a futile pursuit in both personal and universal terms, and apart from Divine intervention, the human race would ultimately destroy itself (Matthew 24:22).


The born again Christian spiritually partakes of the tree of eternal life in the new birth by believing in the Lord Jesus. "We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (I John 5:20). Life then becomes the opportunity to know in all things and at all times the Father and the Son, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Of course, we are not yet perfected, nor is the world in which we live. Accordingly, we must still confront the issues of good and evil that continually approach us. We enjoy and benefit from the pleasantness of the good, and deal with the problems and challenges presented by the evil. However, in all things, the tree of life offers to us the possibility of a greater reality, and the sustenance for which our hearts were made. "O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him" (Psalm 34:8). By faith we partake of God by recognizing and affirming that the great Truth of every experience is His living presence both with and within us. "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).


"Father, You are the heart and sustenance of this and of every moment. I see You through a glass darkly in the best of times, and how often I miss seeing You at all! But still You are, and still You offer the living knowledge of Yourself and Your Son by the illumination of the Holy Spirit in all things, and at all times. Open my eyes that I may more clearly see and more often partake of the Life of my life. Thank You for such a gift, the gift of Yourself and of Your dear Son. In His name I pray. Amen."

"He is thy life... to live is Christ."
(Deuteronomy 30:20; Philippians 1:21)


"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."
(Psalm 81:10)