"The Christquest"

    We "hold fast the profession of our faith" - (Hebrews 10:23) because the Lord Jesus Christ holds fast the possession of our faith - "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (II Timothy 1:12).

   God's sustaining grace in Christ provides the basis and power for our ongoing faith in Christ.  To the degree we discover, embrace and affirm the person and work of the Lord Jesus on behalf, as declared by Scripture, we increasingly love, trust, and submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father.  "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).  Our spiritual enemies thus seek to distract us from the Christquest, as it were, of our hearts, tempting us to forget or ignore the truth that our faith and faithfulness ever flows from the fount of our Lord's saving and keeping work on our behalf.  "Consider Him... lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:3).

   Considering our Savior involves our consistent exposure to the Scriptures for the purpose of fulfilling the Apostle Peter's mandate: "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).  Who is He?  What has He done on our behalf?  What is He doing, and what will He be doing forevermore in order to secure and enhance our grace-given and perpetuated relationship with God?  Growing understanding and answers to these questions makes possible a richer experience of the Lord Jesus along the pathways of life, wherein we also increase in our knowledge of Him as He works in our hearts and experience.  

  To "profess" Christ means that we affirm the same thing about Him that God declares to be true.  He declares that the Lord Jesus eternally vouchsafes our possession, thus constituting the truth and power of our profession.  We must join Him in this declaration, seeking to grow in our understanding and apprehending of Truth.   Thereby we find ourselves increasingly motivated and empowered to trust, obey, exemplify, and communicate our Savior.  The Christquest beckons us, based on the Christ-obtained and secured redemption made possible by our Lord's death, resurrection, and ascension.  Let us indeed "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…"

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

(Hebrews 12:1-2)

Weekly Memory Verse

   Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

(II Thessalonians 3:16)

"The Table of Grace"

"The Table of Grace"

     King David beckoned lame Mephibosheth to his table because and only because of the latter's relationship to his father Jonathan.

   "When Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" (II Samuel 9:6-8).

   In the sensibilities of his day, Mephibosheth perceived himself to be cursed of God because of his lameness.  David's offer of grace thus shocked the man, whose previous life consisted of shame, hardship, and internal misery.  He expected the lot of a "dead dog."  He received the beneficence of a king, of God's chosen royal, David.  Two relationships accounted for the unexpected bestowal of favor, first, David's relationship with Jonathan, and then, Mephibosheth being the son of Jonathan.

   David loved Jonathan with exceeding devotion and affection.  Of Jonathan's friendship, he proclaimed, "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (II Samuel 1:26).  With his throne established, the King thus sought to honor his deceased friend in the only way possible.  Mephibosheth received blessing because of the bond between David and Jonathan, and because of his familial ties with Jonathan.  Such Old Testament history foreshadows the New Testament coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God purposes to show favor to all related to His Son.  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).  Christ provides the merit and basis of acceptance because of His relationship with the Father of Heaven.  We freely receive such grace by faith when we trust in the Lord Jesus, becoming spiritually related to Him.  Dead dogs thus become favored sons and daughters who  partake of the table of grace.  "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

   The Lord Jesus serves as our Jonathan.  Just as his forerunner of old made a way for his son when he died, the Savior's death grants to us our place at the table of grace.  Thus, we may come in times of faithfulness, but only through Christ.  And thus we may come in times of unfaithfulness, so long as we come through Christ.  May nothing cause us to forget our sole basis of welcome, indeed, of eternal acceptance provided through the atonement and intercession on our behalf of our Savior.  Yes, the relationship of the Father and His Son, along with our relationship with His Son, unite to provide our place of grace.  "With Him" God "freely gives us all things."  Our Jonathan makes such favor possible, and we seek always to remember so great a gift purchased by so great a cost.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

(Romans 5:1-2)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(Romans 5:1-2)

"Literally"

"Literally"

     O.D. and G.C. are the best of buddies despite the fact that those of their species often do not get along.  The two became friends just before the conflict that normally characterizes`encounters between dogs and cats.  G.C. (Green Cat), even as he primed his razor sharp feline claws, looked quizzically at O.D. (Orange Dog).  "Hey buddy.  Are you an orange dog?"  O.D., ready to pounce, responded, "Yeah, fella, what's it to ya?!  And, by the way, are you a green cat?"  The interchange led to a fairly long discussion about their unique hues, and the subsequent ostracization they experience among their own kind.  O.D. and G.C. realized they have much in common, and before long, cat claws receded, dog hip flexors relaxed, and a beautiful friendship ensued.

   Oh yes, I suppose I should tell you that O.D. and G.C. are the star characters in bedtime stories I share with my grandchildren Jack and Emma when they spend the night.  Don't tell them, but the tales are made up in the moment and on the fly, as it were, so you never know (nor do I) what's going to happen next.  From a visit to a veterinarian by reluctant O.D. (piece of glass in paw), to a trip across town (they got lost), to whatever's coming next (they encounter a raccoon), Orange Dog and Green Cat have become part of our family lore and imagination.

   "We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (II Peter 1:16).

   In contrast to O.D. and G.C., the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ exists as the perfect union of eternal spirituality and literal historicity.  "The Word was made flesh" (John 1:14).  We trust in the God who became man (and who remains man).  We believe in events that actually happened in space/time history, as determined and directed by our "from everlasting to everlasting" Lord.  The facts and accounts of Scripture do not proceed from mere imagination or "cunningly devised fables," but rather from events that took place in real time and actual venue.

  The importance of believing such truth lies in the fact of God's faithfulness.  He plainly conveys His Word to us in terms of historicity, and we must believe accordingly to avoid misrepresentation of His character and misappropriation of His reality.  We must proclaim that "God… cannot lie" (Titus 1:2).  Moreover, we must have confidence in the literal nature of Scripture in order to walk in the confidence of God's literal nature in own lives and experience.  Is He actually present with and within us?  Can we expect His working along the dusty pathways of our lives as we actually live them?  Any weakness in our confidence in the Scriptural record greatly damages our anticipation concerning the God who "inhabiteth eternity" - and who inhabits today.

  I enjoy imagining O.D. and G.C. for my grandchildren, and they also seem to enjoy the fanciful tales.  I enjoy far more believing in a Christ who literally has been, is, and always will be.  I rejoice in His Word that perfectly proclaims God and His truth.  And I joyfully look forward to discovering the God who is actually here in the venues of my life because He was actually there in the venues of Scripture.  This is our faith, originated and communicated in the reality of both eternity and time by the God who lives - literally - in both.

"Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh."

(I Timothy 3:16)

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.  For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us."

(I John 1:1-2)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(Romans 5:1-2)