Salt & Light Blog

God’s Traits Part 5: God’s Righteousness

7/30/2016

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. Psalm 36:6

God’s Traits Part 5: God’s Righteousness
The righteousness of God is one of the most significant traits of God. It can also one of the most indefinable or difficult to describe. God’s righteousness is not the same as His holiness and different from His goodness. Yet we very often think of the three synonymously. [i] The Old Testament or Hebrew word is צְדָקָה transliterated as tsedaqah and it means “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.” The New Testament word is δικαιοσύνη, ης, ἡ transliterated as dikaiosuné. It means “justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.” The righteousness of God is virtually synonymous with His justice. In fact, sometimes the words are translated as righteousness and others as justice. To say that God is righteous means He always does what it right or just without fail or bias. God is our measure for righteousness because He is righteousness. 1 Samuel 2:2-3 reads,
There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.

About Religion defined Righteousness as “the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven.” Well then, we are all doomed! Because we know we fall short of moral perfection. Ecclesiastes 7:20 confirms the bad news.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
So what is the answer for man? How do we attain righteousness if it impossible for us? Well of course, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26).
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained how God’s righteousness was available apart from the law. The Law was taken out of the equation for righteousness and instead along with the Prophets, points to the only way to it, Jesus Christ. Paul described it like this in Romans 3:21-26,
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
What that means is Jesus took all our wrongs and moral shortcomings off of us and put them on himself. He paid the price (death per Romans 6:23) required to settle the debt with God and we were credited with righteousness, moral perfection. Imagine it as shopping. Let’s say you want a necklace called righteousness. You would also like the matching bracelet called eternal life. But your credit isn’t good enough. You have sin on your debit record and that has to be paid for before you can have that necklace. Jesus paid your debt with His blood. Then He gave you His necklace, righteousness as if you had paid for it. Even though you had nothing left, He credited it to your account. On top of that, when Jesus resurrected and conquered death, He gave you the matching bracelet of eternal life. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ for shopaholics.
It is God’s goodness and His love which moves Him to give us His righteousness. Let’s explore more about God’s righteousness, how it is revealed and manifested and how it should affect us.
Consider what just means, since as we have learned it is tantamount to righteousness. If a person is just it means he will evaluate situations with all the information from all sides and will judge without partiality based on that information. Psalm 119:137-144 reads,
Righteous are you, O Lord,
    and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
    and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
    because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
    and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
    yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
    and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
    but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
    give me understanding that I may live.

This passage has so much to say about righteousness. First, the psalmist shows the connection of righteousness to God’s rules. Everything God does is perfect and comes from His nature of justice. So in wanting to be righteous, a person would follow God’s rules. Although those who do not know God do not even consider God’s words, believers can rejoice in them because we know God’s words, His promises, covenants and rules are perfect and true. God’s righteousness is eternal it will never end and we can rejoice in that.
God does absolutely nothing outside of His righteousness. We may from time to time put our righteousness aside to take a part in some selfishness, pride, or self-righteousness, but our loving perfect God never does. Everything He does is right. We see it in His kindness toward us. There are so many of us crying out to Him all the time. We need Him constantly and He never tires of meeting our needs, saving us, and making us more. Psalm 145:14-20 reads,
The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

Why doesn’t our Great and Mighty God get tired of our constant neediness? Because He is Righteous, He is Just. He has all the information. He knows who we are and that we cannot do it without Him. It pleases Him when we grow in the Spirit (Romans 8:8-11). It is His will for us to be spiritually mature (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
His righteousness cannot stand for us to be hurt while the wicked prosper. In our imperfection we want vengeance now, and we call it justice. We want those who hurt us to suffer the consequences thinking it will make us feel better. But God is so righteous that He is giving those who haven’t come to know Him yet, the same chance we had. He is giving them time before He finally judges the earth in His Righteousness. 2 Peter 3:7-10 reads,
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
There are lost out there, imperfect just like you, but they blind to their own imperfection and blind to the salvation that awaits them in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to hope for the day when they will finally pay. One day they will pay and their lives will be exposed or on that day Jesus will pay and their lives will be exposed. You and I then also need to remember that on that day the truth comes out and our lives will be revealed. We will either drink from the cup of wrath or we will drink from the cup of eternal life with Christ. There will be no more wickedness, sin, sadness or death there. Are you living a righteous life or is it more of a self-righteous life? Do you love people enough to trust God? 2 Peter 3:11-13 reads,
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We are told to seek God’s righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That means is not natural for any of us to exhibit that perfect rightness. We are to pursue it for ourselves and for others. God has all the information, He knows everything (Job 37:16, Psalm 147:5). We do not. We can just trust judgement to God and keep pursing His love, His kingdom, and His Righteousness.

[i] Deffinbaugh, B. (2004, May 18). The Righteousness of God. Retrieved from Bible.Org: https://bible.org/seriespage/6-righteousness-god

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Genesis 9:18-28 Shame Covered

6/10/2016

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I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Genesis 9:18-28
We have been reading about Noah for the last several days. Yesterday we read about how Noah and his family came off the ark and began living a new life under the promises of God. Let’s continue today. Verses 18-20 read,
The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
Years had passed and Shem, Ham, and Japheth had sons and daughters. Not only had they begun to be fruitful with reproduction but they were also fruitful in production, they worked at the various vocations necessary to continue life. Noah worked the soil. He planted a vineyard.
Vineyards, wine are an element important to life. Wine represents joy and celebration. But it is so much more. It is a symbol of sustaining life. Wherever Noah and his family settled it was probably not far from Mount Ararat where the ark landed. There is not an abundance of water there, so wine is necessary to sustaining life. It signifies the covenants of God (Matthew26:27-29). So a vineyard was an essential crop.
But of course Noah was still human, he wasn’t perfect. he enjoyed the wine, his vineyard produced and on at least one occasion he indulged in wine too much. Verses 21-22 read,
He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
Noah’s shame was not in drinking the wine. But he became drunk and so uninhibited he lay naked in his tent. It is not that our bodies are something to be ashamed of, it is that nakedness represents the shame of sin. Our naked bodies are for our spouses only in a representation of our transparent relationship with The Lord. But Noah was drunk, he wasn’t using wisdom and discretion. His inhibitions were gone and he was naked where anyone could see him.
And Ham did. Ham saw his father lying in shame and unable to cover himself. He had choices. But what did he do? He went straight out and told his brothers. You and I are often faced with similar choices if we’re living in communities and relationships. Someone confides in us or we discover some sin or shame about a person. We have choices. We can be like Ham and go tell our small group we need to pray for Sister Mary because she really needs help to overcome her drinking problem. Or we can be like Shem and Japheth. Verse 23 records what they chose to do.
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
These two brothers did a beautiful and prophetic act for their father. They didn’t look on his nakedness. Their love led them to refuse to shame him. He was unconscious, he would not have known if they came in seeing his shame or not. They walked in backwards with the garment blocking their view. They intentionally did not look at his shame or judge it. Then they covered his nakedness with the garment.
This is what Jesus does for us. He chooses not to look at our sin. Isaiah 43:25 reads,
“I, I am he
    who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.”
That doesn’t mean God doesn’t know about our sins anymore, it doesn’t mean He forgot our sins like we might forget the capitals of each of the states. It means He chooses not to think of them, look at them or acknowledge them. But more than choose not to remember our sins in forgiveness, He covers us. He gives us new clothes to cover our shame. Zechariah 3:3-5 reads,
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
God doesn’t shame us nor exhibit our shame to the world. He doesn’t flaunt our sin in the disguise of prayer circles. He does something about it. There is no condemnation in Christ. Romans 8:1-5 in The Living Bible describes it this way,
So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death. 3 We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us.
5 Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God.
Focusing on sin doesn’t lead to salvation, focusing on The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit leads to salvation.
Let’s return to the narrative. Verse 24 reads,
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
How did Noah know? It doesn’t say, but I believe it was a revelation from The Lord. The Lord gave Noah some prophecy and I have no doubt He gave him the entire picture. Verses 25-27 read,
he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
    a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
    and let Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth,

    and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
    and let Canaan be his servant.”

Shem was Abraham’s 9 times great grandfather (Luke 3:34-37). His descendants would one day become Israel. Canaan’s descendants would be conquered by Joshua and Israel, becoming their slaves when Israel took the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. Shem was blessed by being the people by whom God would reveal Himself to and save the world. He fathered Abraham, Israel, David, and Jesus.
Japheth was enlarged. In the picture of this prophecy, his descendants became the gentile nations. He became all those who would benefit from Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Christ and so dwell in the places the Jewish and Muslim nations could have. Japheth’s heirs inherited all Shem’s heirs could have.
This chapter closes with verse 28.
After the flood Noah lived 350 years.
Consider that, Noah lived 950 years, even in those times when lifespans were centuries long 950 years was nothing to be sneezed at. Methuselah lived 969 years and he lived longer than any other person recorded in the Bible (Genesis 5:27).
Believer, whatever shame you are holding onto, remember this, between you and God there is no reason to hide. He chooses not to remember your sins, He forgave them and gave you new clothes. Remember this too when you consider the people in your family, community, and world. If God chooses not to focus on sin, what right do we have to do so?

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Genesis 8 Trust God’s Sovereign Wisdom: Patience

6/8/2016

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For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

Genesis 8
I always want things to happen now. I make a decision and I act on it immediately. When a project calls for waiting from the time I do my work until the next step, I jump to the next step. Recently I went on a trip about three hours away. We arrived at the destination and the car was still about twenty feet from where it would park. I jumped out of the car to walk the last twenty feet. I jumped out of the car in such a hurry I hit my head very hard on the door, it still hurts badly five days later. I would have had a very difficult time in the ark after the rain stopped. When God commands me to do something I jump in with both feet and do it now. I don’t wait. I make plans. I forget to hear the rest of His plans and assume my own are the same as His. Proverbs 27:1 reminds us not to do that.
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
Noah and his family had been in the ark for a long time, for 40 days while the rain flooded the earth, then for 150 days while the water subsided. That is about 6 and half months. That’s an extremely long time to be cooped up inside. But even then it wasn’t time to open the door and go outside. Verses 1-5 read,
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

So until the seventh month the ark was still afloat. It came to rest on Mount Ararat. I would have wanted to open the door and at least set my foot on the mountain. But it wasn’t time yet. I would have wondered what the harm would be in just opening the door. The earth was still covered up with water three months later, only the mountain tops were showing. The animals that may have gone outside would not have been able to live. We have to trust God’s time, not our own. He knows when it’s best. Noah chose to trust God’s sovereignty and judgement over his own judgement. Verses 6-12 read,
At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

Forty days later, after nearly a year in the ark, Noah opened a window and sent a raven out. By now the waters were certainly dropping and from there spot on the mountain they could not see it anymore. Noah needed to know when they could go out. The raven flew out and flew back and forth between the boat and what was out there. Ravens are opportunistic omnivores, which means that they will also be carrion eaters if they need to be. Noah knew that the raven would be able to survive out of the boat. As long as the raven kept coming back to rest on the ark, it was still not time. When the waters were dried up, the raven didn’t come back. For me that would have meant open the door we’re going outside! But no standing water didn’t mean dry ground ready for habitation. Then Noah sent out a dove. The dove’s diet is mainly grasses, herbs, and berries. They may eat some animals like snails but there were no land animals for the dove to eat outside the ark. So the dove flew out, couldn’t find a place to rest and came back to Noah. He waited a week and sent her out again and this time she came back to him with an olive leaf. Noah knew the plants and trees were flourishing, but the dove still found no place to rest. Seven days later, he sent her out again and this time she stayed gone. Now he knew the ground was dry.
If Noah had leaned on his own understanding as I lean on mine only too often, he would have left the ark much sooner but he was in the ark over a year trusting God. He sent out a dove, a symbol for you and me of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22). He waited for God to speak through the dove’s actions to tell him when it was time. Verse 13 reads,
In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

Noah removed the covering of the ark. He didn’t open the door that the Lord had shut and rush outside. He let the sunshine and fresh air in but they remained inside. Why? Because the Lord had not yet told him to go outside. Noah was responsible for all the life on board. Every animal and every person was counting on Noah to keep them safe and alive. Noah was depending on God. Verses 14-19 read,
In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

They had been in the ark for nearly 15 months when The Lord said they could leave. It was finally time! It was not time because Noah thought so, or because a bird had returned with an olive leaf, but because the Lord said so. Did they rush out? Was there a stampede? No, God was even in control of the animals’ instincts. They left in an orderly fashion, by families.
What would you have done? Would you have kissed the ground or picked some fresh vegetables or fruit and chowed down? Noah worshipped the Lord. Verses 20-22 read,
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
This was no little altar with a meager offering. Noah offered some (more than one) of EVERY clean animal and bird. That was no small or easy feat. Building the altar, killing and butchering the animals, building the fire, and making the offerings was a great deal of work. Noah loved the Lord. And the Lord was pleased by the aroma. He loved Noah. He loved Noah so much and was so pleased by this righteous man that the earth had been saved, you and I were given the chance to live, and God made a promise to Himself. The Message puts it this way, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill off everything living as I’ve just done. For as long as Earth lasts, planting and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop.”
God knows our hearts. He knows we are flawed and then we tend toward evil. Yet, He has chosen never to wipe us out again. He has said as long as the earth remains the seasons will continue, His sovereignty, provision, and wisdom will go on for us.
Do you trust your knowledge, your plans, and your wisdom, or do you trust God? Are you willing to wait on God, lean on His understanding, and enjoy the best rather than settle for yours?

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Genesis 3 God’s Perfect Love seen in The Fall

6/3/2016

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He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

Genesis 3
The account of The Fall illustrates God’s deep and absolute love of us, His masterpiece of creation. In chapter two before woman had been created God told Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). After God made the woman chapter 2 ends with verse 25.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
There was no need for them to be ashamed because they didn’t know good and evil, only good. They were living in perfect harmony with God. There was no need for them to hide anything of themselves from each other or from God. They had no sin. Chapter 3 verses 1-6 reads,
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

The serpent was craftier than any other animal on land. Satan chose to enter into a snake because the snake was cunning and deceitful. Snakes are excellent at hiding, laying in waiting for their prey, and scaring people. Now at this point serpents were different than they are now, they probably had legs or some other way of moving that didn’t require them to slither on the ground and they didn’t yet eat meat. No humans nor animals ate meat yet (Genesis 1:29-30).[i]
Satan enters into beings that will suit his purpose. He needed the serpent’s deceitfulness because he needed to deceive Adam and his wife with a clever ruse. Both Adam and the woman were there, but the serpent addressed the woman. The serpent began with a question, one which would lead the woman to engage him because she would want to correct him in order to point out how good God is. The serpent said, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The serpent knew this wasn’t true but knew the man and woman would want to argue for God’s sake.
Isn’t that how he often engages us? An enemy of God, a false teacher, false prophet, or person in a false religion will state some obviously wrong doctrine, and there we are the “good Christians” defending God as if God cannot defend Himself.
And of course the woman answered the serpent and corrected him, “We can eat from any tree but that one because if we eat it, we’ll die.” Now she was engaged in the exchange. So the serpent said, “No! God’s deceiving you! If you eat this you won’t die, you’ll know what He knows and you’ll be like him!” Why didn’t Adam speak up for his wife at this point? God had told Adam His commandment, Adam had told his wife. Why didn’t he take his wife’s hand and take her far away from the serpent? Because he was listening, he was interested, he was just as involved in the conversation as she was.
So then the couple looked at the tree in a new light. It was the same tree they saw every day, but now they saw it through deception and temptation. It looked like something to be desired. They wanted to be like God and they ate.
And sure enough, they knew both good and evil and they began to die. Before they ate the fruit, they would have lived eternally, never dying, not even aging. But they traded immortality for mortality. They traded righteousness, which made them like God for the knowledge of good and evil which they thought would make them like God. Verses 7-10 read,
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Their eyes opened and they became responsible for right and wrong. They had been naked all along but now their eyes were open to their sin, and they were ashamed. They had to hide their nakedness from one another and they had to hide it from God. They were afraid. God knew what they had done and where they were but in His kindness, He called to them and let them come to Him and confess. Verses 11-13 read,
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. How did God respond to each of them in this sin? First, He had to give them the consequences of the sin. He had to discipline them because He loved them. God disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:12). Verses 14-16 record the serpent’s curse.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

The snake who let Satan enter him was cursed. He lost his legs or whatever other form of mobility he may have had and had to slither across the ground. There was enmity between him and the woman and all mankind after her. At this point in history there was no enmity between any other creature and man.[ii] Who do we blame for sin? We blame the serpent for tempting the woman. The serpent has become synonymous with temptation, sin, and evil. The serpent can be crushed by man stepping on his head, and the serpent can injure and some can poison man by biting his heel (where he can reach). Likewise Jesus Christ the man crushed Satan on the cross and Satan does his best to injure and poison mankind. He is powerless to do more than try and hurt children protected by the Holy Spirit.
Verse 16 is God’s discipline of the woman,
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”
Not only was childbirth, which is such an honor of being woman made into something very painful, but women do long for their husbands. Women have a desire to please men and because of that they often take a subservient role to men. Many women dress provocatively to tantalize men. The desire seems to go both ways. Men lust after women and women after men. Verses 17-20 read,
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”
20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

In a relationship with God, we know that God is our All-Sufficient All-Powerful Provider. Outside that relationship we struggle and work, we sweat and toil to provide for ourselves. Men especially feel the need to provide, to solve every problem, and to do things for themselves.
The results of eating the fruit were also death. Man was created from the dust and after his death his body slowly becomes dust again. It was at this point that the woman got her name. She would have to suffer in childbirth, but she was honored as a mother and named Eve.
God did these things because He loved Adam and Eve but He didn’t stop there. He loved enough to meet their every need, even the ones that arose from their own sin. Verse 21 records an act that can be so easily overlooked but it is an expression of deep love.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
They were naked and they were ashamed. God gave them clothes to take away their shame. Where did God get the skin that He used to make clothes for Adam and Eve? He spilled the blood of an animal. He made them clothes, not just loin cloths but clothes. He forgave their sin. Zechariah 3:4 is just one of the many verses in the Bible that refer to new clothes in place of old as representing forgiveness of sin. It reads,
And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
God was not finished expressing His love, even in the light of Adam and Eve’s sin. Verses 22-24 read,
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
What looks like part of a punishment to some was really an act of love and protection. If man lived forever with the ability to sin, he would forever be separated from God, forever living under the curse of sin. He forever protected mankind from eating from the Tree of Life and living eternally without Jesus. What a wonderful God!
And in case you are curious, we will one day have access again to that Tree. When we are united forever with The Lord in New Jerusalem on the New Earth, The Tree of Life will be there, on the banks of the River of Life and we will be free to eat of it, because we will be perfect, no longer under the curse of sin You can read about it Revelation 2:1-3.
This chapter gave us so much to consider. So reflect. Remember God loves you deeply. He wouldn’t discipline you if He didn’t. What seems bad can be good, and what is difficult can bring honor. God loves you enough to make a way out of sin and shame. And lastly, look at your relationship with Satan. If there is one there. Stop it. Do not engage with the deceiver any more. Jesus doesn’t need you to fight the devil or defend Him to the enemy. He already defeated Him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).

[i] People were given animals as food after the Flood per Genesis 9:2-3

[ii] Genesis 9:2-3 after the flood is the same time when there was fear and enmity between animals and humans

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Romans 14 Christianity is not About What One Eats or Drinks

5/19/2016

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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Romans 14
As Christians we are each different. We are quite unique. We all have varying experiences, histories, maturity, personalities, gifts, and talents that make up who we are. But the most important aspect we need to remember about one another is that each of us was called by the LORD, chosen by Him, and is loved by Him.
In our local bodies we will find people who because of various reasons are susceptible to certain strongholds. One brother cannot watch movies with any sexual content, he considers it sinful and those films call to his flesh; he abstains from all movies rated PG-13 and above. Yet for another brother he has no problems seeing those movies and enjoys them. One sister feels that drinking alcohol at all is detrimental to walking in the Spirit, while another enjoys a glass of wine with dinner each night and has no problems with alcohol.
We’re all different. Walking in the Spirit with Jesus is not about things like drinking or refraining from drink, it is about a transformative relationship with Almighty God our Creator. But too often we take our eyes off Jesus and place them on one another, judging each other for our personal choices, abstentions, or leniencies. Boy, the adversary loves it when we argue over silly things like that, especially when one of the participants of the quarrelling is a new or less mature Christian. Verses 1-6 read,
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

I know a beautiful woman of God who fasts every Sabbath Day. She honors the Lord each Friday evening through Saturday evening by refraining from food and spending hours in prayer. I know another amazing woman of God who celebrates the Sabbath on Sundays by making those days a special holiday full of good meals, family time, and prayer and worship. A third friend, celebrates every day as the Sabbath and doesn’t believe in designating only one day each week to be holy. All three of these women do what they do to honor God. Each one is glorifying and exalting the Lord, celebrating Jesus Christ and living out the Holy Spirit in her unique way.
What a waste of time it would be for the friend who fasts on the Sabbath to convince the friend who celebrates every day as the Sabbath that she is wrong and vice versa. The only result of that contention would be disunity, ill-feelings, guilt, and possibly temptation to indulge the flesh in any number of ways. Who are we to pass judgement on one another’s service to the Lord? We are in this together! One body, one Spirit and one mission. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 reminds us that our diversity does not have to separate us from one another. In fact our diversity works to unite us further.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

We are not walking alone. The Lord gave us to one another. We need to respect God’s Lordship. We need to trust that God can and does save, that He will conform each of us to His image, and that He is not fooled by the deceivers among us. Verses 7-12 say,
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

We are not alone. We have a responsibility to one another and in love we want the best for each other. If I know that my brother finds rated R movies tempt him to gratify the flesh, I will not see those films with him, talk about them with him, or try to convince him that it isn’t sinful. What is sinful for him, is not the same as what is sinful for me. My strengths and weaknesses are different than his. For me to talk about the latest Robert Rodriguez movie around a brother who grew up around violence and is vulnerable to those images would be to hurt his walk with Jesus. Where is the love in that? Verses 13-15 reads,
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

I enjoy hard driving rock music. But some of my brothers and sisters in Christ consider the music I listen to as sinful. One brother finds when he listens to certain music it changes his mood and takes his focus off Jesus. That music doesn’t have that effect on me. Quite the opposite, that music allows me to express a passion for God, His ministry, and His love in various ways and connects me to Christians in a way that traditional Christian music does not. I have seen the good work this music has played in lives of young people who would never have listened to something more mainstream. My music choice is not better than my friend’s, it is different. My choice helps leads me to worship God, his choice leads him to worship God. Both choices are good. Fighting over it is futile. Verses 16-19 read,
So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Christianity has nothing to do with whether we worship with hymns or modern music or no music. It has nothing to do with whether we drink wine or juice, cola or water. Christianity is about our relationship with the Lord, one another, and the world. My walk with God, my faith is between me and God and it will affect the people around me. If I live in the Spirit, you will be able to see the results of that in the way I live. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us how a Spirit-filled person looks.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
There are no dos and don’ts in there. It doesn’t say the fruit of the Spirit is veganism, carnivorous diets, abstaining, indulging, shouting, or whispering. The dos and donts come in the description of love we read in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.

The dos and don’ts there are not a list of rules but a description of an attitude, a description of Jesus and how our transformation will make us behave. It doesn’t say, love doesn’t listen to an upbeat, it reads “love does not insist on its own way.” If I trust God to be God for me, shouldn’t I also trust Him to be God for you? What will my insistence that my way is the right way do to my sister who feels that eating pork is sinful? God’s taking care of her transformation, and He is taking care of mine. What if instead of wasting time arguing over whether or not we can add bacon to a sandwich, I make us both a tomato and lettuce sandwich or we pray for one another, or I spend time getting to know her? If I try and coerce her to do something she considers a sin, I will hurt her. I will present her with a false image of God, cause her pain, guilt, and shame, and lead her away from the Lord rather than build her up and grow closer to Him. Verses 20-23 read,
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
God is doing a good work in you, and He is doing a good work in your brothers and sisters (Philippians 1:6). Who are we to doubt His ability to save them? We are all different, beautifully unique and woven together into a magnificent tapestry which paints a picture of The Lord to the world. Let’s show them His awesome love, amazing strength, and perfect grace instead of our own agendas, feelings, and liabilities.

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Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Judges and Justice

3/11/2016

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Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. John 7:24

Deuteronomy 16:18-20
Our Lord is the God of Justice. He cares very much about justice in all its forms and definitions. Deuteronomy 16:18-20 reads,
“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
When Israel settled in the Promised Land, God wanted them to be different from other nations. He was their God, their Sovereign, and their Justice, so rather than appointing a king, He wanted them to have judges over portions of Israel and officers in each town. This was not a new thing for Israel, They had judges and officers when they were in the wilderness. At first Moses would sit as the intermediary between Israel and The Lord. He described what He did to Jethro, his father-in-law who had brought his wife and sons to visit him in Exodus 18:15-16,
“Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.”
Jethro told his son-in-law that he and Israel would wear themselves out that way. It was too much for one person to take on. So Jethro offered Moses some advice in Exodus 18:19-23.
“Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
This was God’s way of governing His people. The people did not bow down to an earthly king, they had a representative, an intermediary who brought the pleas of the people to Him and He directed them. The Judges system worked in the wilderness and it would work in the Promised Land. It is a picture of Jesus, our Righteous Judge as intermediary between us and The Father. It is a picture of us as intermediaries for one another in the body, elders praying for teachers, teachers praying for students, and students praying for one another. It is a picture of us standing in and praying for the lost. Romans 8:31-35 describes Jesus as our intermediary.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
The judges who represented the people had to be able to judge with righteous judgement. Righteous is צֶ֫דֶק transliterated tsedeq. Strong’s defines it as accurate, fair, just, righteously, vindication, and what is right. Judgement in verse 18 is the word מִשְׁפָּט or mishpat. It is defined as cause, charge, court, judgement, justice, ordinance, manner of life, and way prescribed. They had to know God and His will them to judge with righteous judgement. They had to know what righteousness was and what the way prescribed was.
John 7 describes Jesus at the Feast of Booths. The Sanhedrin were seeking to kill Jesus. They used the excuse that He had healed a man on the Sabbath. Although, many people knew it was dangerous for Him to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, He went anyway. When He was there, Jesus stood up and taught and the people were amazed by his teaching and they wondered how He could speak with such authority. John 7:16-24 reads,
“So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Righteous judgement means we think, speak, and act on God’s Word and will, not our own. We judge from His viewpoint, not humanity’s viewpoint. Verse 19 reads,
You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous
Perverting justice is done by showing partiality toward the rich, poor, Hebrew, Greek, whoever, to give one group of people more consideration. Justice is also perverted when a verdict can be bought. The judges (and we) had to look at everyone on the same field. Leviticus 19:15-18 describes it this way,
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Love your neighbor as yourself. Do for your neighbor and consider your neighbor the same way you consider yourself. In Acts 10, Peter saw the vision of the clean and unclean foods so that God could teach Him that He shows no favoritism. Romans 2:1-11 describes the difference between righteous judgement and perverted justice, loving your neighbor as yourself and showing partiality.
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.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. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
God is our Judge and He is Justice. Jesus Christ our Faithful and True Judge will come to judge the world, riding on a white horse and when He does there will be only one criterion, are we righteous because of Jesus’ blood or not. Vengeance is His and He will exact it on the Day of the Wrath of the Lamb. He is our Justice. Verse 20 reads,
Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
It is tempting to give in to the perverted governments of this world, to fall prey to the schemes of the accuser and follow leaders of countries instead of Jesus. While we are called to remember that God placed these people in office and render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, we do not bow down to anyone but The Lord, Our Heavenly Father, Awesome Savior, and Holy Spirit. He is God. We live in whatever country we live in, but we abide in Christ and we are citizens of Heaven.
God called Israel to be different, to stand out with Him as Sovereign instead of a man. He called us to the same thing. It was after Israel chose to be like the nations around them and have kings that they followed those kings to their own destruction.

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Deuteronomy 16:1-17 Three Feasts to Remind us In Christ, We are Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.

3/10/2016

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And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

Deuteronomy 16:1-17
In Israel there were several feasts that The Lord had set down to be celebrated. Three of those feasts required every able Jewish man and his household to travel to Jerusalem to the Tabernacle and later the Temple to celebrate together as a nation. They were Passover, The Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. Moses reminded Israel about Passover first. Verses 1-8 read,
“Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.”
The Lord did not want Israel to forget that before they had been a nation, they had been slaves whom He had delivered. He didn’t tell them to remember their slavery; He told them to remember their deliverance. The Hebrews left Egypt quickly, and because of that they could not let the bread rise, it was eaten without leaven. At that time and through today, the Lord commanded that all the leaven was cleaned from every house and that for seven days, no leaven was eaten. Leaven is often used as a metaphor for sin in scripture and in the Passover that is what it represents. Every bit of leaven had to be cleaned out, none could be left.
When we are forgiven of our sins, it is every sin, none is left. (Mark 3:28-29). If we hold onto any of it, it will like leaven or yeast contaminate all the dough, spread and grow. Leaven represents the old way of life, slavery to sin by obedience to the law. The unleavened bread is Jesus, sinless and the Way to deliverance. After the feeding of the four thousand the disciples and Jesus crossed over on the boat but had not brought any bread with them, since they had eaten the one loaf they had on the boat (Mark 8:14-21). Here they had the choice to remember the great miracle and have faith that the one loaf of bread they had would be plenty through Jesus or they could worry. Matthew 16:5-12 reads,
“When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Remembering our deliverance allows our faith to increase and helps us walk in Christ rather than the law. In the Festival of Weeks we remember receiving The Word of God, The Holy Spirit who indwells us and writes the Law on our hearts. The Festival of Weeks happened seven weeks, 50 days after Passover it celebrated the giving of the Law, and the culmination of the Hebrews exodus from Egypt to becoming the nation of Israel. Verses 9-12 read,
“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.”
This feast was celebrated when Israel came together and brought their tithes. The New Testament refers to it as Pentecost. It like the feasts was a joyful celebration. We celebrate it today by remembering that God kept His covenant with us and changed us. He wrote His law on our hearts and made us new. He gave us His Holy Spirit. We are no longer our old selves, who were slaves to the Law because the Word of God changed us and He continues to change us.
The Feast of Booths is the third feast that required Israel to gather in Jerusalem. This one though invited gentiles to celebrate with them. It celebrated the remembrance of the time in the wilderness and how God provided for them before they took possession of the Promised Land. It looks forward to the day when we will no longer live on this temporary earth but in the Eternal City of New Jerusalem. God authorized or signed Israel to take the Promised Land and provided for them all the way. He signed us to New Jerusalem and provides all along the way. Verses 13-15 read,
“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress.14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.”
All three of these feasts required a gathering together of the people in Jerusalem at the Tabernacle. While we no longer have to travel to Jerusalem for appointed feasts, because we are the Tabernacle, The Lord God indwells us, He still wants us to celebrate and remember our deliverance through the sacrifice of Jesus, our seal through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and our provision as we live in this temporary world and look forward to our permanent Home. I wholly recommend studying each of these feasts in more depth so that you can see God as Father, Spirit and Son in each. Verses 16-17 read,
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.”
Jesus celebrated these feasts too. What Christians often refer to as The Last Supper was the Passover and it I described in all four gospels. It was clear that the disciples and Jesus would not forgo celebrating it for any reason, including the fact that the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead. (Matthew 26). John 7 describes Jesus at the Feast of Booths. And Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the coming of The Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). And we know Paul considered celebrating Pentecost important (Acts 20:16).
While there is no command to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on a specific day each year, it is inferred that we celebrate it on the first day of every week, not as the Sabbath but by gathering together, celebrating the Lord’s Supper and listening to the teachings of the Apostles. Twice Paul refers to gathering on the first day of the week as an expectation of the church (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
We don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts, and we do not have to make sacrifices to celebrate them. But we should still celebrate these times as Christians, signed, sealed, and delivered. We ought to remember how great God is every moment of every day and assigning special times for specific remembrances is one way to do that.

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Deuteronomy 7 To Love God With Your Whole Self, You Must Give Him Your Whole Self

3/1/2016

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You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. Deuteronomy 7:21

Deuteronomy 7
What is it to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength as God commanded in Deuteronomy 6:5? It is utter devotion to Him with every part of who you are, your emotions and feelings, intelligent freewill, and your physical actions. In the Bible the three parts of humanity cannot be separate from one another. Every person is made up of the three together, נָ֫פֶשׁ, nephesh. Consider it. They are wholly interconnected and when one is damaged or incongruent the entire person is affected. If your mood is bad or good you will choose actions which are in agreement with your mood. Luke 6:43-45 says,
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Did you know that God loves you wholly? He loves you with all His heart, soul, and might. He loves every part of you with every part of Him. The Father freely loves you and chose you; The Son demonstrated His love for you by laying down His life for you; The Spirit indwells you and conforms your will and your mind to His. He loves you with His grace and his wrath. He loves you as Father, Counselor, and Savior. He loves you as the God of Amen and Lord of Hosts. He loves all of you with all of Him.
Moses continued his discourse to Israel and after telling them to love the Lord God with all their heart, your soul and might, He described to them how they would take the Promised Land. Verses 1-5 reads,
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”
When the people entered the Promised Land and The Lord handed the people over to them, they were to devote them to complete destruction. That meant that they would kill every single person God had designated them to kill as an offering to God. The battles they would fight to rid the land of everything that was not of The Lord would be done as love to Him. He would wipe away everything that was not for Him, so that nothing of the old land remained. It would be completely new and ready for His people to possess in entirety, the land, the religion, and the people would be completely His and for Israel.
Leaving anything from the people who lived there before, would turn Israel away from God and to other things. When we’re saved, God wipes out every part of who we were before Him and we are expected to give it all to Him and not hold anything back. We do that because what we hold back will turn us away from God and to our old desires. We devote our old selves to utter destruction so the new self can love God wholly.
God chose us; He separated us out of the world to be His people and in His absolute love for us, He makes us absolutely new. But it is our choice to give Him our entirety. It was Israel’s choice to obey and destroy everything or disobey and leave a few people or take a piece of gold, or leave one image. Why did God choose Israel to be His? Why did He choose you or me? Verses 6-11 read,
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”
We were not better than anyone else. It wasn’t anything we did that God decided to make us His chosen nation. It was God’s choice to make us His treasured possession. The Lord chose Israel because of His promise to Abraham renewed in Jacob and his sons. He chose us to be Abraham’s children too, giving us His blood, His nature, and His name in supernatural adoption. Abraham’s promises and Israel’s promise became ours too. Those promises are immense. Eternal life with The Lord as our God and we as His people, to be holy as He is holy, and the Promised Land of New Jerusalem are only part of the blessing we receive from God. God loves us perfectly with all of who He is and He will not renege. So let us be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules. Notice it is singular, the commandment not commandments. The statues and the rules He gives, that is devoting the sinful (what and who is not chosen) to utter destruction, and all the rest of the laws given are the way to keep the commandment. What is the commandment? It is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”
Don’t be mistaken, we are not supposed to kill infidels, we kill our old self who was opposed to Christ. Israel was supposed to devote the people of who lived in their land to utter destruction. We are supposed to devote our old identities, our sins and desires of the flesh to utter destruction so that we can receive righteousness and the fruit of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:22-24 says it like this,
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
That is three steps, put off your old self (devote your old self to destruction), be renewed in the spirit of your minds, (allow the Lord to give you the mind of Christ in His Spirit) and put on the new self (choose to live as holy and righteous as God created us to be).
So what if you don’t want to let your old desires die? What if you want to hold onto getting high in order to achieve calm or lying in order to have provision? Well then, you will not have the peace God gives because you choose to turn to yourself, you choose to use your heart, soul and strength to attain peace and not lean on Him. You will not have the abundance of provision the Lord provides because you use your heart, soul, and strength to love yourself and not The Lord. Verses 12-16 reads,
“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.”
It is not easy to give up the desires of the flesh. It can be frightening to consider the mountainous job of giving up drugs and being clean or no longer lying to make money, or whatever struggle you have to let the desires of the flesh die. But it is God who will do it, He will be with you and He will fight for you. Verses 17-26 read,
“If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed.21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.”
Scripture says, “do not be afraid” numerous times but here God does not say that. He says, if you are afraid, just remember what I have already done for you and know I will do this too. Being afraid doesn’t mean you have no faith. Not acting because of your fear means you have no faith. Faith is trusting God enough to act even in the midst of fear. Just as often the Bible tells us to be courageous. Courage is what He describes here. He says that if we act in our fear then we won’t fear the enemy. We do not have to dread the enemy, God fights for us.
Moses said, that God would clear them away little by little and not all at once. The beasts would not be hunted and they would overtake The Promised Land and make it uninhabitable to Israel. I have known people who were instantly delivered from drug addiction or instantly healed of some affliction. But more often I have seen people delivered healed slowly, bit by bit. If He instantly made you go from a size 14 to a size 4 you would not learn to remain a size 4. Your eating and exercise habits would once again make you a 14 and then a 16. If He instantly healed your drug addiction, you would not have learned why you chose calm through cannabis rather than peace through Jesus and you would keep turning to cannabis rather than Jesus. That is why He gives us self-control. We have to choose, to love God with our freewill and choose to love Him with our strength and not eat the donut, smoke the joint, or cheat someone. He reminds us again to commit our old selves to Him, not let any of it remain. Keeping hold of those old desires will be a snare and keep us from being the righteousness of God.
Believer, the first step of loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength is giving your old self which did not love God to Him completely. We can’t hold anything back. Giving Him 99% is not all. Giving Him all of it is all. He will give you a new self that is so much better! He will bless you above all people! He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. But if you’re holding something back, you’re choosing to worship the idol of your drug, your money, your power, or pleasure instead of God. Jesus died once and for all so you could be free from the chains of slavery to the prince of sin and be a king of the King of kings. What are you holding back? It’s okay, give it to Him and He will give you so much more in return.

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Deuteronomy 1 Do Not Be Afraid to Receive the Promises of God

2/24/2016

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but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!" John 6:20 (NLT)

Deuteronomy 1
Today as we continue in the pursuit to know God more deeply we will begin reading Deuteronomy. God desires for us to know Him and love Him (Hosea 6:6). He is clearly depicted throughout The Scriptures as The LORD, Father God, Jesus Christ the Son, and The Holy Spirit. Allowing Him to reveal Himself to us in books where He is not so plain such as Deuteronomy allows us to know Him in an intimate way that reading only the New Testament does not. He is in the entire Word and leaving portions of it out of our study leaves portions of The Lord out of our knowledge and so endangers us to worship a god based on part of the truth, a god of our own making, a god who is not The LORD.
Authored by Moses and comprised primarily of three discourses spoken to Israel, Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Pentateuch. The name means the second law. It is the second revelation of the Law to Moses and to Israel. The Hebrew name for the book is Elle haddabharim, which mean "These are the words." That is how the book begins. Let’s dig in to the first chapter. Verses 1-5 read,
“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’”
Israel had been wandering in the desert for forty years because of their lack of faith to take The Promised Land. The Lord had grown their faith in those years. All the generation of the faithless (over twenty years old at the start) had died except for Caleb and Joshua (Numbers 14:30). Even Moses would not get to enter The Promised Land because he had lacked faith. The Lord had taught the second generation that He is their God and they were His people. They had to learn that truth because they could only depend on The Lord. Isn’t that what our suffering teaches us, to know God and depend on Him?
They were eleven days journey from reaching the Promised Land, the same distance as Egypt to Kadesh-barnea (what would become Israel). They eleven days away from the promise that most of them had lived their entire lives walking towards. There was still a lot ahead of them. They would have to take the land from the people already there, so The Lord had to prepare them. He began by reminding them of what they had gone through the last forty years and having Moses explain the law to them. Verses 9-18 read,
“At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14 And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.”
How wise was Moses to know that the responsibility of an entire nation was so great? He didn’t know at that time that it would be forty long years, he thought it would eleven days or so. He was a humble man who knew enough the great honor of leading Israel was also a difficult one he could not do alone. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Israel was only too happy to accept the commendation of appointing judges among them. They heard this command and received it gladly. Some promises seem easy to receive, especially the ones with titles and privileges. But they didn’t receive every command from God with such willingness. They were prideful and stubborn like we are. Remember as we read that Israel represents us. What they did and lived is supposed to teach us so that we might skip the mistakes they made. But pride, obstinacy, and rebellion are deep-seated traits of the flesh that too many of us have refused to give to The Holy Spirit. Verses 19-21 read,
“Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’”
Israel was right there just outside The Promise Land. God said, “Go take it, it is yours, don’t be afraid.” But this command to take what they had been promised horrified them. They were terrified to receive what The LORD had promised. Verses 22-28 describe Israel’s response to The LORD’s command to receive their promise.
“Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’
26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’
Instead of taking the land as God commanded, they checked it out first. They looked at the Land through their eyes and abilities, not The Lord’s. Instead of being encouraged by the fruit the land offered, they were discouraged by the report of the people. Where was their faith in God? They had just crossed through the Red Sea and remained perfectly dry while the army of Egypt had drowned behind them (Exodus 14:26-31). Where is our faith when God tells us to take what He has promised? Where is our faith when He tells us to do the impossible? For too many of us, we forget we can depend on The Lord, we forget His promise means He will do it, and we think somehow we have to do it by our heart, soul, strength and mind. Deuteronomy 31:6 reads,
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
The Lord God Almighty is with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you, don’t be afraid. Go ahead, accept His promise, take the steps you are afraid to take because He said, “Be courageous.” Courage is not having being fearless, it is acting in faith regardless of your fear. That courage comes from depending solely on God, not looking toward your own strength, your bank account, or other circumstances to save you. The author of Hebrews understood that it is fear that leads us to idolize money and other earthly solutions rather than Our All-Sufficient Lord. Hebrews 13:5-6 says,
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Israel downright refused to take The Promised Land. So He had to teach them, strengthen them and enable them to receive it. Moses reminded Israel of what went on the day they stood where they would stand after another eleven days journey looking at the Promise of God about to be manifested. Verses 29-41 read,
“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.
34 “And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore,35 ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’37 Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there. 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.39 And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’”
The Lord would still fulfill His promise, but only when Israel was ready. The faith of Joshua would ensure The Lord’s promise for their children. Israel was turned around and led back the direction they came, not back into slavery, they were already delivered, but to walk following The Spirit and learning that God is All-Sufficient and Almighty. Verses 41-46 tell us what happened next,
“Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. 42 And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ 43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. 44 Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.45 And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. 46 So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.”
Israel said, “You’re right! We don’t wanna go back to the wilderness! That eleven days journey was tough! Okay we have faith! We’ll fight like you said.” But God said, “No don’t fight.” He had not told them to fight, He had said He would fight for them. He knew they were not ready to walk in the faith they would need to walk in order to take possession of The Promised Land. He had to take them through the wilderness first.
It might be frightening to take what God has promised you. It was frightening to take the eternal life, the promise of Jesus Christ and live as a child of Our Father in Heaven in the power of The Holy Spirit against the prince of the world. But Jesus overcame him for you. He fought for you then and He fights for you now. If you can’t receive His promises just yet, rejoice He will strengthen you and prepare you to receive them.
Did He promise you healing, blessings, and provision? They are yours. Did He promise you would do greater works than He has done? You will. Did He promise you offspring physically and spiritually, favor, and prosperity of provision and ministry? He will give it. Receive it, do not fear or be dismayed, take the steps He has told you to take or let Him lead you through the wilderness until you have the faith to receive it. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6).

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Colossians 3 The Intentional Pursuit of The Image of Christ

2/22/2016

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Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14

Colossians 3
When you were saved, you became a new person. The old you died with Christ and was buried in your obedience as symbolize by your baptism (Colossians 2:12). You came alive but not as the old you who lived to gratify yourself, satiate your own desires and please other people. No you came alive as a new person, a child of God, a friend of Jesus, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. While we still walk on this earth, we still struggle with our flesh, that dead sin nature trying to defeat the living Spirit of Jesus Christ. In our obedient pursuit of the image of Christ we have to remember that the old self is dead and throw it off. We have to remember the new self is Jesus Christ and put on our new clothes, walk in the Spirit, and become the image of Christ. It is intentional, not happenstance. Verses 1-4 read,
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Setting our minds and our goals on Heavenly things, the Kingdom of God keeps our focus where it ought to be. Paul compared our lives following Jesus to athletics. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 reads,
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Athletes have a goal and they work toward it. They train, keeping their goal in mind. I have a friend who runs marathons. He started out running shorter races. He set goals to run longer ones, first a 5K then a 10 K until after several years he could run a marathon which is over 42 kilometers. Then he set his goal to run the marathons at faster times. He now regularly places in the various races he runs whether they are 5 kilometers or 26.2 miles. It did not happen because he set the goal, it happened because he set his mind on it and worked toward it. In Philippians 3:12-16, Paul writes it this way,
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
That upward call of God in Christ Jesus, is the image of Christ, it is His glorification and ours (1 Corinthians 2:7). It is a purposeful pursuit. Paul said to forget what lies behind. The enemy will constantly try and tell us we who we use to be. He wants us to remember our old selves, the liars, the thieves, the adulterers, the idolaters, and the selfish. But the Word of God says that we are no longer those people, those people are dead! We are born again, we are not known by those sins any longer. We are now the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). So we do not give in to the lies of the enemy to return to our old lives. Verses 5-11 read,
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self ]with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
We let our old selves stay dead, we do not give them new lives. Jesus paid the price for our sins already. He is coming to bring the wrath of the Lamb to everyone who refused to accept His payment. How and why could we stomp over His sacrifice by resurrecting our dead flesh? No we are not who we used to be. We not the image of the world, we are the image of Christ. We are not man separate persons and peoples, we are one people, we are the body of Christ, we are the image of Christ. Believer, every single one of us has this new identity, we are collectively the body of Christ and He is in each one of us. If you do not want the enemy accusing you of being your old dead self, why would you think it is okay to do his bidding and accuse a brother of being his old self? How about pursuing the goal of the image of Christ together? Just as we deliberately put off our old selves, we expressly put on our new selves. Verses 12-17 read,
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
What a beautiful description of how we should be living life together. It doesn’t happen by accident, it is done consciously and with intent. It is the goal we set and pursue. Bearing one another is easily written and not always so easily done. There will be people who we, in our flesh have difficulty tolerating. But in The Spirit we can and do love them. The image of Christ is described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.”
Remember God is love, to know Him empowers us to love. Love means living in unity and community the way verses 12-17 describe and the way the 1 Corinthians 13 describes. That kind of life doesn’t happen accidently, it doesn’t happen if we just wish or say it is true, and it doesn’t happen by pretending in front of others. There was a woman who for some reason hated me. Every imperfection I have she concentrated on and enlarged so that she couldn’t bear to be around me. She did some things to show other people how lazy, rebellious, and arrogant I was. She rejoiced over the bad things that happened to me because of her hate. It took me years to get over the wounds she inflicted; it took me years to forgive her. But I did because I purposely sought to love her and so forgive her. She is my sister in Christ, forgiven by my Lord, how could I not forgive her? The Lord knows the wrong she inflicted on me. He is God, not me. He is transforming her and He is transforming me.
Looking like Jesus, walking in the Spirit does not look like the world. We look very different from them. Had I been in the world, I would have told the world about this woman’s inadequacies, I would have hurt her back the way I wanted to do. But I am not in the world, I am in Jesus and He is in me. He is greater than the world. I know this to be true and I can overcome the world. 1 John 4:4-12 says it this way,
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
If we want the world to see God in us we live like Jesus, which is vastly different than the way of the world. Verses 18-25 tell us what we should like.
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”
The picture we are presented with is one of humility, meekness that is concerned with others rather than exalting our own needs. It is so opposite from the world to submit to your spouse, trusting the love he has for you. It is contradictory to the world to love someone and trust that you never have to be unkind to be treated the way you hope to be treated. It is unlike the world to obey authority figures not in order to please them, gain something, or look good but in obedience to God. Let God be God and let us be who He has made us to be, the image of Christ.

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God’s Traits Part 5: God’s Righteousness

Genesis 9:18-28 Shame Covered

Genesis 8 Trust God’s Sovereign Wisdom: Patience

Genesis 3 God’s Perfect Love seen in The Fall

Romans 14 Christianity is not About What One Eats or Drinks

Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Judges and Justice

Deuteronomy 16:1-17 Three Feasts to Remind us In Christ, We are Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.

Deuteronomy 7 To Love God With Your Whole Self, You Must Give Him Your Whole Self

Deuteronomy 1 Do Not Be Afraid to Receive the Promises of God

Colossians 3 The Intentional Pursuit of The Image of Christ

Donna Campbell

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