Salt & Light Blog

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Are You Holy or Worldly?

8/28/2015

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

I am not a legalist. I believe that we do not have to follow a list of rules and rituals to follow Jesus. But we are called to a more noble life, and a higher walk. We are the sons and daughters of The Lord God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords! We shouldn’t look or act like the rest of the world. We are aware of how much God loves us and our gratitude makes us want to please our Father and Lord. Verse 1 reads,

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.”

We are saved by faith and covered by grace. (Ephesians 2:6-9). But that freedom doesn’t change the fact that we do have a higher calling and our lives should reflect that calling. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to walk in conformity to Jesus. Verses 2-8 read,

“For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

When we choose to live like the world and let our flesh rule our behavior we ignore, disrespect, and quench The Holy Spirit. He makes it possible for us to live good Jesus glorifying lives. In Leviticus 20:7-8 The Lord said,

“Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

God separated us out from the world and made us holy, not so we could look and act like the world but so that we could reflect who He is to the world. He called us out and said we are peculiar, we are not typical, we are God’s own people. (1 Peter 2:9 KJV). The world might even think we’re odd. If they don’t notice our differences maybe we’re not being holy as God is holy.

In 1 Peter 2:9-10 Peter urges us not to behave like the world.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

What is it besides our self-control and abstinence from degrading our bodies that sets us apart as believers? We honor not only our own bodies as the Temple of God but we honor the body of Christ, our fellow believers because our brothers and sisters are also the temple of God. Verses 9-12 read,

“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

Our love for one another makes us stand out from the world. Our love glorifies Jesus. Our love as exercised in charity, kindness, and edification of one another tells people we are different. Our lives lived as holy, that is set aside and sacred, calls people to Jesus. It is a testimony to God’s awesomeness that we are changed and different from the rest of the world.

Believer, is your life a testimony to God’s awesome power? Or do you look and act like the world? Do you treat your body and the body of Christ with reverence, care, and love?

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Psalm 61 Jesus is Our Rock and Salvation

7/21/2015

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Psalm 61

David wrote so many beautiful Psalms, songs, and poems to the Lord and many of them were prophetic. He was a prophet. (Acts 2:29-31). David is a “type of Christ” that is, he was a prophetic symbol, a foreshadowing of Christ. He was not Christ. He was not a Christ or God. Much of what he did prefigured Jesus, His ministry, and His life. So it is natural that so much of his writing would be messianic prophecy. That is what I read in this Psalm titled, Lead Me to the Rock. Verses 1-3 read,

“Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
3 for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.”

The Lord saves us when we cry out to Him. He waits for us to recognize our need of Him. And when we call on Him, He meets that need. Joel 2:30-32 speaking of The Day of the Lord puts it like this,

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

Does that mean we only have to cry out and that’s it we’re saved? No. it means we cry out because we recognize our need and we believe Jesus is the Christ, God our Savior sent by God to deliver us. We believe He is who He says He is and that He died and rose from the dead for us. In Romans 10:9-13 Paul writes it this way,

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Believer, when we pray God hears us. (1 John 5:13-15). He is our Rock. He is higher than we are. We can’t depend on ourselves for security or refuge. We can’t save ourselves. Only Jesus can save us from the enemy. Only He is qualified to be our Savior. Acts 4:12-13 says,

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

David was a great king. He had all the money any man could ever want. He had power ad authority given to him by God. He had amazing talents and wonderful gifts. He was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14). But He still needed the Lord to save Him. His faith in God, his dependence on God, and his friendship with God aligned his heart with God’s will. He cried out to God for salvation and God saved him. God gave David eternal life. Verses 4-5 read,

“Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.”

David longed to be in the tent of the tabernacle worshipping God. David loved to worship the Lord. That is evident in his life and in his Psalms. The tent was the Tabernacle, God’s holy and anointed place, where His presence dwelled in the Old Covenant. But in the new covenant God’s doesn’t indwell a tent or a building, He indwells His children. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says,

“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

We take refuge in Him, He shelters us with His wings. The Ark of the Covenant was in the Tabernacle. The Ark though made by men by order of God was the physical representation of The Lord, God. On the lid or mercy seat were two cherubim whose wings were stretched out toward one another. (Exodus 25:10-22). It is under those wings, the wings of the mercy of God that David took his refuge. Hebrews 9:1-10 describes the Ark and its purpose. Today, no one knows where the Ark of the Covenant is. We do not need that holy relic because we have Jesus, God With Us. He is our mercy seat in the New Covenant. There is a reason no one knows where the Ark is. I believe that God either destroyed it or took it up to Heaven because Jesus is our mercy seat now. Hebrews 9:11-14 reads,

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

God gave us a heritage, an inheritance in Jesus. When we are saved, God adopts us as His children and makes us heirs with Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3-14). He gives us a legacy. As we glorify Christ, the world comes to know Him through us, and people who receive the gift of eternal life because of our lives, testimony and witness are our legacy. We didn’t save them, but we were part of God’s great work to bring them to Himself. His name lasts forever. Jesus is eternally our King. Our lives are eternally His. Verses 6-8 read,

“Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

8 So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.”

It is because of the lessons we learned from Moses’ life David’s life, and all the other great men and women of faith that we believe today. It is because of the person who shared the gospel with us, the person who lived a life of worship, and the person who disciples us that we believe. It is because The Father called us, Jesus died and lived for us, and The Spirit opened our eyes that we believe.

Jesus’ name and glory lasts forever. He gave us eternal life as well as holy and royal heirs with Him. Jesus sits on the throne of God forever as our Sovereign Holy King. Guess what! We get to sit there with Him! His kingship is shared with us. Revelation 3:20-22 says,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Don’t stop praising God. Don’t only praise Him in private but in public for everyone to see His awesome power, love and salvation. You Believer, are the holy temple of the Lord. You are standing on the Rock of Jesus. You are heirs with Him. You are royalty. Jesus is the Rock. He is God With Us. He is the eternal King of kings. He is I Am.

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Psalm 41 Jesus said, Love Your Neighbor, One Another, and Your Enemies

7/1/2015

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Psalm 41

The love of Christ is not like the love of the world. It is different. It isn’t concerned with self. It trusts itself to God and sees the needs of others first. Jesus commanded us to love in two different ways. First He quoted an Old Covenant command that along with “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” sums up the entire law, “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31). This command was given to everyone, followers or not. How do we love ourselves? Our needs are our priority. Our concerns are known to us and those are the ones we meet. So to love someone else that way is to give their needs the same urgency as our own. But later when Jesus spoke to His disciples He gave them a new command, something that would only be possible because of faith, because of what Jesus would do for us. He laid down His life to forgive sin, He gave us the Holy Spirit to transform us to His image. In John 13:34-35 He said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

How did Jesus love us? He put our needs above His own. He was willing to sacrifice Himself for us. He listened to the disciples, cared about them, taught them, and led them. He was empathetic. The only people He spoke ‘judgmental’ words to were the religious people who thought they were perfect. He saw us as the destitute people we were, gave us His righteousness and His name and made us royalty.

Because we have the Holy Spirit, we can love like that. And when we do, the world takes notice. They see the difference in us. They recognize their sin within them, so they are either drawn to Christ or they hate us passionately for Him. And so it was with David. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was righteous, not because he was perfect, but because he loved the Lord with all his heart and because he viewed the world through God’s heart. Verses 1-3 read,

“Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.”

David was very sick when he wrote this psalm. He trusted the Lord to sustain him and carry him through it. He was the the powerful and wealthy King. But even in his suffering he was concerned for the poor. He knew they depended on him as he depended on God. But David had many enemies who wished to usurp his throne and abuse his power. They would be thrilled if he stayed sick and even died. Verses 4-10 read,

“As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
    heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!”

Just like our love for others distinguishes us, so does the world’s hate for us. Jesus told us the world would hate us. John 15:18-19 says,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Does that mean we have license to hate them back? No, that is a flesh response. Later in the same chapter John 15:26-27 Jesus told the disciples about The Holy Spirit.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Far from responding in kind, Jesus commanded that we are to love our enemies and pray for them. Matthew 5:43-45 reads,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Love is not a feeling, it is an action. It is borne by our kindness, gentleness, compassion, patience, and self-control. It is possible because we know God. We keep in mind what He has done for us. We remember who we were before Jesus was our Lord. We have God’s Holy Spirit within us. And we trust God to keep us and we know vengeance is His, not ours. David ended this psalm with verses 11-13.

“By this I know that you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
    and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.”

Do you trust God enough to tangibly love your enemies? Jesus loves them. He commanded that we love them too. When you trust in God completely, when you love Him with your entire being, the difficult task of loving those who hate you becomes easier. God will not ever let you go. Your hope is Jesus Christ and the eternal life He gave you. God is within you, just as you are within Him. You can love with His heart because He gave you His Holy Spirit.

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Leviticus 20 Be Holy Because You are Wholly God's Own

5/12/2015

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Leviticus Chapter 20

The chapter begins with a warning about the worst kind of idolatry, a sin so heinous that it is the stuff of horror films. Sacrificing children, especially one’s own children is a sin that The Lord says is so serious, not only should the offender be stoned to death, but anyone who knows he killed his child and looked the other way or doesn’t agree with his stoning should be cut off from Israel. Verses 1-5 read,

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.”

We are God’s chosen, His children. We are holy. He wants us to be like Him. We love Him with our heart, mind, soul, and strength and that means we reflect Him to the world. That means everything we are glorifies and exalts Him. God loves His children deeply. He would never sacrifice or surrender us. Today, most of the world doesn’t practice sacrificing animals or people, but there are people who abandon, sell, neglect, abuse, and even kill or otherwise forfeit their children to the world. Our Father would never do that to us, He wants us to be to our children as He is to us. John 10:27-29 reads,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

The Son of God and Father God are one. Believers, we are one with God also. We have His Spirit, we are united with Him. Because He has adopted us as His children, we have His nature. God desires for us to be like Him, holy and distinct. To hurt our children is absolutely against God’s nature. Not only are we not to give up our children to the world, but we are to stand up for the children, the orphans who have been abandoned and the ones who are being sacrificed by the parents who are supposed to be raising them up for the greatness of The Lord. God doesn’t look the other way while we are being hurt and we can’t look the other way while any child is hurt, even if that child is 94 years old.

We are to be like God. He is holy. We seek our counsel from Him, not from the enemy. We trust He holds our future. We honor The Lord not our ancestors. We seek comfort from The Holy Spirit of God not spirits. Verses 6-7 read,

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.”

Jesus always honored His Father in Heaven. He always honored His earthly father and His mother. In our esteem and respect for our parents we glorify The Lord. We show the world a little bit about the nature of our God as we venerate Him by our relationships with people. Even simply saying something bad against our parents is considered hating them, it is tantamount to murder and the punishment is the same for such a serious act. Verses 8-9 read,

“Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.”

God is pure. We His children are pure and we are to exalt our Father by our purity, righteousness, nobility and holiness. Verses 10-21 of the chapter ae dedicated to remaining sexually pure. Do not have sex with anyone other than your spouse. Never have sexual relations, even without that one act with anyone who is in any way related to you be it by blood or marriage. And never have sex with a person of your own gender.

Sex is a lovely beautiful gift from God. But people have polluted it and made it abhorrent. They think that uncontrolled lust is natural and while it is natural to the nature of Satan, children of The Lord God do not behave with the nature of the world but with the Nature of God. He is holy and so are His children. We can’t besmirch His name with repugnant acts of sexual immorality. When we do that, we defile ourselves. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 says,

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

We are united with Christ with The Lord Himself! How can we sully Him by using our bodies, which belong to Him in every sense of the phrase by using ourselves in such depravity? We are able to exhibit self-control because God’s Spirit is in us. We are able to honor God with our entirety because we have His Spirit, His mind and His heart.

We are holy. We are distinct. We are not like the world. We are peculiar. We stand out. We are God’s own. Verse 26 states,

“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

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Leviticus 19 Be Holy as God is Holy

5/11/2015

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Leviticus Chapter 19

The Lord is Holy. He wants us to know this always. He wants us to live our lives with His holiness in mind. He wants His people to be holy. Under the Old Covenant it was clear that there was no way people could achieve holiness. So He made a way for them to atone for their shortcomings. Under the New Covenant He made a way for us to be holy like He is holy. We have no excuse not to live holy lives. Jesus’ blood makes us holy.

God’s holiness is expressed in our lives and revealed in our lives by the way we treat others and the way we honor the Lord. Verses 1-4 read,

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.”

Our words betray our hearts. Our actions expose our souls. Our actions and our words should reveal our God to the world. Our submission to God manifests in love to the world. Verses 9-10 say,

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

What we sow, what we earn is from the Lord, our Sovereign and He is honored when we can share our harvest with those in need. We allow them to come into our field, our lives and gather the excess. We don’t have to take it all for ourselves. We don’t have to make sure that everything is ours or even that anyone know that some of our earnings go to people in need. Even we don’t have to be aware of those who reap the benefits of our obedience to the Lord.

What about the benefits of how we live our lives? Is there gain to others by our actions in love? Is Jesus Christ revealed through us? Do we keep all His love and profit for ourselves or do we share it with the wanderer and the person who doesn’t know Him? Verses 17-18 say,

“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.”

We do not earn salvation by following the statutes God has given us. We obey God’s laws because we love Him. We actively and intentionally love God and love others because His Spirit is in us, making us like Him. God doesn’t love some people more than others. He doesn’t show partiality. We are not supposed to either. To love the poor more than the rich is to hate the rich. To love the free man more than the prisoner is to hate the prisoner. We love God, we love what God loves, we love who God loves. We love our brother, our neighbor, the lost, the prince, and the pauper. Verses 33-34 read,

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Under the Old Covenant the Sabbath was from Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown. Under the New Covenant we have entered into God’s rest and every day all day is the Sabbath. We keep it holy. We honor God by making every day all day holy. Under the Old Covenant the sanctuary was one part of the temple, the tent of meeting. Under the New Covenant we are the temple of the Lord. We are pure, we are holy. We are intentionally holy, sacred, and different from the world. We are God’s. Verse 30 reads,

“You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.”

Believer, you are holy! Be holy as our Lord, our God, our Savior, our Father, our King is holy.

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Leviticus Chapters 12-15 Cleansing Laws for Bodily Function and Disease

5/7/2015

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Leviticus 10:8-20 The Priestly Calling

5/5/2015

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Leviticus Chapter 10 Verses 8-20

The Lord’s priests have a high calling over their lives. They are God’s representatives to the people. Under the New Covenant, with Jesus our Messiah as our High Priest each of His followers is a priest, anointed for God’s purposes. In verses 8-11 God explains part of the priestly mission to Aaron.

“And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

They were to take their vocation seriously. They were to remember that the tent of meeting was a clean place and that the sanctuary was holy. It was not a place for revelry. It was a place for celebrating the Lord. Priests have an obligation to demonstrate to others the difference between holy and common. They have a responsibility to teach people who God is and what He has commanded.

Under the Old Covenant that meant teaching Israel the more than 600 laws, statutes, and requirements of the Law. Under the New Covenant that means that we have a burden to tell the world that their Father loves and wants them, that Jesus died and rose again to forgive them and make a way for them to have a relationship with God, and that The Holy Spirit wants to indwell them, transform them, and make them new. It means we must live as examples of holiness, not with affected piety, but with unity with our Father, our Savior, and our Peace, the King of kings. We are not common, we are noble, royal, and holy.

1 Peter 2:9-10 reminds us,

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Royal Priest, Holy Child of God Almighty, you are not common. You are not ordinary. You once were in the dark, but now you are in the light and you are able to proclaim his excellence and the brilliance of life in Him. There are so many wandering lost in the dark, who have no idea who they are in Christ. You Noble Servant of the Most High can reveal the truth to them, shine a light, and lead them to the Lord who loves them.

Priests have the onus to mediate atonement for sin between God and the people. Moses spoke to Aaron and his surviving sons to remind them to eat the meat and grain of the offerings given to them out of the sacrifices. While we do not have sacrifices today, we do take the bread and wine as a reminder and confirmation of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. We receive the Lord’s provision, equipment, and Word. Taking The Lord’s Supper often is a special privilege and obligation. Each time we eat the bread, we consider His body broken for us bearing our sin. Every time we drink the wine, we contemplate His blood spilled for us, cleansing us and forgiving our sin. We realize we are no longer sinners, commonplace people of the dark, and children of wrath. Now we are holy noble children of Light.

Taking The Lord’s Supper is not something done lightly. Moses exhorted Aaron and asked why he and his sons had not eaten the goat of the sin offering as they were obligated to for atonement of the people. Aaron answered him in verses 19-20.

“And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.”

Aaron, in obedience to God was not publicly or officially mourning his sons, but that didn’t change the fact that he had lost them and was grieving in his heart. He knew that this issue was something he and his other sons must deal with before they could properly eat the meat of the atonement offering.

Our sins do not negate our calling as priests, we are completely forgiven. But once realized, sins, especially sins of heart and attitude must be dealt with before we eat the bread and drink the wine of Jesus’ perfect offering to us.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 says,

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”

Believer, you are not ordinary, you are extraordinary. You are holy, royal, and chosen. You shouldn’t look or act like you did when you didn’t know who you were, when you were blind to you calling, and living in your unforgiven sin. Call yourself by a new name, Prince, Priest, and Precious.

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1 Peter 2:1-12 Jesus is Either Your Cornerstone or Your Stumbling Block

3/30/2015

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1 Peter Chapter 2 Verses 1-12

It is a choice to follow Jesus and live a holy life. But it is a choice that believers want to make as we mature in the Word. That maturation doesn’t happen automatically. The fruit doesn’t just suddenly appear. The Holy Spirit purifies us through the fires we face. (1 Peter 1:6-8). He transforms us through the Word that we read, hear, and experience. Verses 1-3 read,

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Leaving sin behind is not easy at first. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander are common and quite natural to the flesh. But as we continue and we long to grow, as we get to know our Lord more and more closely, we want to be like Him, not the world. We know that life in Christ is so much better than life in the world. The Lord is good! The spiritual food of His Word, intimacy with Him, and the relationship He gives us is sweeter than words can describe. We want it increasingly, progressively, and deeper.

The world can’t understand. They look at us from the outside and wonder why anyone would choose to live a life of putting sin away, of purposely choosing to walk the more difficult road of love, truth, sincerity, good will, and encouragement over natural longings of the flesh. They rejected Christ because His teachings didn’t make sense to them. What looks absurd, preposterous and unreasonable to them, is beautiful, perfect, and wise to us. It is perfectly reasonable to us, because we accepted Christ. We were given the Holy Spirit and He changes us and allows us to see the excellent and flawless truth and wisdom of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is the foundation of that wisdom. Without Him we can’t possibly understand. Isaiah compared Him to the cornerstone a building and Peter quoted him to get across his point that we as Christians are different than the world. Verses 4-6 say,

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The cornerstone is the foundation upon which the rest of the building is constructed. It is essential and it determines the position of every other stone. Jesus is our cornerstone, our foundation and we are stones in the building with Him. Without Him, the temple would crumble. For believers Jesus is our keystone and basis. He builds us up. He makes all things possible. But for outsiders, He is a stumbling block, an obstacle which they do not understand. They disobey because they are led by the flesh and see Jesus not as God, the Lover of their souls but an offense and insult to who they are. (Verses 7-8).

We are different. We are not like the world. We see the beauty of Christ. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. He is essential to our being. He makes it possible to obey. He makes it possible to live lives of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And as we mature we do not have to struggle to manifest those characteristics, we become more like Christ so we look and act more like Him. It is still a choice to stand out from the world. We have to keep in mind we are not like the lost. We choose to obey. We choose to be founded on Love. Verses 9-10 put it this way.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We should celebrate our distinctiveness. Our idiosyncrasy is the Holy Spirit alive in us. Our difference is Jesus. Our calling is holy. We are chosen by God, we belong to Him. Honoring that awesome mission and identity is not always easy. It is not easy to elect not to lie, to forgive rather than hate, or to be kind person who hates us. But we are established in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit and chosen by the Father. We are special. We are not like the world, we are exiles among them. And we should be conspicuous. Verses 11-12 read,

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

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1 Peter 1:13-25 Our Hope is Eternal Jesus Christ. We Should Behave Like That Means Something.

3/29/2015

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1 Peter Chapter 1 Verses 13-25

The Lord saves us by grace. He gives us faith. He keeps our eternal life guarded safely for us. He gives the ability to obey Him and He calls us to live holy lives. He didn’t say, ‘you are my children now so go act like spoiled brats and bring shame to my name.’ Verses 13-16 tell us,

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

We know the difference between right and wrong. We know the difference between love and disobedience. We know the difference between true worship and idolatry. We are named for Christ, identified as sons of God, we have a responsibility to be like Him. The Spirit sanctifies us, guides us, and empowers us so that we can reflect the image of Christ and be holy like our Father is holy.

Living holy is a choice and has a purpose. Peter writes that we have to prepare our minds for action and set our hope fully on the grace that will be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We have to keep our minds on that last day, knowing that Jesus is coming and we will be living eternally in New Jerusalem with Him, the Light and the Word. We will be completely perfected at that time. We are living our eternal life now. We are being transformed to the image of Christ now. We are the sons of God now.

We are not who we were before we were saved. We are different, separated from the lost and no longer lost ourselves. We are exiles among them. They are lost, following authorities and rulers of the world and living an eternal death. We are raised with Christ. We are not one of them anymore. As exiles, we are expected to be holy, different, and bring honor to our Father’s name.

Our salvation is precious. Just because it is guarded and imperishable doesn’t make it any less valuable. Consider the cost of our salvation and hold it dear. It is exquisite. It should be cherished by us and perhaps by the lost who will want it too. Verses 17-18 describe it this way,

“And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Jesus didn’t flippantly save us. Salvation was not a last-ditch effort. A spur of the moment plan. God didn’t say, ‘Oy Vay! Guess I’ll have to go down there myself!’ Jesus was the plan from the beginning. It was due to His deep love for us. And because He died for us and rose from the dead for us we have eternal life and we have hope. Verses20-21 read,

“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

The hope we have in Christ should make us behave differently than the world. We are not like the lost, whose home is the earth. We are exiles among them, our home is with God. Our behavior makes us stand out from followers of earthly authorities whose hope is in this temporary life. Verses 22-25 read,

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

Believer, you are known by your Father’s name are you living up to that name and bringing Him glory or are you bringing Him shame? Are you holy as He is holy?

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Ezekiel 20 God Will Not Allow His Holiness to be Defiled.

3/6/2015

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Ezekiel Chapter 20

This chapter begins with the elders coming to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. This simple act infuriated God. Why? Doesn’t God want His children to come to Him, to seek out His will, and find answers in Him? Yes, He does. But He wants us to come only to Him. Israel, including her leaders and priests were practicing various religions and mixing beliefs together to create a spirituality that suited them. They were treating the LORD God as if He were another wooden idol, His statutes as if they were disputable, and His law as if it could be rewritten. Whatever question they came asking, God did not answer. Instead He told them He would not put up with their idolatry.

The Lord told them what He had done for their forefathers. Verses 5-7 read,

“and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”

Then He described Israel’s reaction to His covenant and His choice of reaction. Verses 8-12 read,

“But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

But Israel still rebelled, still worshipped idols, and still refused to keep God’s laws. Israel profaned the Holy things God have given her by keeping their idols and practicing a convoluted version of the commandments God required. God could have destroyed them at any time. But He didn’t. He steadfastly loved them. He guided them. He disciplined them. Time and again He said, “I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.” (Verses 19-20). Time and again they rebelled and worshipped idols, profaned the sacred, and ignored the Lord. Yet God remained patient. He remembered His awesome power, perfect love, and great name. He remained I Am so the entire world would know that He is The LORD.

When Israel entered the Promised Land they prayed to the Lord, but they did it on the altars of false gods. God said to destroy the high places, asherah poles, and the other adulterous idolatrous places, but instead Israel re-purposed them to suit them. They sullied the Holy Name of the LORD. The Lord cannot be desecrated and He will not allow His name to be defiled. His perfect reputation calls the lost to Him. But when His perfection is degraded with false beliefs the lost remain lost, and those who think they have found God are worshipping a god of their own creation.

Verses 30-32 read,

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.”

Don’t we too often think that we should be more attractive to the world? Or maybe some of the world philosophies sound appealing and we mix them with the word of God. What’s the detriment of some tantric mediation along with our prayer? Where is the harm of adding a touch of Taoism or nature worship to our walk? It is idolatry. It brings the Lord down from God to god.

The covenant God makes with us is that we realize we can never obtain life by being good enough. Israel couldn’t do it, even when they were face to face with God in the wilderness. We can only reach righteousness through the blood and grace of Christ Jesus. He is the way and the truth and the life. There is no other way. Jesus is the only way to the Father, full stop. (John 14:6). But we have choices. God says it is Him or gods. Pray to idols, ancestors, and a myriad of gods or pray to Him. Worship yourself or Him. You can’t have it both ways. 39 reads,

“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.”

Israel never kept her side of the covenant with the LORD. From its inception they continually broke it. But God never did. Instead He promised restoration. That restoration happens through Jesus. Verses 40-44 read,

“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers.43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

Not everyone will see the astounding and tremendous promise of reestablishment of New Jerusalem. No one who practices idolatry will enter into it. No one who corrupts the name of the Lord by bringing worldly philosophies into the pure relationship with Him will enter. No one who rejects the Word of God, Jesus Christ will come in. But everyone, every single person will know that Awesome God is The LORD. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess He is Lord. (Isaiah 45:23). Every person will realize the devastating truth of their iniquity. But for some, for most, it will be too late.

Do not contribute to dishonoring the name of the Lord by sullying the way. He gave you sacred things and holy knowledge. He gave you His name, His reputation, and His holiness. Don’t muck it up with fake spirituality, lies, and idolatry. Your life is a testimony. God will deal with you so that you will come to know Him and be transformed to Christ’s image and so that others can come to know Him. Do not lead people to a false god. Make sure it is the One True Holy God you worship and not a god of your own creation.

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1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Are You Holy or Worldly?

Psalm 61 Jesus is Our Rock and Salvation

Psalm 41 Jesus said, Love Your Neighbor, One Another, and Your Enemies

Leviticus 20 Be Holy Because You are Wholly God's Own

Leviticus 19 Be Holy as God is Holy

Leviticus Chapters 12-15 Cleansing Laws for Bodily Function and Disease

Leviticus 10:8-20 The Priestly Calling

1 Peter 2:1-12 Jesus is Either Your Cornerstone or Your Stumbling Block

1 Peter 1:13-25 Our Hope is Eternal Jesus Christ. We Should Behave Like That Means Something.

Ezekiel 20 God Will Not Allow His Holiness to be Defiled.

Donna Campbell

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