December 7, 2017

I Know Your Works

“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich; and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Rev. 2:9

The Lord was direct in His commending the church.  He stated, “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich; and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”  As mentioned above, the church underwent great persecution and suffering because of its faith.  Jesus mentioned three things:

·         Works;

·         Tribulation; and,

·         Poverty.

The church was a hard working church.  It experienced trials and suffering.  And, by all appearances, it seemed poor.  Certainly the church stood in stark contrast to the wealth of the city.  Yet, a loving kind Savior did not stop there, for He said, “but you are rich.”  What a wonderful pronouncement!  The church may have been lacking in the natural, but in the spiritual realm, Jesus saw the church at Smyrna as most wealthy.

It is important to explore further to understand why Jesus would bestow such a blessing upon this church.  Was it because it was small?  Was it because the finances were few?  Was it because of the persecution?  The answers are all the same: no.  For there are certainly small churches, churches without much financial resource, and churches that experience trials.  These characteristics in themselves do not qualify a church as spiritually rich.  So what is the key?  The church at Smyrna was considered rich by Jesus because it understood for whom it existed.  The church existed for Christ.  It exalted Him as the Head of the church.  It kept its eye upon Him.  As such, the church was able to endure, a quality admired by the Lord.  In 2 Cor. 6:1-10, Paul makes an impassioned plea to the people of Corinth, as he explains the ministry of Christ.  He writes: “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.  But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report, and good report, as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown and yet well known, as dying, and behold we live, as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 

December 6, 2017

The Lord is my Shepherd

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want…”  Ps. 23:1

Jehovah Raah   is the LORD our Shepherd.  Identified in the 23^rd Psalm, because of our Shepherd, we shall not want.  The word “raah” means to pasture or to tend.  The shepherd tends his flock of sheep in a loving and caring way.  Throughout the Old Testament we find references to the shepherd:

Ø  Genesis 46:34; 48:15; 49:24

Ø  1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:8; and 2 Chronicles 18:16

Ø  Psalms 28:9; 49:14; 78:71; 80:1

Ø  Isaiah 40:11; 44:28

Ø  Jeremiah 17:16; 23:1-5; 31:10; 43:12; 49:19; 50:44; 51:23

Ø  Ezekiel 34:5;8;12;23; 37:24

Ø  Micah 5:4; 7:14

Ø  Zechariah 10:2; 11:15; 16; 17; 13:7

These references to the shepherd were a type, or foretelling of Christ, our Chief Shepherd. We are His sheep, desperate for His care, protection and for His voice.  The prophet Jeremiah devoted more attention to the sheep and the shepherd than found in any other book in the Bible.  In John 10 we find Jesus speaking to the Pharisees: “…I am the door of the sheep.”  This is one of the seven I AM sayings found only in the gospel of John.  We recall the covenant name Jehovah means I AM, fulfilled in seven (perfection) expressions of identity and of redemption. 

December 5, 2017

Be Wise

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”  Col. 4:5 

The second instruction provided by Paul deals with a key ingredient in the walk of faith:  walk in wisdom.  In the Greek, wisdom is “sophos” and means prudent in our walk dealings with others, as a result of our relationship with God.  It also refers to our God-given capability to regulate ourselves, or what we might refer to as self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit. 

In Hebrew, wisdom is “chokhmah” and is knowledge, experience and insight.  The Book of Proverbs is commonly called the book of wisdom.  We can conclude that wisdom comes from our relationship with the Lord – it is equipment for our spirits.

It is significant that Paul writes for the church to walk in wisdom toward a particular group – those who are outside.  We can surmise this means those people outside the church body.  This makes even more sense when we read the next instruction, to redeem the time.  Redeeming the time is to take advantage of the appointed times (kairos) or divine appointments that God schedules into our calendars.  He wants us to maximize those moments.  He desires the kairos times to be recognized and maximized within the church – and especially beyond the church.  After all, the church is the instrument used the Lord to advance the Kingdom of God.  This is the role of evangelism – to reach the lost.

Eph. 5:15-16 reinforce this message: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  Likewise, Jesus instructed the disciples in Mt. 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless (or innocent) as doves.”  Again, these verses reference the need for prudence in recognizing situations and making good decisions.  Phil. 2:14-16 expresses it this way, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless (innocent), children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world….”

December 4, 2017

At Mt. Sinai

“In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.”  Ex. 19:1

Sinai in Hebrew means “thorny.”  Sinai, also called Horeb, was the location the Israelites were brought to by God.  Moses went up into the mountain at Sinai to receive God’s transforming instructions for the “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” according to Ex. 19:6. 

Once at Sinai, the Israelites were encamped for approximately one year.  The history of events that took place during that encampment is depicted in the last half of Exodus, the Book of Leviticus, and Numbers, chapters 1-11.  During that time the people were transformed by a covenant relationship with God.   The Ten Commandments were given, and God’s wisdom and leadership helped Israel mature into an organized cohesive people.  After the encampment at Sinai, we find in Numbers 10:11 the Israelites finally depart and journey to the Wilderness of Paran.  Subsequently, the Israelites begin travel from Paran to Kibroth-Hattavah (Graves of Craving) to Hazeroth, and back to Paran.  From Paran, Moses sent out twelve spies to the land of Canaan and they returned with a report after forty days.  As Numbers 13 indicates, only Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report.  The remaining ten spies were afraid of the “giants in the land.”  And so Israel disobeyed God’s command to enter the Promised Land of Canaan.  Their consequence was to wander in the wilderness for forty years, suffer the death of the ten spies due to a plague, and experience the elimination of the entire first generation of the nation Israel, except for Moses, Joshua, and Caleb.  We also note in Numbers 14: 39-45 that despite Moses’ instructions, the Israelites attempt to go to the mountaintop without the Ark of the Covenant or with Moses.  The Israelites are left unprotected and without the presence of the LORD, and are defeated and driven back to Hormah.  And the forty year wilderness experience begins. 

We see what happened to the people of Israel as they tried to “go it alone.”  Unless the Ark of the Covenant was with them, the Israelites would always encounter defeat. The same holds true for believers today: if we walk independently and without the presence of God in our lives, we are assured of defeat in our lives!  Seeking the Lord, asking for His lead in our lives, and then following after Him with a clean heart is walking with His presence in our daily lives.  Holy Spirit, turn us to Jesus!

December 3, 2017

Walk in the Spirit

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”  Gal. 5:16-18

The battleground is clear:  the Spirit is opposed to the flesh.  Therefore, our responsibility is to walk according to the Spirit, and not the flesh.  That is easy to say, difficult to do.  It bears repeating:  on our own, it will be impossible to do.  However, with the Holy Spirit operating within us, all things are possible.  How then, do we walk in the Spirit?  How do we prevent feeding the flesh?  Here is the answer: we must submit to subdue.

As we daily, hourly submit ourselves to God through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we are surrendering our will and ourselves.  In that posture of surrender, we invite the Holy Spirit to take over and subdue our flesh.  That is where the victory comes. 

These works of the flesh are really sin in our lives.  As we look over the list, we are reminded of the areas of sin that have been conquered by the power of the Holy Spirit operating within us.  We can also identify an area where we might be struggling.  Beloved, submit to the Lord and ask Him for cleansing and the power of the Spirit to subdue the flesh.  Confess the sin and receive forgiveness.  As the victories come, we discover that God is cultivating fruit in our lives.  That fruit is known as the fruit of the Spirit and friends, that is what we receive as the result of a relationship with our Savior.

December 2, 2017

Revive Me

“Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.”  Ps. 119:88

Have you had a moment of weakness or fatigue and just felt like you were in deep need of being revived?  The answer is yes for most of us.  It can often occur when we are in the midst of a crisis, or immediately following a traumatic event.  We can sometimes be left drained, exhausted and searching for more than sleep to sustain us.

That is where the awesome life-giving power of God comes into the picture and into our lives.  In this verse, the Psalmist prays, ‘Revive me according to Your lovingkindness.’  Lord Jesus, revive us.  Preserve us physically, spiritually, emotionally.  Watch over our souls, our minds and our hearts as we travail.  We thank You Father, that You love us and are intent on sustaining us because of great mercy and compassion for us.  Yes, God, we see that You are for us.

We confess we are weary.  We acknowledge we are weak.  We ask for Your holy breath and inerrant word to lift us up, fill us up, and put us back up on our feet once again.  We remember all that You have done and thank You.  May the name of the Lord be greatly praised throughout the earth, for You have heard our cry and responded in love once again.

December 1, 2017

Into Your Hands

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”  Lk. 23:46

The seventh saying of Christ on the cross expresses loudly (for Jesus spoke this in a loud voice) that the work had been completed and now it is time to rest.  His words represent His action – “Father, I am coming home.”  It is the Great Homecoming.  In those six wondrous sayings, Jesus spoke it all and it was done.  Now He could go home and rest.  Just as God spoke creation into existence in six days and on the seventh day He rested – so too Jesus spoke redemption into existence in six sayings.  With the seventh saying, Jesus commits His spirit into the hands of His Father and says – DADDY, I’M COMING HOME.

This is Jesus: He willingly gave Himself to those who would crucify Him.  Now, the work complete – He gives Himself to His Father.  This is Jesus:  His first word on the cross is Father, forgive them.  He ends His words on the cross with Father, for the work is done and the relationship is restored.  Jesus yields Himself to God.  He laid down His life with the power to take it back again.  The Son of God was restored back to His Father.  He had been sent – the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among men.  Now – He was returning back to His Father. 

I began to understand those words in my life.  How long I struggled and fought and resisted the love of God.  Not six days or even six years – but years upon years.  I began to understand that what Jesus did was the great expression of my heavenly Father’s love for me.  No matter how long I resisted His perfect love – He waited for me.  Would I be the thief who rejected God’s love, or would I be the thief who turned, realized my need to be saved, recognize my fallen ways, and turn toward perfect love?  I could struggle – or enter into the rest that salvation provides for me.  It was a moment of choice, and finally, I turned toward Him.  I entered love’s embrace: Jesus Christ.  Daddy, I’m coming home.

Just as God waited for me, He waits for us all.  He set aside today for those who have resisted Him, fought against Him, rebelled and rejected Him.  He says to us – it is not too late.  You can come, those who are weary and heavy laden; come and I will give you rest, Father says to us today.

There is one way back home to our heavenly Father.  It is through Jesus Christ, His Son.  He made the way for us to come to Him and say I surrender all.    Come.  Today can be the first day of the rest of your life.