October 7, 2017

Forsaken

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Mt. 27:46

This fourth word of Jesus, found in Matthew 27:46, was expressed in the ninth hour.  Jesus was not speaking to the thieves, nor the crowd.  In this ninth hour He was directing His cry to His Father.  It was an intimate conversation that the world heard.

Jesus was the Son crying out to His Father, for God had turned His back from His only begotten Son.  Jesus felt abandoned, Jesus was abandoned – so I would not have to be.  This was the hour that the One who knew no sin became sin for us.  This was the hour that the Righteous One was forsaken as He took upon Himself ALL OUR SIN.  God turned away during this time, as sin was heaped upon Jesus, because God cannot be where sin exists.  This was a word of agony that Jesus spoke.

God did not answer His Son during this time, for Jesus was fulfilling His word, that the wages of sin is death.  The wages were being applied to Christ – to His physical body – during that time of suffering.  I began to realize that suffering was not quickly over – it was slow.  It was – SUFFICIENT – sufficient for me, for us. I understood Jesus was, and is, my Sin-Bearer.  All my sin He was dying for, so that I could live.  He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. In that hour Jesus was setting me forever free.  Forever free.  He was, and is, a sufficient Sin-Bearer.  I once was a sheep who had gone astray, but found myself drawn, and returning to the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul.

In that time of darkness, that time where there was no answer from God, Jesus chose to trust His Father.  He trusted, though His rescue did not come on the cross.  He trusted, though the silence was deafening.  Jesus was still, knowing God was God.  On the cross, the Son’s rescue did not come.  Rather, His death became my rescue.  His loss became our gain.  He was showing us the full extent of His love, as He loved us until the end.

October 6, 2017

Beaten Gold

“He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat.”  Ex. 37:7

Moses is next directed to make two cherubim, specifically from beaten gold.  All the articles previous to this had been made of pure gold; yet the cherubim were made from gold that was beaten.  Beaten gold was literally that – gold which was hammered and struck.  We might call it “pure gold bruised.”  Its significance is apparent:  the pure gold is symbolic of the deity of Christ; the beaten gold symbolizes our Jesus who was “wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; chastised for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”  Isa. 53:5.  What comes from such wounding?  Blood.  Stop and picture in your minds for a moment blood coming from two cherubim and covering the mercy-seat.  Such a picture is a representation of the blood of Christ covering what was a throne of judgment and converting it into a throne of grace that we may approach boldly! 

Earlier in the journey of the Israelites, God had instructed Moses according to Ex. 12:1-14 to implement Passover.  After the sacrifice of a lamb without blemish, the blood was to be sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of the homes of the people of Israel.  As God passed through Egypt, the “blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.  And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”   The blood protected the Israelites in Egypt, the blood of Christ was the “acceptable sacrifice” for the early church, and it is the blood of Christ today that has made eternal atonement for our sins. 

October 5, 2017

Put On Love

“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”  Col. 3:14

The text emphasizes that above all things, we are to put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  After all the other thoughts:  tender mercies; kindness; humility; longsuffering; and forgiveness, we are to think thoughts of love.  Love is found in the form of a commandment from Jesus in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”   This commandment revolutionized the world then, and does to this very day.  Love one another.  And what is love, Christlike love?  It is agape – an unconditional love in which the giver provides what is needed, not necessarily wanted.  Jesus loved people so unconditionally that He would not pass by them in their pain or lost state.  He ministered what people needed:  salvation, healing, and restoration. 

How is this love described in the Bible?  1 Corinthians 13 portrays love in this way:

Ø  Suffers long and is kind;

Ø  Does not envy;

Ø  Does not parade itself;

Ø  Is not puffed up;

Ø  Does not behave rudely;

Ø  Does not seek its own;

Ø  Is not provoked;

Ø  Thinks no evil;

Ø  Rejoices in truth;

Ø  Bears all things;

Ø  Believes all things;

Ø  Hopes all things;

Ø  Endures all things;

Ø  It never fails.

October 4, 2017

God’s Purpose Fulfilled

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the works of Your hands.”  Ps. 138:8

This is a verse we can lean back upon – resting and trusting that the Lord will fulfill His purpose for us.  First, He has a purpose for each of us!  This is a call to trust, to receive that purpose, and to act upon it.  If anyone had told me 15 years ago I would be traveling the country speaking to women in prison, I would have laughed.  Yet that has been God’s purpose for my life – at least some part of it.  While I did not see it, God was fulfilling it very slowly over time. 

What is even more staggering is that what I am doing here is in preparation for what I will be doing eternally.  It helps me to understand the second half of this prayer – do not abandon the works of Your hands.  Don’t stop now, Lord.  Please continue to teach and equip and prepare me.  Mold me and shape me for Your purpose – Your eternal purpose.

He promises this and fulfills His promise because He loves us.  His love endures forever.  Let that last sentence sink in; it is an entire sermon.  God’s love endures forever…forever.  Receive His promise and truth in your heart today.

October 3, 2017

Word of His Grace

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”  Acts 20:32

This verse recently jumped off the page and into my heart and spirit.  My daughter and son-in-law were married in July of 2014 and for the month leading up to their wedding day, a group of us had been praying God’s blessings over their marriage.  During that month I re-discovered this little verse tucked away in Acts.  It seemed like the greatest benediction I had read in a long time.  It seemed perfect to pray for a couple after they were married.

It is simple and that it what makes it so effective – the simple power of God’s word, living and active in the lives of those we pray it over.  My version is prayed like this: 

“I commit Pete and Sarah to God and to the word of His grace.  God and His word can and will build you up, as individuals and as a couple united in marriage.  His word and His presence in your lives will provide for you an inheritance far beyond what you can presently imagine.  It is not just an earthly inheritance or a heavenly inheritance.  It is an inheritance that includes both heaven and earth.  It is a spiritual inheritance with benefits you will encounter now, as well as later.  It is an inheritance for you and for your family.  I entrust you both to God and His precious care for you and to the word of His grace.  Amen.”

October 2, 2017

In God’s Image

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Gen. 1:26-28

What is God saying here?  He is stating that He desired to and then decided to make us in His image.  It is profound that we are made in His image – directly referring to our identity and our origins.  He then blessed us and gave us instructions:

Ø  Be fruitful and multiply;

Ø  Replenish the earth and subdue it; and,

Ø  Have dominion over the earth.

We might say that our purpose can be summed up above, both in the natural and the spiritual realms:  expand the kingdom through generations of believers and through the fruit of the Spirit; replenish and subdue the earth through growth in the number of believers and through our spiritual growth, such that the earth is subdued; and have dominion (rule) over the earth, as God originally designed it to be.  Our purpose is to worship and walk as kings and priests!  Once we know who we are in Christ and the power and authority we humbly have because of Christ, then we will act according to our position.

This position also confers stewardship upon us to care for the earth.  We are God’s custodians, or caretakers of this earth – watching over the fish and birds, the cattle, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.  It is a humbling responsibility.  Let us fulfill our role until He returns.

October 1, 2017

Keep on Praying

“For some time he refused.  But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!”  Lk. 18:4-5

I love the parable of the persistent widow.  Jesus paints a picture of persistence in prayer.  We have no idea how many days, weeks, or months the woman kept coming back to the judge who did not care about her at all.  She faced regular rejection and yet she returned.  That is diligence and it will lead to good results in the end. 

The woman wanted justice.  There are so many people in our communities, our country, and in the world who daily cry out for justice.  This woman did her part by going and asking for justice.  Though the earthly judge refused her request, her heavenly Judge heard her cries and responded.  He moved the earthly judge to act.  We may question the motive of the local judge, but the bottom line is that he acted and the woman was granted justice.  God had intervened.  The woman had persevered.

Paul puts it this way – “pray without ceasing.”  Don’t stop praying until the burden is released or some answer arrives.  It is acceptable to continue to pray repeatedly for the same need, as this is exactly what the widow did.  It is not a lack of faith; in fact, Jesus calls it a show of faith.  Verse 8 shows Jesus asking the disciples if He will find faith on the earth when He returns.  Part of that faith is found in the persistent prayers of the righteous.  Friends, keep on praying!