Declaration of Independence

As I read America’s Declaration of Independence this morning, I was struck by its many parallels to our times. The Declaration included a list of 27 grievances committed by the British king against the original “united States of America.” For these reasons, the colonies determined to be “Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” and to live as “Free and Independent States.” (Uppercase and lowercase have been preserved from the original document.)

We have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, for the Declaration’s grievances against the king have parallels to problems we face now. 

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Sharing in His Divine Nature, part 2 of 2

A study in 2 Peter 1:5-11.

1:5-7 
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 
to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 
to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Why should we focus on developing the above traits? Because we learned in 2 Peter 1:2-4 of the Lord’s intention that we share in His divine nature. These traits are the expression of that nature. He will supply all power to this end, so if we pursue these traits, He will empower us to make progress. 

God is love, so when He gives us power, it is to show the character of love in the above ways. We think the power is to help us do some mighty work; but He wants us to work in such a way that people see what God is like. 

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Sharing In His Divine Nature, part 1 of 2

A study in 2 Peter 1:1-4.

1:1 
“Simon Peter,” 
This writer’s name is Simon. After he glimpsed the truth of the glory of Christ, our Lord gave him a new name, Peter, a rock. He now wears that name to remind him and us of that confession, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Since the coming of the Spirit, the reality of that name has marked him. 

Simon is the “before” portrait. Peter is the “after” portrait that testifies to the life-changing power of the revelation of Christ on his consciousness. 

The Messiah has come in His kingdom. He is not another fallible politician, king, or rich businessman, but the Son of God who will make all things right, transforming into His image all who confess Him as Lord. 

Question: does your confession of His name mark you as one who is changed by Him and committed to Him?

“a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,” 
Peter sees himself primarily as a servant, for he listed that term before his calling. If we belong to Jesus and serve Him, seeking His will and doing it, then we will be trained for the calling He has in mind for us.

We don’t make up our calling. The realization of our calling is clarified by doing His commandments. All Christian callings are callings of service to the Lord and to man. Those who serve Him well are laying a firm foundation for future growth and fruit in the calling. 
This verse is the “from” part of the epistle, who is writing the letter. Let us listen carefully to what a fellow-laborer has to say, one who has been changed from one name to another by God. 

Question: are you a servant of God by following His commands in the Word, or by following your own ideas of what to do? 

“to them that have obtained like precious faith with us” 
This is the “to” part of the epistle. Peter is writing to people who have the same kind of faith he has. To those who hear from Jesus as their Lord and do what He says. 

We received our faith through the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit, writer of the Word, impressed its truths on us, pointing us to Jesus as Lord and Savior. We accepted the truth for ourselves and the Spirit regenerated us; we became born again. The Spirit moved in and we became those who could apprehend spiritual truths and live according to them.

But we are to continue the cycle of getting truth from the Word and responding to it by faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” When we read the Bible with a humble heart, the Word will give us direction. We will “hear” the Lord telling us what to do. If we are His sheep, we will obey it and follow Him (John 10:27). This faith that helped people get through their trials in past centuries will work for us today. That’s because the faith is based on a Person who has all power to make all His promises come true. 

As we shall see, it is a precious faith because through it we escape from all the sin and deceptions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Through it we access all the promises of God. Through it we live as king’s sons and not mere men. Through it we please God in all things; we grasp heavenly realities; we glorify God. Through our faith in the Son, we can share in the eternal riches of the kingdom of God today. 

Question: does our faith grow by hearing God speak through the Word, or by believing our own thoughts? 

“through the righteousness of God” 
We have received this gift of faith by the righteousness of God. God is righteous. He is honorable. When God offers a gift, you can be sure it is valuable. Sometimes what we’ve bought from the store or online turns out to be garbage. But our faith is precious and should be protected at all costs. God’s righteousness demands He give the best, and this He did by pointing us to His Son. 

Precious faith will keep pointing us to the Son. Not to our works, thoughts, or personal beliefs. Not to sources like the world, the flesh, or the devil. Don’t be fooled by your eyes, feelings, situations, or wants. Precious faith will give us precious sight that keeps us on the narrow way that leads to life. Only a righteous God can give this kind of faith. 

Question: how highly should we value God’s gifts relative to man’s gifts? 

“God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:” 
This verse tells us that Jesus who died and rose from the dead is not only a Savior, but God as well. This is one of several verses in the Bible that clearly shows that Jesus is deity. He is God and our Savior. Ponder John 5, which has several powerful passages of Jesus doing what only a God can do. 

This Savior has saved us from serving sin to serving Him. This is the work of the Savior, to destroy the work of the devil and break the power of sin. As a new creation by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have a new master; so, whom will you serve? Never think that a habitual sin cannot eventually be broken by faith in Jesus. He specializes in rescuing us from sin.
Our precious faith keeps us by the Good Shepherd’s side: when we follow Him by faith, we put ourselves in the path of receiving God’s grace and help. Our meager strength is supplemented by God’s own power. 

Question: since Jesus is God and Savior, can we trust Him to overcome our sins, including the sins we’ve given up fixing by ourselves? 

1:2 
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you” 
Peter, still in his introduction, is combining the Roman and Jewish greetings of the time. He desires that we have lives of grace and peace, especially power to overcome sin and mold us into Christ’s image of peace with God. 

Peter is not writing this to rebels, for grace and peace is blocked for the disobedient, not multiplied. Our rebel flesh does not act in faith toward Christ, so grace cannot be released. Peace is not possible when one is acting contrary to the Prince of Peace. 

With grace, or God’s unmerited help, multiplied to us, all of God’s good plans for us are possible. Our faith can be stretched to believe the most wonderful of promises that seem out of reach now. Grace is provided to help you reach beyond, and grasp what your own resources can’t supply. 

When you find God’s grace empowering you to obey Him and abide in Christ, then peace is multiplied, too, as you marvel at His mercy. It expands the more we rest in Him. 

Question: will you believe that the Lord is willing to take you beyond the boundaries of where you stopped? 

“through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” 
This grace and peace does not come through much book reading, but through God’s self-disclosure of His love, purpose, and power, and when we respond in humility to that revelation. 

This “knowledge of. God” isn’t mere book knowledge. It’s knowledge accumulated from reading the Word with a thirst to know Him more. God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). He will reveal Himself. If we seek Him with all of our heart, it means we make it our priority to know Him. 

Grace and peace is multiplied when His true character is known. No longer “a hard man,” but the most loving Father ever. No longer hard to reach, but as near as your mouth. No wonder peace is multiplied. 

Question: is knowing Jesus the priority of your life, or is He one of many balls you are trying to juggle? (Hint: if you truly know Him as God and Savior, you’ll know what to do about all the questions where you fall short.) 

1:3 
“According as his divine power” 
His divine power grants us what we really need, not our physical strength, mental abilities, or street smarts. This is the conviction of the servant who has discovered the life of Christ within, and the power of the Spirit at work. 

The servant, seeing spiritual realities that are too high to be grasped and carried out in his own strength, relies on this divine power. He expects God to use him and work through him. If he fails, then he was working in his own strength, but then he repents and surrenders for the next stage of co-laboring with God. 

Question: does your prayer life reflect your need for God to work on your behalf? 

“hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,” 
Everything regarding the empowering and equipping of the new creation in Christ comes by His divine power. That’s the great difference between the new life and the old. As the just shall live by faith, God releases what is needed. It’s a far cry from the burden and bondage of following endless rules and stressful regulations. 

The grace and peace flowing to us comes out of Christ’s “fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). This verse is in the past tense–His riches have already been given. It’s up to us to search the Scriptures and live out by faith what He made available to us. 

Question: are you still looking to the world to get what God has already laid up for you in Christ? 

“through the knowledge of him that hath called us [by and] to [his own] glory and virtue [excellence]” 
Our calling is to express His own excellence. He is the image of all that is good, so He can’t call us to anything lesser. He formed us to be bearers of His image. That image was defaced by sin. 
But as we learn what He is like and imitate Him (“through the knowledge of Him”), we grow up to be like Him in all things. He reveals Himself; then we see new possibilities in ourselves (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). 

When the local church is learning of Him, with “Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17), we as a body are “filled with the fullness of God” (3:19) as we forgive one another, encourage one another, love one another, and express the various aspects of God’s love. We see God’s character on display in the body. This happens “as we comprehend” with all the members of the body (3:18), who are likewise expressing His love (3:17). Knowing Him, we become like Him, and God displays the fullness of our calling in such a body. 

What forces are shaping you now? What is your identity based on? Politics? Business and money? Home life? Illness and disability? The American Dream? Sinful impulses?

When God calls us to live, His standard and vision is of His own life. As Christ dwells in us by faith, we imitate the life of Christ–in whom the Father dwelt by faith (John 14:10). 
As Christ’s ministry was by the power of the Holy Spirit, so it is with ours. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that to imitate Jesus means merely to be outwardly nice and kind, and not to imitate His inward faith. It means for His life to work through you as the Father lived through Him by faith (John 14:9-10). 

Paul consciously apprehended this reality when he said, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). His pursuit of knowing God went from theory to reality–God lives in him. He also testifies that he lives “by the faith of the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20). We imitate His faith, not just His work. His works were the expression of His faith, not the other way around. 

Question: do you believe it will be worth it to carve out time specifically to seek and know God? 

1:4 
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:” 
God keeps on giving. He has given us assurances, called promises, that focus our hope on Him alone. Every promise is precious because each one reveals something wonderful to the one who seeks after God. They say much about the One who makes guarantees to sinners like us. The Lord God Almighty vows that He will do great things for us. 

They are exceedingly great and precious because they shape our thinking as children and sons of God. How does a child of the King reason? According to the promises. How does the new creation live? According to the promises. Where our minds line up with Scripture that honors God, we are living the life of Christ by faith. Through them we have hope. We are loved. We have a destiny shaped by God. 

Question: what does a promise from God to you say about Him? 

“that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,” 
Partakers are people who share something in common. In this case, it’s the divine nature. But isn’t that a blasphemous thought? No, for this divine nature has already been expressed in the earlier verses. Serving God with the calling God gave us; living by faith in God; Jesus as Lord and Savior over us; grace and peace multiplied to us; the Spirit giving us knowledge of God and Christ; His divine power working in us; receiving all grace and help to accomplish His will and calling—then we are expressing His divine nature within these jars of clay. 

All these blessings are “by these” promises, words of love from the Son who gave us the gift of Himself. 

Sharing in the divine nature, we are not gods, but the Father and Son are to live through us (John 14:22-23). That is how it happens. Not by man’s might, nor by woman’s power, but by His Spirit in us. 

As we do His righteous acts by faith, God’s righteousness is revealed. As our faith works in love, God is working through that same love (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). When we believe Jesus and act on it, God is already working (John 6:29). 

Question: since God is love, and you share His divine nature, what kind of person will you be if you responded to His promises? 

“having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 
We need to see the greatness of the Savior’s all-encompassing spiritual rescue. If we only read the Bible for information that doesn’t change us, then we’ve missed the point of having a Savior. 

Through Him we escape the corruption that is in the world. The corruption that ruins the world—had infected us. What was good became evil. What was holy became a wretch. What was useful became unfit for God. 

The “lust” in the verse is defined as “a longing (especially for what is forbidden)” in Strong’s definition, and is not limited to sexual lusts. The world apart from God’s holy influence is decaying through man’s constant demands upon it for selfish ends. We’ve all heard the drumbeat of a worsening environmental disaster growing louder and louder. But it’s not only the physical environment that’s being corrupted by man’s wastes on land, air, and sea. 

The world in turn entices us and corrupts our desires. We develop improper desires that bring our lives into conflict with God’s kingdom. The world says the American Dream and its leisure hours should be your highest priority. God says the kingdom of God and His righteousness must be first place in our pursuit. 

Where Jesus is God and Savior, we follow Him and escape the corruption. Be not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind into the Son’s likeness. Through the great and precious promises renewing our minds we escape, setting our renovated souls on the spiritual values of God’s kingdom. 

The world offers us paltry gifts, but the promises show us God’s divine power available to us for life everlasting, both now and for ever. 

Let’s be sure to renew our minds with those promises repeatedly, lest we let them slip. 
Question: do you have a large God and Savior who saves you from your inner corruption, or a small god where you need to borrow man’s devices and ideas to “manage” your sins and addictions? 

To be continued… Part 2 will cover 2 Peter 1:5-11.

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Doing the Will of God

Jesus took a moment to make a correction we church-goers need at times. We may get so carried away with doing good things that we end up following our wills more than the will of God. Jesus corrects our notion that doing good is synonymous with doing the will of God. 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). After talking about false prophets who claimed the Lord gave them messages to speak (vv. 15-20), Jesus explains to His disciples the true way into the kingdom of heaven. It’s not by merely using His title Lord, as the false prophets were doing, but following through on the commands of the Lord. 

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Easter’s Over—Now What?

For many of us, when we think about what it means that Jesus rose from the dead (the Easter story), we usually conclude that we’ll rise from the dead too. We will live forever because Jesus beat death. He will bring us to heaven. 

To really bring out what the cross and resurrection mean to us on a daily basis, we turn from the brief tales of the crucifixion and resurrection in the gospels and let the epistles spell it out for us. 

One instance is found in 1 Peter 2, where he addresses today’s suffering from the perspective of the cross of Christ. Has there been suffering in our lives lately? What has been our viewpoint toward the griefs we’ve been forced to endure? 

Jesus was a perfect man—and He suffered. He therefore shows us how to suffer. As a matter of fact, when we believed in Jesus, the Spirit washed and regenerated us (Titus 3:5), and we became a new creation. That new creation has the spiritual capacity to think like Christ. When we do so, we start acting like Him too. 

So how did Jesus view His suffering? What sustained Him in His extreme hour of trial? How should we expect to change? 

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Thine Be the Glory, Risen, Conquering Son

The Swiss author of this hymn, Edmond Budry, originally wrote it in French. He beautifully captures the intimate connection Christ’s earthly body has with His resurrection glory. 

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son; 
endless is the vict’ry Thou o’er death hast won. 

Glory is when you do something pretty significant in your eyes and you think everyone should know about it and congratulate you. So you post about it online.
In this hymn, Jesus is acknowledged for doing something no one else can do. He alone deserves the honor of overcoming in a way that no political party, think tank, technological power, or military might has been able to do. No one can keep people from dying. No one can bring people back to life. 
He’s the Son of God who beat death forever, and showed it by rising from the dead through His own power. 

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The Blood of the Lamb

What is the significance of the blood of Christ that was poured out at Calvary? When we say the blood cleanses us, what do we mean by that, especially when we cannot see any blood, and we don’t use blood for cleaning in our normal lives? 

To learn more about this, it helps to research the use of the blood in the OT. Because of their persistent study of the OT scriptures, the Jewish mind was already making connections when the blood was mentioned in the NT. Our 21st century minds were not shaped by blood sacrifices. Theirs was. The NT enlarges on what the OT talked about. The NT helps us see the significance the OT hints at.

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Meditation: A Faith That Works, James 2:26

We’re familiar with James 2:26: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Do we know what it implies? 

James is talking about living life in a way that bears witness to one’s faith. Regarding works, he is not talking about, “you should memorize your Bible more, pray for an hour, go to church, volunteer, labor for God from dawn to dusk,” and so on. This is not the aim of the passage. 

Suppose we are hesitant about our faith, whether it is enough. We may feel pressured to do more to make up for it. We may double up on the tasks we do to confirm that we really are faithful believers. This may result in the tyranny of the urgent. Performance anxiety. The feeling that we’re not doing enough nor good enough. 

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Book Review: Goliath Must Fall

Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants  -     By: Louie Giglio

C 2017 by Louie Giglio, Passion Publishing, Thomas Nelson

It’s not often that I’m impressed with a Christian book. This one was impressive. Louie and staff wrote an inspirational book on defeating the giants in our souls. (Figured that from the title, didn’t we?) 

His take on the story of David and Goliath isn’t what you’d expect: “Because David did it, you can, too. God helped David beat the giant, so he’ll help you, too.” No. Louie’s twist on this story is that David is Jesus. Jesus already beat the giants in your life. Goliath is dead already. 

The snake is dead, but the venom is still there. Yet God has provided a way to make sure we do not get stung to death. This book is all about making sure we know the way. 

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If God is love, why does He allow war?

The question as worded questions the idea that God is loving and in control of the situation. If He was in control, then He wouldn’t allow them to suffer, the premise goes. This argument is beloved by atheists because it cleverly attempts to hide truths that open the door to faith in Christ.

Any question that begins with “If God is love…” has already gone off the tracks. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). But He’s is so much more than that. You too can love. But you can hate as well, or feel empathy, or jealousy, and so on. God is not one-dimensional, in other words. He has other attributes. And all of them are flavored with love.

Suppose we reword the question as, “If all people are sinners, and God is a just judge, then how could He allow them to suffer?” Yet in the end, God doesn’t want us to suffer, does He?

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No Other Way to the Father

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV).

How do these two halves of the verse work together? What do the three attributes of the Son have to do with coming to the Father?

If we perceive Jesus in the three ways He identified Himself in the first sentence, then we are already on the way to God through Jesus. It indicates that the Holy Spirit has shown us who the Son is and we have pursued this relationship. Let’s explain.

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My Prayer List Benefits

I’ve been using a prayer list to keep my prayer times productive. Here are some of the blessings I’ve discovered after keeping to it almost every evening. These benefits are for anyone who wants a better prayer life!

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Strengthening Ourselves in Christ

David was a master war strategist before and after he became king. In 1 Samuel 30 we see one of the reasons why. In this incident, we also learn how to discover and boost the God-given talent, ministry, or gift we possess. Let’s see behind the scenes of David’s greatness before he would be king. Perhaps this insight will help us as we enter a new year of spiritual challenges.

After three days David and his men of war had returned to their city and found it looted and their families carried off (vv. 1-3). What did David do? He prayed for wisdom and waited on the Lord until he received direction (vv. 6-8). 

That was his master strategy in a nutshell. That was the secret of his military success. Let the Lord lead. 

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Isaiah 9 Meditation: A Son is Given

Here is my chapter breakdown for Isaiah 9: 
1-3 From gloom to gladness 
4-5 Breaking the yoke, the rod of their oppressor 
6-7 A divine son is given, and his government of peace will increase 
8-21 God is angry with proud Israel 

The end of Isaiah 8 speaks of the prophet eagerly waiting for the Lord, who is hiding from Israel (8: 17). It speaks of the time Israel will experience “the gloom of anguish” and be “driven away into darkness” (8:22). In sin and error pining. 

Gloom continued for the next 400 years since the last of the Old Testament prophets spoke to the Jewish people. 400 years without prophetic utterance. God and Israel were not on speaking terms. In the meantime, the Old Testament canon was finalized and in print. 

Chapter 9 begins with a note of hope. A “great light” will shine in a dark land (9:2). What will the light do? The gloom will be replaced with rejoicing, and the darkness with light (v. 3). 

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Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Some of the most enduring hymns contain a treasure-trove of scripture framing the whole. So it is with “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” It was written by Charles Wesley, with classical composer Felix Mendelssohn adding the tune. Charles, drawing from his rich reservoir of Bible knowledge, wrote this marvelous composite of scriptural truths concerning the birth of the Son of God. Who is He? What did it mean for the Son to become flesh? To what end did He come?

These truths are boldly sketched, dipped into the Word of God to paint the pages a colorful rendition of His advent. Let’s examine this hymn, then come and worship. 

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Make the Good News Known

In His last days on earth after His resurrection, Jesus’ final words included this commandment: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). 

In this statement, our Lord is revealing the scope of the good news. It’s not for the Jews alone, but everybody. All the world; all creation. No place is off limits. To the uttermost parts of the earth. 

He is telling us to continue the work He started. His mission included the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. The gospel/good news is found in its immediacy—the kingdom is now, “at hand.” Today is the day of salvation. The King has already come. Kingdom blessings can be retrieved by faith, now. 

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Thanksgiving in Israel

God gave several yearly feasts for Israel to observe as a nation. All the biblical feasts center on remembering the work of God in the history of the Jews. Most of the feasts are celebrations and times of thanksgiving. (None of their holidays commemorate people like we do, such as remembering Noah building the ark or Moses at the burning bush.)

Their feasts can give us ideas of how we can give thanks to the Lord this month, or more often. Specifically, how does the Lord want us to remember Him? The yearly Feast of Passover gives us ideas on how we can remember God with a grateful heart this Thanksgiving. (Feast of Passover: Exodus 12:1-13, 21-25, 42). 

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Isaiah 8 Meditation: Signs and Wonders

This is my chapter breakdown for Isaiah 8:

1-8 Prophecy regarding Maher-shalal-hash-baz: Damascus and Samaria will fall by the Assyrian invasion soon
9-15 Fear the Lord, not what the people fear
16-18 Being a testimony to God
19-22 Look to God and live, not to spiritists and the dead

What do you fear? The coronavirus taking your life? Government conspiracies against you? The nation’s financial collapse (or your own)? The erosion of your freedoms?

Just before 722 B.C., the Jews in the divided kingdom feared danger because of the oncoming civil war, especially since northern Israel made an alliance with a foreign power, Rezin king of Aram, against southern Israel.

God’s instruction to His holy ones then are the same to us who hold fast to Him today. “do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread” (Isaiah 8:12 ESV). What then should we fear?

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America, America

Despite what you read in the media, it’s not about race: it’s not about White versus Black or any other people group. It’s about sin. Our national anthem prays: 

“America! America!/God shed His grace on thee,/And crown thy good with brotherhood/From sea to shining sea!” 

By God shedding His grace, His own power to change those who acknowledge Him, people grow to respect others in spite of racial heritage. He molds us after His own character, the one who “so loved the world” (John 3:16), and imbues us to “crown thy good with brotherhood.” 

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Meditation: Called to speak the things of God, Isaiah 6

God was looking for someone to bear witness of the Lord to a Jewish people who would “Keep on looking, but do not understand” (Isaiah 6:9). That person will speak and the hearers will not respond. How would you like such a job, knowing people will be upset over your words, or just uncaring? You would throw out all your maxims and formulas for “success;” they won’t work. God has set the course of Israel. Judgment is coming no matter what. 

You won’t be able to rely on your hearers’ feedback to find your identity. No “Like” votes will strengthen your heart. Other speakers will always enjoy more popularity than you will. 

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“Who are you to judge me?”

Have you ever heard words like these when you pointed out a problem you saw in someone? “You’re not supposed to judge me,” they told you. “The Bible says so.” 

Does it, though? What does the Bible say on this topic? Do believers have any guidelines on judging others? Yes. Let’s go over a few of them. 

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What More Could God Have Done?

Sometimes we can invest a lot of our time and attention on a person or group, only to see no good results come from it. In Isaiah 5:1-7, the Lord recounts the care He took to form a successful vineyard. But it resulted in bad grapes.

The Lord asked the Jews, “Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard” (5:3). With this rhetorical question, He invited them to review His covenant. If they would honor Him by keeping His commandments, not going after other gods, and dealing with sin through the sacrifices, then:

  • They’ll be blessed in the city and country.
  • Their offspring and their beasts’ offspring will be healthy.
  • Their enemies will run away from them.
  • He will make their barns overflow with food.
  • They will bless other nations and not be in debt to them.
  • It will be apparent that God is in their midst and favoring them. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14.)
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Will There be a Revival in the End Times?

Some believers in the Pre-Tribulation fold believe that 144,000 Jews will be preaching the word to others in a tribulation period, and that’s where the revival happens. Revivals can happen at any time in history when the conditions are right.

However, I find in the Bible that people will diminish in their affections to God. Matthew 24:9-12 talks about church persecutions increasing because “the love of many will grow cold.” 2 Timothy 3:1-9 speaks of “perilous times” in the last days where church-members’ godliness is only on the outside and people live for their lusts. 2 Peter 2 warns about “false prophets” who will do much harm in the church.

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Working in the End Times, Mark 13

Mark 13 Chapter Breakdown: 
1-4 The great buildings will be torn down 
5-13 Times of persecution of believers 
14-23 Tribulation in the days of the Abomination of Desolation 
24-27 The Son of Man comes and the angels take away his people 
28-32 The span of time is short; He is right at the door 
33-37 Warned to be alert, to keep serving 

Message: 
Faced with the coming period of persecution, Mark 13:5-13, the Abomination of Desolation and tribulation vv. 14-23, before the Lord comes and the angels snatch us away, vv. 24-27, according to the sequence the Lord lays out in Mark 13, what are we to do? 

Sell our belongings and wait on a mountaintop? Head for the hills and hide? Pray more often? Thankfully, we don’t have to guess, for the Lord tells us how to get ready. We are to continue to work as faithful servants, busy at the tasks He has given us, vv. 33-37. When He comes, He will reward us according to our labor. 

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Two Questions regarding Sin’s Consequences in the OT

I received these questions recently. Though they involve God’s Old Testament covenant with the Jews, they are still relevant to the church today.

  1. “If a person is to bear the responsibility for their own sinful action, why did God also swallow up Korah’s family by the earth?”

God did indeed give a commandment that family members are not to bear the sins of the father (Deuteronomy 24:16). This is the rule He gave to the judges of the land when they went to court. The human courts were to use this guide so they would judge fairly.

But God reserves for Himself to judge as He wills and do what is right. Look again at the story of Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16. In vv. 20-31, Moses at the command of God told the people to get away from the wicked people, those who were rebelling against Moses, God’s prophet. Moses told them that if Korah and the others died a natural death, then “the Lord has not sent me.” The people made a choice. Some stood with Korah against Moses. They died. So God killed two birds with one stone–He stopped the rebellion cold, and vindicated Moses as His chosen servant. What followed in the next chapter revealed the pervasive sin in our hearts, and how slow of heart we are to learn spiritual lessons.

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A Visual Gospel Presentation

I’ve been going to the local pier to join several others for one-on-one evangelism. It’s a popular spot, especially on Friday evenings. 

Spinner used as an evangelistic tool

This group uses a carnival-like spinning wheel with a sign over it, “Spin For Free Candy” (not seen in photo). When they spin, the top pointer will point to a Bible-themed question. All these questions open them up to be engaged in spiritual subjects and the good news of Jesus Christ. They get a free candy or bottle of water with any reply.

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Is Our Faith Real?

James 2:20-26 uses the story of Abraham to help us see if our faith is biblical faith, or if it’s something else. 

God told Abraham to go and offer his son Isaac on the mountain. This is the same God who said that He would raise up descendants as innumerable as the sand through Abraham’s son. 

So Abraham thought that in order for God to fulfill His promise, He would have to raise Isaac from the dead. In Abraham’s mind, Isaac was as good as dead during the three days’ journey. (We get these details in Hebrews 11:17-19.) As Abraham was reaching for his knife, God stopped him. He had sufficiently proved his faith by his willingness to obey. 

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Meditation, James 1

The “testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3). God is using situations around us to apply pressure to us and our faith. Some of us think we’ll grow spiritually by reading something and understanding it. But the fruit of the Spirit, the outcome of His work, perfects us by outward pressures brought to bear on our faith. 

The Spirit knows all of our weak points. He knows what pressures are necessary and where to apply them, like the sculptor applying the chisel where it will form the vision in his mind. If we bail out at the first signs of trouble, if we do not trust God through it, the fruit does not grow, the image of God is left unfinished. 

When we continue to trust the Lord in the midst of our struggles, then we partner with God for His fruit to develop. We believe what He says in spite of what we think and feel, and He works in the life. 

Persevering through difficulty doesn’t grow by reading books. Enduring our hardships comes from understanding what God is trying to create in us, and knowing how He brings it about. God explains all this in the Word. It means accepting the Lord’s way and timing, and trusting Him to bring it to a good end.

We won’t lay down our lives for Jesus merely by reading about it. We cannot by our ability love our neighbor to the depth God wants us to. With man this is impossible. God has to do it, and He forms our character in troubles. 

For instance, we don’t become patient instantly upon hearing about it. So God goes to work. We’ll go through trials and we’ll respond in ways we shouldn’t, and act rashly. Right there, the trial has exposed an enemy in our soul. We found an enemy that prevents us from being patient, something to repent of, to watch against. Perhaps some selfishness, hidden rebellion, a lack of love for the neighbor, or simply not believing God. 

If we learned our lesson, then we may weather the trial better next time. We will know what to believe God for next time because we continued in His Word, which led us to trust Him. 

We don’t directly walk into hardships; this broken world will stomp on us without our help. Nevertheless, we can volunteer for duties that get us out of our comfort zone. That work can force us to look to God alone. 

Wise parents can put pressures on their children by giving them reasonable commandments and duties. This will test them and help them see where they are weak and need to trust the Lord. 

In this sanctifying process, He turns the tables on our troubles. We thought they were against us. Instead, God uses them to train us. So James 1:2 tells us to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” What used to leave a bad taste in our mouths now builds an anticipation for what the Lord is going to do to mold and shape us for His glory. 

What is the aim of all this testing of our faith with trials? Jesus summed up all the laws of God simply. It is to love the Lord with our whole being and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). If we have tensions because of the people around us, let this word of Jesus sum up what is wrong with our faith. Our character of love to God and neighbor needs further formation. 

Let all hatred go. Let forgiveness reign. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This is the kingdom of God lived out in the world. God is love, and in deeds of unselfishness by His Spirit we reflect our God to others in the midst of our hardships. This is the fruit the Spirit forms in us. It doesn’t come easily.

With experience in this kind of spiritual warfare, we discover first-hand God’s work in our lives, and find Him faithful. Over time, trials are not as troubling as before. 

This is why God needs to build an endurance based on trusting Him. Small troubles and large can distract us and stall our spiritual growth. These very trials are flipped and applied for His glory. Let us say with the Psalmist in difficult times, 

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? 
And why have you become disturbed within me? 
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him 
For the help of His presence" (Psalm 42:5).  

Stay in the Word. Note the Christ-like traits the Spirit wants to create in you. Pay attention to what goes wrong when you are under pressure. Face the truth about yourself, and surrender afresh. 

Be watchful when you feel the pressure building, and switch to a full-on prayer assault. In all this, you are partnering with the Lord to become the person of God you aspire to be in your community and family. 

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A Father’s Gift

The Word of God is a declaration of the love of God the Father to His Son. 

God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one God, what the Christians call the Trinity. This is how God describes Himself in the Bible. 

For eternity, before the worlds were created, the members of the godhead operated in a relationship of perfect love, always. Always in perfect unity, each person playing His part. For eternity the Son has enjoyed perfect love from the other members. 

In love, the Father has planned the perfect gift to His Son. The love of millions of people who will love Him, worship Him, obey Him, honor, believe, trust, even give their lives to the Son. Going from a love from one heart to the love from billions, all directed to Jesus. The gift of many, as innumerable as the sand by the seashore, pouring out their love and worship to Him. 

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Meditation in Mark 8, A Deeper Healing

Some of the townsfolk brought a blind man to Jesus and urged Him to touch him (Mark 8:22-25). Here’s a blind man wondering, “Who is this stranger? What does He want? What is going on here?” Jesus, seeing the true need, chose a radically different path than they expected for a deeper healing.

Taking him by the hand, He carefully led him outside the village, guiding him with His voice. “There’s a rocky patch here, so step carefully.” He held his hand extra firmly over the rougher parts, murmuring encouragement. An inner miracle occurred. The farther the blind man’s steps drew from village, the closer his heart drew to this gentle Shepherd of the sheep. Though his eyes were blind, his heart saw that he could trust this man.

Jesus spit on his eyes and laid His hands on him, asking, “Do you see anything?” He saw men like trees walking. He felt ashamed. He did not want to disappoint this man. Will he give up on him like all the others had?

Jesus put His hands on his eyes again. The man made an effort to look more intently—and saw clearly. He saw through the hands of Jesus His care in leading him, a protective closeness, a patient spirit, a healing touch. He saw the people more clearly, that they needed something more than eyes that see.

Jesus sent him home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Don’t go back. Leave your doubts behind. His walk gifted you with His presence. His hands gifted you with insight. Beautify your home with the treasures you gathered in your journey with Him. Once, they found no room for Him in the inn. Now He has found a home in your heart.

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