God’s Love Celebrated! Merry Christmas!
GT—Volume 13 Issue 12
Christmas is Comin’, By Gum!
Christmas in the Church calendar does not begin with Christmas Eve and end Christmas Day (too often with great relief!) It begins with a season called, “Advent”. This is a four-week celebration that anticipates the birth of the Christ Child. For believers, it is a time of remembrance and excited looking for the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Son of God became a God/man (in truth fully God and fully man). He was “veiled in flesh” so, none but believers could recognize the Son of God. Unbelievers saw only a man, preaching great truths of life with God and proclaiming the further truths of the Kingdom of God.
God sent His Son the first time to demonstrate God’s love for mankind. He ministered exhaustingly to the needs of the multitude. Their infirmities and sins weighed on the heart of Jesus and aged him prematurely (at 32, the Pharisees looked upon Him, seeing a 50-year old).
They rejected His truth, while maintaining their misunderstandings as truth. God presented them with living proof of His love, but the unbelievers killed Him.
What confused the leaders most was their desire for a conquering king who would deliver them from the Roman yoke.
What God sent was the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah. The Son of God came as the Suffering Servant because that was what the people needed. Their need, and our need today, is forgiveness for sin and an atoning sacrifice to reconcile us to God. Far more than a conquering King, we need a Savior.
The reality of our lives is that we are separated eternally from God by sin. So long as that sin remains a barrier, we are doomed to separation from God forever. While we are under this curse of sin, the coming of the Son of God as a conqueror would be an extreme danger to us. He will come to eradicate sin on earth. Without His atoning sacrifice, all people (including us) would be eradicated. There is no mercy in the Son of God for sin.
John the Baptist, Stated he was a voice crying in the wilderness. His mission was to prepare the way for God’s anointed King, Lord Jesus, the Christ. When he saw Jesus, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! He said. “I must decrease and He must Increase.” John 3:30
Since Jesus has come first as a servant, He has served us well by dying for our sins and cleansing us from sin (all who believe are saved).
For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (Ephesians 2:8)
Believers are no longer enemies of God. His Son’s Coming as the Conquering King can be joyfully anticipated.
He will destroy sin on the earth. All who perpetrate sin: the devil and his demons and all who have not embraced Christ will be cast into the lake of fire. 
The Severity Of God’s Love
Now that sounds harsh. The early movie star, W. C. Fields, was a notorious unbeliever. When his Director found him reading a Bible on a movie set, he was shocked. The Director asked, “What are you doing, Bill?” He replied, “Looking for loopholes, looking for loopholes.”
Our emotions want to find a way to escape the consequence of sin, without surrender to Christ as Lord and Master of our lives. However, the plan of God has not been kept secret. Everyone within the reach of my writing has had many opportunities to comply with God’s requirements, i.e. obedience to God’s will, belief in the truths written in the Bible, acknowledge sin, embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Throughout the Bible is recorded the history of God instructing people in the way to live and remain a part of the family of God. Reading that history, we discover that as many times as God blessed His people they eventually turned away from Him. Many times, God sent witnesses to correct the waywardness of the people. Sometimes, they heeded the warnings and mended their ways; and then returned to obeying God. Too often, they ignored God’s corrections. As a result, He would remove His hand of protection. In His absence, enemies attacked, killing and sacking. Other times, drought destroyed crops, plagues afflicted and killed many. At times, these calamities drew the people close to the Lord God, but other times no warning, no calamity convinced the people that they were on the wrong road.
After King Solomon, the nation of Israel split into two nations–Israel and Judah. For two hundred years, God sought to turn the resulting Israel back to Him. They continued to refuse. God gave up on Israel. In 722 B.C., they were crushed and deported into Assyria. The people were ultimately assimilated and completely lost to the message of God.
Judah had a better run. The nation had many “good” kings who called the people back to God. Tragically a century after Israel was ultimately lost, Judah fell into Israel’s pattern of ignoring God and persecuting the prophets He sent to warn them.
The people of Judah are led into slavery
150 years after Israel was destroyed and that part of the people of God were deported into Assyria, Judah was defeated by Babylon. They were led as slaves into Babylon. However, there was a difference. They acknowledged their sin and drew back to God while they were in exile that lasted for 70 years.
They returned to the Land of Promise to rebuild Jerusalem, the Temple of God and reestablished themselves as people of God.
500 years later, the Laws made to keep God’s People close to Him, had become barriers to a lively faith. God sent His Son to be the Redeemer and to save all who would trust in Him alone for relationship with God and for salvation from sin and entry into eternal life.
Will the Pattern Repeat?
The Embarkation of the Pilgrims (1857) by American painter Robert Walter Weir at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC
America was founded for the purpose of communicating the Truth that Jesus is God and He is the Savior of all men. Columbus voyaged to a land he thought was India. When He landed, Columbus claimed it for Christ. Nearly 130 years later, the Pilgrims arrived on the shores of New England with the vision of establishing a godly nation.
Their vision proved to be God’s vision, and for 300 years America was a shining example to the world of a nation dedicated to Jesus Christ. The Pilgrims and later others evangelized the native Americans giving them the benefits of salvation. In the 1850’s, America became the foremost missionary-sending nation in history. Our missionaries, led by Christ evangelized on every continent, bringing the Good News of Jesus’ salvation to peoples who were living in fear of the evil in the world. Jesus delivered them and gave them joy in life.
America has not just shared the Gospel, we have shared our selves. We have given away our resources to nations all over the world to support them financially. We have sent food to starving nations. We have shared our medical expertise, without cost to peoples dying of ailments simple to treat with modern medicine. We have sent technology to disadvantaged nations, giving them jobs and income to help them rise out of squalor.
Unhappily, 80 years ago, we began turning away from our faith in God. Increasingly, we have adopted a culture that excludes Jesus. This began with questioning the authority and the veracity of the Bible. The real turning point was 60 years ago when morality was thrown overboard. In the last 30 years, we have experienced a continual attack on anything that is Christian. We have done this, thinking that there were no consequences to legislating Jesus out of our culture.
The consequences that have occurred we have refused to see as the removing the hand of God’s protection. We were horrified at the scourge of AIDs but refused to recognize it as the consequences of homosexuality. We were horrified by the attack of 9/11, the worst loss of life as an act of war against our homeland. We are insensitive to the slaughter of the innocents in the abortion clinics. This, too, was a judgment of God.
I am a voice crying in the wilderness, “Behold your God”. It is necessary for us to connect the dots and take warning. To save America, we must return to Christ as a nation. We must realize that God is not playing around. He is deadly serious that
- Jesus be honored
- Jesus be obeyed
- the people of the nation live in righteousness
- we give generously to all who are in need
- we establish discipline in requiring people to be responsible to God and to one another
For centuries, America was a melting pot that drew us together. We drew people together around Christ. That must be our goal again. In the Revelation, the Resurrected Christ wrote letters to the seven Churches in Asia. He wrote to Ephesus.
But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. (Revelation 2:4-5)
The Candlestick represents the life of the church. To remove it means that the church at Ephesus would no longer exist. This applies equally to America.
We Have Left Our First Love
We have left our first love. We have turned our backs on the Christ who has greatly blessed our nation to make it the most free, most generous, most prosperous, and most godly nation in history. We have lost sight of that truth. We have gotten caught up in the “Jack Horner Syndrome” – “What a good boy am I!” God is warning our nation and our people,
“Repent! Return to your roots in Christ! Your place on the world’s stage will last only so long as you obey me, the living God.”
We have become steeped in materialistic philosophy. We have been deceived that material well-being is all-important. We have secularized our thinking to reject the reality of the spiritual needs of people. A truth we have been unwilling to embrace is that unless a person is spiritually alive, material well-being is bankrupt. It is a dead end.
All the wealth in the world lasts only so long as one lives.
All the wealth in the world lasts only so long as one lives. Upon death, all this world disappears. If we are only material, then in this life alone we have hope. Were this true, then it does not matter how I get my well-being. The only important thing is securing my place, and the “devil take anyone else”. In this philosophy, no one else matters. They are tools to use and discard by the powerful.
Yes, the pattern of faith slipping away to disbelief and the resulting judgment of God against the unbelievers will continue. It will continue and America will end on the ash heap of history as so many nations have: Syria, Assyria, Israel, Babylon, Rome. They lasted hundreds of years, but died or dissipated in the end. More recently, the official atheist U.S.S.R. fell under its own weight. Without God, they are no more. America is speeding to follow in all these nations unhappy destiny.
Unless God Provides
There IS one loophole. I do not know whether W. C. Fields found or if he did, used it. That “loophole” is God’s provision. God always knew that men through their own efforts could never in many millennia achieve the purity and perfection to be in His Righteous and Holy Presence. Thus, left to our own devices individuals are barred from God’s paradise. It is not the meanness of God that bars us. It is the nature in us that seeks the lowest common denominator.
Actually, God is forthright in declaring He loves mankind. We are His creation. He wants us to be with Him during our short life on this planet, AND for eternity.
Here are Scriptures that describe God’s desire for us.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. (Jerimaiah 29:11)
Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
The majority of people have one of three conceptions of God:
- He is wrathful and only punishes people
- He is a softie, a pushover who loves everyone no matter how bad they are
- Likely most just do not believe in Him
There is some truth in the first two. God’s wrath is nothing to tempt. We should avoid his wrath at all costs. However, His wrath is abated when His Son enters one’s life. All those who belong to Jesus will never experience the wrath of God.
The second is true: God eagerly desires for you and me to be with Him in eternity. He loves us with an everlasting love. However, He will not allow sin to go unpunished. He will not receive into his glorious mansions any who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as God.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14: 1-3)
There is no truth at all in the concept that God does not exist. Those who espouse this spend their lives in living a lie. The evidence of God is undeniable to anyone who will face the truth.
The balance of the cosmos, the intricacy of the human body, the facts of love, hope, faith cry out the existence of a loving and just God.
The balance of the cosmos, the intricacy of the human body, the facts of love, hope, faith cry out the existence of a loving and just God.
It is the greatest thing in all the world to embrace Jesus in love. It is soul-satisfying and spirit-enlivening. The love of Christ sent the Holy Spirit to us to dwell with us and in us. He has given us His Spirit as the guarantee that He will always be with us, encouraging, helping, and that He will welcome us into God’s glorious, loving, joy-filled habitation. There we will both joyfully praise the majesty of God and will feed on the heavenly viands and quaff the wine of the Spirit.
Our eternal lives will be at the same time replete–peaceful at rest; and yet we will be eagerly seeking after more of God’s Presence, love and bountiful manifestations in and through us.
The Mercy of God
Revolutionary preacher, George Whitefield. Known as a famous revivalist preacher credited for the “Great Awakening” leading to the American Revolution.
As people in America changed from living for God and began living for self, the nation grew more profane. Out of His gracious mercy, Almighty God sent the Holy Spirit to revive the church and to convict the unbelievers. The First Great Awakening swept through the Colonies in the 1740’s. Amazing miracles occurred and amazing transformations in lives were the evidences of God’s grace. The cruder and sinful aspects of the culture died back and the churches burgeoned with faithful believers, many of them were new converts. The society became more civil and the hearts of the people more open to give and receive.
The revivals enrolled millions of new members in existing evangelical denominations and led to the formation of new denominations. Many converts believed that the Awakening heralded a new millennial age.
As is the pattern of humans, over time the first love cooled and the zeal for Christ and His Law faded. Culture coarsened and sin became common. In 1850, the Lord Jesus sent the convicting Holy Spirit to awaken the populace to the reality of their sin. Large groups of people came to revival meetings and heard and responded to the message of salvation in Christ alone. In this Second Great Awakening, there were masses of people wailing with tears of repentance. Thousands were converted and again society was transformed. Out of that revival grew the abolitionist movement and that resulted in freeing of the slaves.
Then again, parallel with the growing evils of the “New Morality” (the old immorality blatant), came the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on peoples of every denomination. The evidence was the multiplying of the “charismata”, the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:7-10)
The love of God for America has redeemed us from our sin before. Now join me in prayer for another Advent to revive our apostate churches. We must pray also for the Final Advent in which Christ will come to judge the peoples of the earth and establish His righteous reign
Questions Demanding Answers
This is a recurring feature. I pose a question in one issue. You have the opportunity to send me answers. I publish the best ones in the next issue. Please cite Biblical authority, and keep you answer within 250 words.
QUESTION: Where is the Holy Spirit now?
ANSWER: Jesus breathed on His Disciples,
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: (John 20:22)
Earlier Jesus had said,
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17)
The Holy Spirit is one of the Persons of the Trinity. He is Omnipresent. He is present everywhere all the time. So, the short answer is, “He is Everywhere!”. However, he is especially present in believers. Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit specifically to His Disciples and said that He would be with us. He has initiated the Spirit’s presence as a teacher about Jesus. He has come to dwell in believers. His special purpose is as a guarantee.
… in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Holy Spirit within is our assurance that we belong to Almighty God. He is our Father and He will never forsake us.
When the world dumps garbage all over us, when we suffer loss, when we cannot seem to get anywhere, we have the Holy Spirit’s witness in our hearts that He is with us. Because of His testimony in our hearts we know that nothing in this world or in the spirit world can separate us from the love of God.
The Holy Spirit is our Guide, present to lead us along Christ’s path. Jesus is the way and the Holy Spirit orders our steps so we do not wander off and get lost.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us what we need to know to live as overcomers in this fallen world. Further, He reminds of what Jesus taught us as recorded in Scripture. Thus, we need to read and study, so the Holy Spirit has those teachings available.
The Holy Spirit is our comforter when things go badly wrong for us. He is our strength in grief when we lose a loved one. He is our support when we have a worldly loss.
The Holy Spirit is our inspirer. He Inspired the many authors of Scripture. He gives us Rhema as we read the Scriptures. That is an understanding of the meaning of a text or a word that we had never learned before.
Where is he? With the unbeliever, silent in the background. With the believer, actively building up our faith and trust in Jesus.
The Holy of Holies
Join me in bowing before our God in gratitude that we can speak directly and personally to Him. He is our loving Father, so we can embrace Him boldly, but respectfully.
Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus. My heart longs to be in Your unveiled Presence. Our Nation urgently needs Your redemption. Our world desperately needs Your reconciliation. Pour out Your Spirit of conviction upon us. Bring us to our knees in openhearted repentance. Many, if not most in America need heart transplants. Your word tells us that You will remove our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh that will be soft toward You. We are in great need of You.
Lord of lords and King of kings, our world is groaning over the rampant sin around the globe. Come in Your majesty, come in Your awesome power and sweep away the evil; judge the people, condemn all sin, and then restore the world to its perfect state prior to the Fall.
My gracious King, You said You would come quickly and bring rewards with You. You know my heart, Lord. Reward is secondary, the frosting on the cake. It is Jesus I long for.
To be in Your presence, Precious Jesus, would be glory for me. Your Psalmist says, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” What a wonderful thought. You give us fullness, all the Joy we can hold, and spilling over. Beyond that You have a place for me at your right hand. The place of honor is for all believers! What a deep and thrilling pleasure to be seated next to You and even more to be honored.
You say in The Revelation “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” (22:17) I understand that the Holy Spirit will declare to the Church that time is up and You are going to return in glory and judgment. The Church, the Bride of Christ will unite with the Holy Spirit in a cosmos-shaking universal cry, Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!
I long for that Day when I will see You, my Savior face to face, when all This world’s trappings will be shed and my mortal body will be transformed into a celestial body. Then I will be able to glorify You and praise You unhindered by distractions.
Hallelujah! My Lord and Savior. Worthy are You to receive all Honor, Glory, Dominion and Praise.
Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
QUESTION: Who were the Magi and why did they come to see Jesus?
Hope in God
GT—Volume 13 Issue 10
Hope for the Best
Without hope life is featureless. With hope, life is in Technicolor. Hope is the expectation that there will be good things in the future. In Dante’s Inferno, emblazoned over the Gates of Hell is, “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here”. The label indicates that there will never be anything good ever again.
When I was in seminary, one of the counseling courses I took had a segment dealing with suicidal people. The emphasis was that for whatever reason those afflicted had lost hope. They were so caught up in the pressure, ennui or fear that they could see nothing but the continuation of an intolerable repetition of days in the same state. They could only see death as a relief. Their only scrap of hope was that death would bring nothingness.
In the predawn, it is still dark, but the glint of the sun on the horizon is a harbinger of a better day coming. It brings light to overcome the darkness, chasing away the shadows, revealing possibilities.
As counselors and pastors, our responsibility was to give them hope. Since they saw no future in this life, first we had to give them a future. We did this by getting them to do something or to agree to a meeting sometime in their future. We did not need to address their state right away, but worked on pushing back the irrevocable decision to end their lives.
Once we got such an agreement, the next step was to discover how to show them that their situation was not hopeless. We had to avoid giving false hope, because that only kicked the can down the road. When that hope proved false, as counselors we had lost our credibility and their resolve of suicide intensified, most likely beyond recovery.
Where There is Hope, There is Life
Statue of Robert the Bruce at the monument for the Battle of Bannockburn in Bannockburn
Robert the Bruce of Scotland (in 1306 A.D.) had been fighting Edward I of England for control of Scotland. He had been defeated six times, and was hiding alone in a barn, despondent. While brooding over his lot, he idly watched a spider trying to fasten its web to a beam. After six failed tries, the spider attempted the seventh and succeeded.
In the depth of despondency, hope in the form of a persistent spider resulted in the seizing of a kingdom. This is the power of hope. Its persistence inspired The Bruce to rally his army. In the next battle they won, and went on to defeat Edward’s General, Comyn, at the Battle of Inverurie in May 1308; he then overran Buchan and defeated the English garrison at Aberdeen. The Bruce reigned as King of Scotland until his death in 1329.
George Washington fought a retreating war with the British in 1777. As the English settled into the comfortable populous cities for the winter, George Washington’s Army settled into Valley Forge just 18 miles from Philadelphia. This was a bit more than a year before he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was fighting the greatest army in the world at the time. He had been in a constant state of retreat to preserve his army. While in Valley Forge, he was safe from attack, because the British had hunkered down in relative ease for the winter.
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Washington, however, was losing men. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February, 1778. In addition, men whose enlistments expired left for home. His situation was desperate. Continental Congress could not supply his men. Foreign nations, even enemies of England, were unwilling to loan money to a losing cause. The American General needed something to give his men, his nation and foreign lenders hope.
On Christmas, he made a daring crossing of the Delaware River to attack the elite Hessian mercenary force at Trenton. His surprise attack was eminently successful. This proved that the American “rag tag’ army was equal to face and defeat the British.
Hope is a Ladder to Success
My climbing partner and I were rock climbing Castle Rock just off U. S. Highway 2, west of Leavenworth, WA. The first portion is a monolith that has cracked away from the main peak. You attain the relatively flat top of the monolith, but there in front of you is a narrow crevasse about 4 feet across, but 30 or 40 feet deep. There is a ledge on the main peak within arm’s reach, if one leaned out over the crevasse. To the gain main portion you must do what climbers call a mantle move. It is like putting your palms on a fireplace mantle and levering you body up to the place where you can put a knee on the mantle.
Cragging at Castle Rock
This is not a difficult technical move, but with the crevasse yawning below it is a difficult psychological one. I attempted it twice and failed regaining the flat top of the monolith with some difficulty, out of breath and heart surging.
I looked at it and said to myself, “Ted! It’s not that difficult! You CAN DO IT!” In one continuous move, I leaned over, mantled up, placed my knee and attained the ledge. I just needed the reassuring hope that It could be done and I had the ability to do it.
Earlier in life, I was a young Real Estate Salesman. I was unsuccessful and discouraged. I talked with a successful salesman. He taught me the “Vicious Spiral” and the “Successful Spiral”. Human nature projects the past into the future. One failure tends to predispose one to another failure. This reinforces the downward spiral of failure. Without some intervention, the downward spiral continues to complete defeat. In contrast the successful spiral builds on a success, which predisposes one to expect the next success and achieve it, building into an ever increasing record of successes.
Good salespeople do not allow a failed sale to influence their attitude toward the next one. They retain hope in their abilities and retain an attitude that projects confidence. This, in turn, evokes trust in clients who begin to trust the salesperson to successfully find the right property and help them buy it. The expectant hope in the salesperson communicates hope to the buyer.
This contributes to the success in the current sale and builds hope that the succeeding sales will be successful.
Instead of focusing on what they can do, people too often focus on their emotions. They allow their disappointments to sap the hope for a better outcome. The unhappy result is without hope, a person cannot exert his best effort, and the attempts become a self-fulfilling prophesy. You cannot because without hope you believe you cannot.
Hopelessness Leads to Disaster
Personality conflicts with his superior led to the firing of an engineer. Unhappily, the reason given was incompetence. Essentially, that was a kiss of death. He applied to three different firms. At the first interview the vindictive report of his former manager caused them to reject him. He began to lose hope, so he went to his second interview steeled for the rejection that he expected. Sure enough, they passed him over. By the third interview, it reflected in his demeanor and his “you don’t really want to hire me, do you?” attitude.
He had been out of work so long that to get an income, any income, he took a job at another engineering firm as a mail clerk. He was headed for the disaster of dead end jobs until he died of a broken heart.
As he was passing out the mail, a former associate and a friend discovered him. “What are you doing?” “Oh, I had to take a stop-loss job.” His friend took him to lunch and discovered what had happened. “But you are a good engineer! You can’t settle for this. Your name is on the Richardson Building. It’s on the Century Tower and several other projects in town. Why don’t you lead with those? They will show your competence. Then state clearly the dispute you had with your former manager. Let the interviewer decide whether to believe him or your work.”
As in this case, sometimes it takes a friend who cares to give us hope. Our need for one another is humbling, but essential. “No man is an island.” We are foolish if we insist on “making it on our own.” There are times when one has to do everything by himself. Those times are a minority. By far, the most of life lies in the path accompanied by others. It is important to be willing to lean on others and encourage them to lean on us from time to time.
Often another person has the emotional separation to see a problem we are too close to see. Listening to others with humility and honesty can be a very hope-filled activity. We learn to expect an honest declaration of our unseen needs. This gives us the ability to address the needs and overcome them; when without that other’s insight we would continue down a dead end road.
Looking Forward
We live in a prosperous nation. We live in a bountiful country. There are good people all around us. We have the freedom to exercise many of our desires.
Stop and smell the roses.
Despite all the problems that are real in our lives, nation and world, still for us, there is much to enjoy in life. We too often focus too much on our problems and disappointments. We begin to have tunnel vision focusing too narrowly. We need to “stop and smell the roses”. We need to step back from the difficulties of life and take a broader look at the world and the people around us.
I see the vast majority of people being polite and taking turns. I see people naturally helping others. Day before yesterday, a vehicle had a dead battery. No cars were close by. The driver had no jumper cables. He went over to a vehicle further off. The driver was glad of help and was willing to lend his running vehicle, but he did not have jumper cables. The distressed driver asked another fellow. He could not leave his job, but he loaned his cables. In a trice, with the willing cooperation of two strangers, the engine was running.
Yes, we live in a society that is hopeful at its core. We never have a reason in this life to be hopeless. Even for the destitute there are numerous “safety nets,” from Rescue Missions to government programs.
In this life, we need to be constantly looking forward to the possibilities that lie ahead. The hopeless struggle, because depression is waiting to sap their energy, their creativity and their very life force.
Where There is Life, There is Hope
I have been encouraging us to have hope in this life. That is important, but there is more. The more is life after death. Many do not believe in it. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” appears to be to philosophy of many. For them hope in this life is all they have.
However, if they are wrong, and there is life, as I know there is, after these bodies die, they may be greatly shocked at what they have missed.
There are three alternatives:
- Death is the absolute end.
- Death is a trap door to eternal misery
- Death is a stairway to blessing
If there is nothing after this life, then why not feast and party, without concern for the long run consequences. So, one destroys his body, it does not matter. It was fun while it lasted. Without consequences of an afterlife, there is no reason to be moral. Clever people can cheat their way through life. Social restrictions are for wimps or those who do have the brains to work the system to their own advantage,
If death is a trap door to misery, then there is no hope in the afterlife. If this is all we have, maybe the memory of the pleasures here and now will be some comfort in the eternal misery. So again, eat, drink and be merry, for this is as good as it gets.
Both of these alternatives offer no future hope–the one is nothing and the other is disaster.
The third possibility is that Death is a stairway to blessedness. Here, too, are two alternatives. One is that everyone gets to be blessed, regardless of how they have lived. This is certainly the depth of injustice. If all the truly evil receive the same life as the ones who have contributed wonderfully to the blessing of others, then what is the point of doing good?
The second alternative of the latter is that it is a combination of both; the evil receive their just reward and the good receive their just reward.
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ (Matthew 25:23)
Here lies the truth. God who has created all that is, including life, and life after death has established the rules for all. He is the Creator, so He gets to set the rules.
The Rules Which Give Hope
Here are the rules simple, direct, understandable:
Sinners go to Hell. Those who do no sin go to heaven. To qualify for an eternal life of blessedness all one has to do is avoid every sin throughout life here. Since all that sin go to an eternity of misery, even one sin qualifies one for Hell.
When I look at my life, I am without hope. Everyone who has been born, lived and died or is going to die is doomed. Because all of us sin, we are doomed to spend eternity in misery. What is the hope in that? None!
God is the Creator. He did not create mankind to be swept into Hell. He created us to love and to love Him. Therefore, God set up a system, whereby all those who love him, God will raise into heaven.
In order for us to receive justice for our sin, he created the system of sacrifice. An innocent life can bear the sins of another into death. The earlier sacrifices were animals. They were a temporary cleansing of a person’s sin. Unhappily, there were many sins not covered by the animal’s death.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16, 17)
To fill in that gap, God chose to be born a man, fully man and fully God. The Son of God took on flesh and became man. He lived a perfect life of no sin. He voluntarily laid down his life for mankind. Therefore, all who believe that Jesus is God come in the flesh, and who died to cleanse their sins, God will save, cleanse of sin and inherit everlasting life of blessedness.
Conversely, all who for any reason do not believe in Jesus as God, exclude themselves from the eternal life of blessedness, and qualify for Hell and an afterlife of misery.
Hope in the Love of God
God is a loving father who has loved us so greatly that, to have us with Him in eternity, He paid an extraordinary price. He sent His Son, His only and beloved Son. How many of us would send our son to death to save a prostitute, a rebel, a murderer. The number is so small it vanishes into insignificance.
The other side of this is that the Son of God loves us enough to experience what it was like to live in a limited body, and then to actually, physically die, so that you and I could be with Him for eternity.
Can you see the extent of God’s love? Your embrace of that lover and the surrender of your life to Jesus, the Christ, is the price you pay for eternity in the blessedness of the family of God. God becomes your Farther. Jesus becomes your brother. The Holy Spirit comes to live in you, guiding your along the way in this life to eternal life.
There, my friend, is the love of God.
It is all embracing. It is the epitome of hope. It gives you the promise of eternal life. It gives you a future of blessedness beyond this life. God’s love plants your feet on the stairway to heaven, so that there is not fear in death. What a blessed hope is that! God’s love promises the companionship of the Holy Spirit living in you to be your Guide and Comforter. He teaches you to know Christ and His desires. He fills your spirit with spiritual strength to live this life as an overcomer, and to enter into the eternal Presence of your heavenly father. There you will stand before Him in all His glory and hear Him say words that will thrill your being, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of Your Lord!”
Questions Demanding Answers
This is a recurring feature. I pose a question in one issue. You have the opportunity to send me answers. I publish the best ones in the next issue. Please cite Biblical authority, and keep you answer within 250 words.
QUESTION: What was the history of the blood sacrifice for atonement for sin?
ANSWER: When Adam and Eve sinned, their first awareness was that they were naked. When God exiled them from the Garden of Eden, He sacrificed animals to clothe their nakedness.
Noah took the animals in two by two, but he took extra clean animals for sacrifice.
Abraham built an altar immediately upon arriving in the land God gave him.
Moses received elaborate instructions for an extensive sacrificial system–burnt offering for sin; thank offering, votive or good will offerings, meat (cereal) offerings, offering on the new moon, offering to redeem the first-born son, the offering of Passover, First Fruits, Succoth, the Day of Atonement.
The concept is that a person’s sins separate him from a righteous and holy God. To propitiate one’s sin one must sacrifice an innocent victim. The most common sacrifice was a lamb. For the poor, it was a dove.
The understanding was that the life was in the blood. Therefore, sprinkling the lifeblood of the victim was a propitiating sacrifice. To propitiate is to cause one to be favorably inclined, to appease or conciliate. Thus, the sacrifice of an innocent victim was what God required to appeased His wrath against sin.
God teaches us that because He is perfectly and infinitely righteous, any sin is an offense against Him and evokes His wrath. The perpetrator is condemned in the very act of unrighteousness. Thus, God’s wrath must be propitiated. An innocent victim was a stopgap. Since people sinned every day, the people had to repeat the sacrifice often.
The animal sacrifice continued in the Temple until the Romans finally destroyed it in 70 A.D.
However, in the meantime, Jesus the God/man was born lived and was crucified. God’s Son was the ultimate innocent victim. Because He loved mankind and wanted us to be with Him in eternity, Jesus went willingly to the cross. His innocent death propitiated God’s wrath against all who embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Sin strips away our righteousness, leaving us naked. Jesus through His sacrificial death and our surrender to Him, reclothes us in His righteousness. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. He died in our place. Jesus with his death paid the ransom for us to redeem us. Jesus’ lifeblood was the cleansing agent for our sin.
Because the Father loves the Son, and because the Son died in our place, when the Father looks at us and sees Christ’s blood on us and us clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we are accepted in the beloved!
QUESTION: How can we be children of God?
The Holy of Holies
Join me in bowing before our God in gratitude that we can speak directly and personally to Him. He is our loving Father, so we can embrace Him boldly, but respectfully.
I come to You, my Father, because I am eternally grateful for Your love and provision for me and my family. You have poured out Your love to each and all of us. You have selected us to be adopted into Your family. Out of all the billions of people who have ever lived and ever will live, You sent Your Holy Spirit to draw us into Your heart.
We were lost and we didn’t even know it. Now that You, Holy Spirit have called us we have been adopted into God’s family. It is marvelous what You have done in quickening our spirits and in filling us with Your grace. You have bestowed upon us manifold gifts and promises of future grace.
Jesus, thank You for bearing our sins on the cross and taking them to death with You in Your actual death. I am amazed when I consider what You went through to redeem me. You were severely beaten, your were brutally flogged, they crammed the crown of thorns on your brow, they forced You to carry the heavy, rough cross painfully on your bleeding back, and then they pierced your hands and feet, pounding in the spikes. After that excruciating pain they hoisted You up to hang from the wounds. You suffered the agony of Your injuries, the agony of thirst and agony of muscle cramps from dehydration. And worst of all You became the sin bearer with all my sin. Then Your righteous Father who will not look upon sin, turned away from You. That must have been the greatest agony of all, the just penalty for sin, abandonment by Your Father.
My Jesus, Your love is so great for me that You, knowing beforehand what you would suffer, willingly bore my penalty on the cross. Oh, my God! I thank You. I love You. I am humbled and deeply honored that You have embraced me as Your adopted brother. You are my Shepherd and You provide all I need. You have sent the Holy Spirit to seek me out and lead me to You. You are my King and I am Your slave. And yet, You raise me up and call me friend. You have amazing love.
Holy God I have so little to give, but in thanksgiving I give my life to You. I am Yours to command. My heart is willing to do anything to show my gratitude. While I know I can never repay the astounding debt I owe You, I give You all I am and ever will be.
Even in offering this is, I realize that I am bound in flesh. What I will, I cannot do. I am fickle, loving you one minute and forgetting I am Yours the next. Have patience with me, my most gracious Father. Send the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sins of distraction from Your glory, sins of being more concerned about the opinions of other people than Your opinion of me; more wrapped up in me than devoted to You. My God, O, my God, deliver me from this bondage to my fleshly nature.
You are the Loving God. You are the ultimate power in all Creation. Your judgments are right and true. Your mercy is beyond my ability to comprehend. Your glory is so magnificent that in my flesh it would consume me. You are the only, true God!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Glory, and blessing and honor be to You forever! Amen!
Live with Faith in Jesus
Jesus IS the Messiah
But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art and offence to me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Matthew 16:23
“Hey, Jesus! Cut him some slack.” Peter understands. He gets it–Jesus IS the Messiah, and more. He is born of God, the Son of God. Jesus has been calling himself the “Son of man”, but that’s just to identify himself with other men. Peter has discovered that a man or woman must see beyond his manhood, to fully know Jesus.
When Peter confessed his understanding and proclaimed this truth, Jesus blessed him. “Peter you have stopped looking with your eyes. You have stopped operating out of the motivation of your soul. You have listened to the voice of God. You are seeing with spiritual eyes, and are being motivated by the Holy Spirit.”
All Who Confess Jesus
Then He further honored Peter. Jesus stated that the revelation Peter proclaimed, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God!”, will be the foundation of Christ’s Church. All who confess this, all who submit to Jesus as God will be members of Christ’s church. Without this proclamation, there is no foundation and no Church.
Jesus bestowed two gifts on the Disciples. He gave them entry into heaven and the method to allow others to enter.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)
Then, Jesus gave them and all disciples authority on earth and in heaven.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19)
The holder of keys has the right to lock and unlock doors. He has the authority to allow or disallow entry. Jesus has entrusted that high honor to the Disciples and to all disciples who follow.
Jesus Died for Us
Next, the Messiah offered something even more precious. He shared with them His mind and the intention of Almighty God. Jesus began to reveal to the Disciples the mystery, the hidden truth, that Jesus must die for the Sin of mankind; that He will be in the grave for three days; and that God will raise Him up (v. 21).
Peter was stunned! Here he was basking in the glow of Jesus blessing and praise. Likely, Peter was only half listening as Jesus continued speaking. Maybe he was caught up in a vision of Christ’s Church. Maybe Peter saw himself, as one of Christ’s inner circle, bestowing grace upon thousands. Perhaps his heart was overflowing with love for this wonderful, special Man.
Suddenly he returned to the present. “What did he Say!? He’s going to be murdered – And by the chief priests!? That can’t be! He just said He’s going to found a new Church. The chief priests had been grumbling against Jesus, but murder Him? NEVER! Not on my watch!” Jesus wasn’t making sense.
Shadow of Death
Peter was yanked from the glow of a mountain top experience and plunged into the valley of the shadow of death. Peter’s extravagant love for Jesus, his absolute loyalty to the mission as Peter saw it, made him forget his position. He was a disciple at the feet of the Teacher. His heart overcame his head. Peter’s protective impulse, while noble in the abstract was inappropriate due to his ignorance. Peter leapt out to shield his Master from folly. Where immediately before, Peter had responded to the Holy Spirit; now he was controlled by fleshly emotions. Peter would die before he allowed anyone to harm Jesus – even Jesus Himself!
Blind to everything, but his fear of the danger Jesus was intentionally walking into, Peter rebuked Jesus, “Don’t be a fool! If the priests will endanger you, don’t go to Jerusalem. Have you lost your mind! I won’t let you! I’ll save You from Yourself”
Get Thee Behind Me, Satan!
Just when Peter thought there could be nothing lower than this valley he had plunged into, His beloved Master turned on him. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” “He called me Satan!” Peter must have been crushed. Here he was, just trying to save Jesus, and Jesus calls Peter a tool of the devil. Confused, humiliated, dejected, Peter felt lower than a whale’s belly, scratching on the seabed.
Jesus said Peter was hindering Him, obstructing His mission, interfering with Jesus plans, undermining his purpose. Jesus was saying, “You are living limited and unthinking, controlled by your emotions. Whereas just before you were listening to the voice of God, now your emotions have blinded you to the mind of God. Now you are allowing your emotions to crowd Him out.”
You see, Peter couldn’t yet get beyond death as finality. His emotions, while noble – love for Jesus and desire to protect Him – and ignoble – fear of death, fear of the loss of a dream – overcame his understanding that Jesus is God! Peter lost track of the fact that God knows everything, that He can raise the dead (He’d seen it several times), and that Jesus is not limited to man’s resources.
We are Like Peter
Truth be told, we are much like Peter. You and I, too often, operate in the realm of emotions, rather then the realm of the Holy Spirit. If a loved one or a dear friend becomes gravely ill, so that we fear for his life, we become desperate. The movie, John Q, explores this. The hero’s child needed an immediate organ transplant to save his life. Insurance wouldn’t pay for it. John Q and his family didn’t have the resources to pay for it. In desperation, his wife railed at him to do something. So, our hero took hostages and threatened the lives of many people to force the hospital to perform the transplant for his child. He is shown to be operating out of the best of motives–love for his child and willingness to make any personal sacrifice, even prison, to save his child.
Isn’t this is noble? Can’t we all identify this as moral high ground? The end of saving this child’s life justifies John Q’s desperate and life-threatening behavior.
Or does it?
God is Always Here
Let’s speculate on God’s view of this situation. He is left out of the movie in any real way, but in real situations He is always here. God is well aware of the suffering that sickness and death puts people through. He suffers, too. He knows the heartbreak of losing a child to death. God experienced both sides of it–as Himself and as the Son. We are not dealing with an esoteric, unfeeling God. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus hates death. The Rev. Canon Dennis Bennett said, “Jesus broke up every funeral He attended.” When He arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus’ spirit was deeply grieved. He groaned under the burden of mourning. He wept (John 11:33-35) in sorrow along with Mary and Martha and the Jews. Even though Jesus knew He would be raising Lazarus from the dead, He wept. He hates death. That’s why God took on death nose to nose, toe to toe–and defeated it!!
Jesus Victory over Death
Jesus’ victory has transformed death from an irretrievable dead end to but a threshold to enlarged life. We can’t conceive of all that means. Perhaps, that is why the Bible gives such a sketchy view of life beyond the grave. Jesus knows that death, even in the most dire and hopeless and despairing situations, is not certain. God has the power to intervene. God can deliver from the jaws of death; He can stay the progress of disease; He can even turn death to life. If you and I will look to Him with our whole hearts, He will replace fear with trust, grief with joy – in the midst of loss.
Trust in God’s Help
Thus, to John Q, to Peter, and to us, God says, “Trust in me, follow me, submit to me, and your life will be full. Trust me to bring your circumstances out of the valley into the light. Follow me through the darkness of confusion and sorrow and I will lead you into assurance of life everlasting. Submit to my command to love me and love others. Don’t limit your life to your own understanding. You will be given the victory over dire situations. I will uphold you by my Almighty Hand. And I will fill you with abundant joy.”
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)
Peter’s emotions conquered his trust in Jesus, conquered his obedience to his Master, and conquered his will to follow Jesus anywhere Jesus would lead. As a result, Peter became the tool of Satan. Peter had not grown enough in the spirit to require his emotions to submit. The Disciple tempted the Master to turn aside from the God-ordained path.
Do You Trust Jesus?
Do you identify with John Q? Do you feel he was justified in the extreme measures he took to save his child?
- Many are saying after “9/11”, our lives have changed and will never be the same.
- NOT SO! The world is the same fallen world as it was before. Our God is just as much God as He was before. As Christians, we have the authority of Jesus in the same measure as before. In Christ’s name, we can change the world.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 11:17)
- Many live in fear of burglars breaking in, being attacked in the street, losing jobs or homes or family, of getting sick, or becoming destitute. Fear is natural, so it is acceptable for Christians to live in fear.
- NOT SO! God is our fortress and high tower, a certain bulwark in time of trouble. God is our provider of food, clothing, shelter – yes, but so much more! He provides love, eternal life, new life fresh every morning, and God’s acceptance that completely overwhelms all shame.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. The waves of death swirled about me: the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. (2 Samuel 22:2-7)
- Many are infirm, disabled, sick, and suffering. This is the natural progress of life. This is the cross we must bear.
- NOT SO! “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jesus tells us. This means He has won the victory and presented us with a fete accompli, an accomplished fact. He has won the victory over sickness, addiction, infirmity, disability, poverty, and death. And more wonderful still, Jesus has given that victory to His adopted brothers and sisters – you and I who love Christ and long for his appearing.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
Hope in Time of Trouble
When you feel you are walking in Peter’s footsteps,
- “Jesus you can’t do that!”
- “Lord I can’t bear it any more!”
- “The Lord’s not doing anything, I’ll have to do something myself.”
- “After what has happened between us, I can’t love that person any more.”
- “I’ll never get out of the hole I’m in”
That’s the flesh talking, and it’s precisely the time to tune your spiritual ears to the Savior. Embrace and learn from His rebuke, “You are an offense to me, because you are clinging to the habits of men and forsaking your inheritance with God; an inheritance I bought for you with my blood!
Receive Comfort
Recognize your emotions for what they are. Recognize that the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Face your emotions. Don’t hide from them or deny them. Just don’t allow them to dominate your spirit and dictate your actions.
You are a princess of the Almighty King.
You are a prince of the Lord God.
Do not be led astray by emotion. Instead, lead your emotions into the light of Christ and let the Refiner’s Fire purify them.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Matthew 16:25-26)
I hear you thinking, “Easy for you to say.” On the contrary, no change in life habit comes easily. They are hardly won. Change begins with a step.
The most dangerous step is out the door. You never know where it will lead. (Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien)
Because change is hard and dangerous, most choose to sit by the fire. That causes us to turn our backs on the offerings of Christ. It leads to ignoring the call of the Holy Spirit. It results in rebellion against God.
Here is how it works
- Confess to God each time your emotions take charge
- Admit your own powerlessness
- Ask Jesus to apply His wisdom and strength to each situation
- Submit to what He tells you
- Thank Him for delivering you from the tyranny of your emotions
- Now start praising God. Praise of God in the midst of difficulty and crisis is an act of faith, a sacrifice of praise (Jeremiah 33:11; Hebrews 13:15). God is always worthy of praise.
- Build yourself up in the knowledge of the Word. Jesus resisted the tempter in the wilderness by quoting scripture. We can hold on to our trust in God through any situation bolstered by the Word of God.
- Pray without ceasing. Paul adjures us (Romans 12:12), “…continuing instant in prayer:” This is the life of prayer to which God calls us.
Start New Each Day
Begin fresh each day, and if necessary, each minute. The more we actively seek to live in the victory of Christ, the more we have the mind of Christ. The more we have the mind of Christ, the less we will be subject to the domination of the flesh. The less we are subject to the domination of the flesh, the freer we are in the spirit and the more the joy of the Lord will permeate our lives.
For Christ is the Victory!
