Month: January 2023

The difference between what the Scribes taught & Jesus’ teaching was simple…in John 1:14 it tells us that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. In other words, the omnipotent voice of God came to earth through the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ…and with it the right, dominion, and complete power to carry out whatever Jesus declared. The crowds quickly realized that the manner in which Jesus taught was completely different. The Scribes taught by appealing to traditions and the past…while Jesus taught with newness & divine wisdom. We see this in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said…but I say…” The Scribes might have had some knowledge of the Mosaic Law…but Jesus was the very manifestation & embodiment of that Word.

When we are thirsting after the Lord…when we’re going through those times of arid wilderness, it’s good to know God’s there. All we have to do is ask for guidance during sorrow, confusion, & loneliness, and He will answer. “Send out Your light & Your truth; let them lead me.” can be our prayer as we long for clarity and God’s perspective…aching for answers & the burden to be lifted off our shoulders. We may dwell for a bit in an arid & dry land…but we never have to doubt where the Living Water comes from to quench our thirst.

God’s judgment is always balanced & fair. Never will He correct by superficial evidence or rebuke because of shallow external appearance only. And we’re suppose to be the same way…but how many times do we make snap decisions about someone only by what they look like? In the Book of Galatians, during Paul’s absence, teachers from Palestine had come insisting that the Gentile Believers couldn’t be “true Christians” if they weren’t circumcised. Paul refuted this notion by saying, “God doesn’t judge by external appearances.” (Galatians 2: 6) …and neither should we. Or we can look at John 7:24 where Jesus is arguing with the Jewish leaders about Him healing on the Sabbath. He tells them, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” In other words, the Jewish leaders were picking & choosing what they thought was correct to do on the Sabbath (even if it meant going against Sabbath regulations) rather than doing what was ethically upright.

There are only two miracles of Jesus that appear in all four Gospels…the feeding of the 5,000 & the resurrection…but only in the Gospel of John are the disciples named who Jesus tested by telling them to, “Give these people something to eat.” Both Philip & Andrew were some of the first disciples to be called by Jesus. Both had professed early on that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. (John 1:41-45) Yet when confronted with what they felt was something impossible, they both crumbled. They only saw the throngs of people as a overwhelming & unsurmountable problem with no solution. But Jesus wasn’t looking for help when He told them to feed the people…He was looking for faith. We’re a lot like Philip & Andrew…we’re happily following along with Jesus when suddenly the impossible happens and that’s all we can see. But God is the God of the impossible…making a way when there is no way…and all He is asking for from us is faith.

Haggai was a minor prophet that ministered words of encouragement & revival to the Jewish exiles returning from Babylon to find their Temple destroyed. Here Haggai gives promise of greater blessings & reaffirms that the Lord is still with His people. He associates the rebuilding of the Temple with the coming era of the Messiah…God’s anointed One bringing glory, peace, & prosperity. This is confirmed in John 2:19 when Jesus calls Himself the personal embodiment of the Temple…with the ultimate fulfillment of this Scripture coming when the Lord God Almighty & the Lamb become the glorious manifestation of the Temple in the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:22)

The Cross…have we become too flippant & frivolous about it? So what exactly does the Cross mean? It’s the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin and the supreme triumph over death & the grave. There was nothing else as certain in time or eternity than what was accomplished on the Cross…making a way for all mankind to be brought back into a right relationship with God the Father. The Cross wasn’t something that “happened” to Jesus – He came to earth with the expressed purpose of going to that Cross in our place. (Revelation 13:8) It tells us that God became flesh in order to take away our sins, so the Cross is at the very heart of our salvation. Finally, the reason why salvation is obtainable to us is because of the Cross. It may not have cost us anything, but it cost God dearly. (John 3:16)

Many years ago the Lord found me. I wasn’t looking for Him, neither was I naturally thinking anything about eternal life…but Jesus Christ took hold of me & supernaturally called me to Himself. In I Timothy 6:12, the Apostle Paul exhorts the young Pastor Timothy to, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” In other words, take seriously the cost of your salvation to Christ and grasp hold in full assurance of what you possess by it. We may not be able yet to fully experience all the benefits of our redemption…but we have this hope and it needs to be rock solid. So take hold of Christ as He has taken hold of you… or as I Timothy 6:19 tells us, “Take hold of the life that is truly life.”

If you’ve been a Christian for a while, it’s not the flagrant and egregious sins you’re worried about committing on a daily basis…you’ve walked too long with the Lord for that. No, what should have you concerned is much more sly than out & out glaring sin…it’s complacency & compromise. Romans 6:12 is plain, “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body.” Sin has been broken off you by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, and all attempts of it to recover dominion over you must be resisted. Charles Spurgeon once said, ” When we think too lightly of sin, we think too lightly of the Savior.” And this happens every time you compromise or become too complacent…putting into jeopardy both God & your reputation, integrity, name, & moral character. So ask yourself this the next time you’re tempted to compromise in a situation, “Are you being faithful to God’s Word, or are you spinning & self- interpreting His Words in order to do what you desire?”

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus always indicated the source of His teaching wasn’t original to Him but to His Father. A little farther in John, Jesus again reiterated this, “These words you hear aren’t My own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me.” (John 14:24) The Good News of the Gospel Message was perfectly taught by Jesus as He listened & obeyed His Heavenly Father. And it tells us here that if we choose to obey & follow God’s Will, He will make known to us holy mysteries…He’ll disclose the divine, and will allow us to gain godly perception through personal experience with Him. Psalm 25:14 tells us that, “The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.” Just like a trusted friend, Jesus wants to entrust us with the same relationship He has with His Father…a deeply personal & intimate relationship with the One true God.

At the start of this new year we are all a lot like Abraham…we don’t know where the Lord will lead us. He may call some into Full-Time Ministry, some into new positions at work, and some into serving opportunities they’d never imagine. When called, we have two options, refuse or step out in faith. But when we refuse the Holy Spirit’s promptings we run the risk of rebellious attitudes & actions. Yet when we humbly accept & yield we’ll see that,” Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) For only faith can see into the future – by making real in the present what we already have through Christ Jesus. So walk boldly into this new year…trusting & obeying with full assurance of God’s plan for your life.