Author: kezha1

Fast forward to today and the last sentence still holds the same urgency as it did when Jesus first proclaimed it to the crowds in Galilee. “Repent and believe the Good News!” It is the Gospel Message boiled down into one simple directive…now is the time to turn back to God & place your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Galatians 4:4-5 puts it this way, “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son…” The coming of the Messiah, Jesus, set in motion all that would bring about God’s Kingdom… satisfying the requirements of the Law by His life here on earth. And so today, as we wait for His Second Coming, these verses still ring true and should be on our mind daily as we interact with others…”Repent and believe the Good News!”

Yes, to the meager extent of our own free will we have the choice to follow Jesus or not. But the original and saving choice has always been His. (Mark 1:17 & 2:14) So the bottom line is, if God hadn’t chosen you in the first place, you’d of never chosen Him. Therefore it’s foolish to think that you’ve “gotten” Him, when He’s really “gotten” you. And as we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit, as His ultimate plan & purpose for our life yields glory for Him. (John 15:5)

This rich young ruler had everything…but lacked one thing that neither he nor all his wealth could obtain. He also knew how to play the game in approaching Jesus… saying and doing all the right things to garner favor…kneeling and calling Jesus good Teacher… feigning respect & honor. But deep inside this young man was smug, self-assured, and proud…presumptuously answering Jesus, “I’ve keep the Law since I was a boy!” But rather than confronting the lie, Jesus looked at him lovingly, but then hit him with a demand that he wasn’t expecting, “Sell everything you have and come follow Me.” Sadly, the young man turned and walked away…unwilling to change…wanting something for nothing…having every worldly thing, but still unable to obtain eternal life.

The early-twentieth-century Scottish Evangelist & Teacher, Oswald Chambers, once wrote, “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God Whose ways you may not understand at the time.” It’s intentionally taking my eyes off the unknown to purposefully place my trust in Him, based on who He says He is…not on the situation I find myself currently in. And just what does God say about His character? He tells us that He is trustworthy, faithful, good, kind, caring & compassionate. He is our protector, our rock, and our refuge in times of trouble. And because of all this, I can therefore place my hope in Him.

Sometimes when our life is in turmoil and nothing seems to make sense, we need to stop and ask the Lord to reveal His perspective in the matter. “Lord, give me Your view of things in their true relationship and relative importance in what I can only see as a big mess in my life.” And you’ll be surprised what God will reveal to you from His point of view & stand point… things you’ve never even thought of before! That’s because God knows all things…our thoughts, (Psalm 94:11) our heart, (Psalm 44:21) from beginning to end…and we can trust in His all-knowing perspective to be perfect. So in asking for God’s perspective we can rest assured it will be exactly what He Wills for our life, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:11)

The entire Epistle of I Peter was an exhortation to trust & obey…written by a man called The Apostle of Hope. Peter explained the purpose in the pain…the significance in our suffering…and the aim of our affliction & anguish was to look to Jesus as our model to follow in preserving through all suffering. With Peter’s encouragement in the end being, we will learn the greatest lesson of all… trust & obedience.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, ” Faith enables a man both to live and to die without fear.” Hebrews Chapter 11 is known as the Faith Chapter, and if you haven’t read it in a while I’d encourage you to do so today. The Writer of Hebrews looks at faith as the certianity of receiving what God has promised but not yet given…namely eternal life. It’s the right now kind of faith that can see the future, and is the means by which we can lay hold of Christ & His blessings. This faith is the future assurance of eternal life with Him made concrete in the here and now as we live a life of steadfast belief in Him. So whether we live or die, we can be fearless… because our journey’s destination is certain.

The love spoken about here is Agape love…unconditional & sacrificial love…for God & for one another. It’s shown in God’s love for us, demonstrated in His covenant faithfulness and His relentless pursuit of sinners in spite of their rebellion or indifference. In turn, we are to show this same type of love…first to God as obedient love, and secondly to others…completing & fulfilling to perfection this love He first gave us.

Israel’s pride in their military strength had usurped their reliance on God. To the point that God declared He abhorred their conceit & smugness. But it had not always been that way, as we read in Psalm 47:4, “He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loved.” For it was only through God’s grace that Israel would come to possess the Promised Land…but know God’s anger seethed over their haughtiness of military superiority rather than acknowledging where their true deliverance came from…and as history tells us, this stubborn pride would become the downfall of Israel.

Job’s friend, (and I use that word friend loosely) Eliphaz continued to insist that Job was guilty of great sinfulness – even though he had no evidence to support his theory. Eliphaz’s rational being…Job must of done something pretty bad for all these terrible things to happen to him. But even though his preaching was misguided, presumptuous, and crass, Eliphaz did make some good points in verses 21,22, and 23. We all have a choice to make about God…We all have the chance to accept His instruction…and we all possess the ability to change though our faith in Jesus.