Month: September 2024

…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free,
but Christ is all and in all.
Colossians 3:11

What are the things that really matter in this life? Power? Great wealth? Fame? Social standing? Houses? Cars? Electronic gadgets? The truth is that none of these are worth diddily squat at the Great White Throne judgment. All the great men and women of human history would trade it all away in a heartbeat if they could just get their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

True believers are the ones who really get it. Christ is all in all and nothing else really matters. The apostle Paul put it this way: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

To make this idea a little more contemporary, missionary martyr Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” True; all very true, but most Christians don’t really live it.

Sadder yet, all that stuff clutters things up and separates believers from each other. Social status, nationality, cultural background, and educational levels divide Christians for whom Christ shed His blood. Divisions seem more justifiable when we can call them “doctrinal differences.” We become proud that we are right and those “weaker brothers” are wrong.

Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The Lord is trying to get through to His sleepy church in these last days, wanting them to focus on what’s important.

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22, 23).

June 6

Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary?
And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
Matthew 13:55

This simple verse reveals volumes about Christ’s childhood and upbringing. When the people of Nazareth saw Jesus teaching, healing, and doing amazing things, they were surprised and didn’t expect it. They recognized Him as the carpenter’s son but hadn’t taken much notice of Him. They didn’t take much notice of Joseph, either, other than knowing him as the guy who fixed broken furniture.

Mark 6:3 tells us that Jesus had Himself been a carpenter, a trade He obviously learned from His step-dad. It’s assumed that the creator of trees spent many long hours learning to work with wood. Children from richer families would have spent more years in the synagogue school and could have been discipled to become a rabbi. The carpenter’s son, on the other hand, would have been expected to work in the wood shop most of the day, sharpening tools and preparing lumber.

By age 30, Jesus was a master craftsman, but He left it all to begin his preaching ministry. I like that. Christ was able to earn a working man’s wage and had a skill that took years to develop. In other words, He had firsthand experience in the basics of making a living and had a message that everyday folks could identify with.

I was a school teacher for five years before going to the mission field, and I’ve had other jobs ranging from flipping hamburgers to mixing mortar. It definitely prepared me for serving the Lord. People who work hard to survive really don’t want to be preached at by someone who has never gotten his hands dirty. They need someone who is strong enough to lift their burden and carry the load.

Jesus reached the masses, the poor, and the needy. He wasn’t like other rabbis or the higher-ups in the religious community. He ruffled their feathers because He didn’t seem refined or cultured like them. After all, He was only the Carpenter’s Son.

June 5

The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the  LORD and against His Anointed.
Psalms 2:2
…The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor;
Luke 4:18

This title is a “threefer.” The one original Hebrew word is translated three different ways into English. The base word is “anointed,” but it is also translated as “Messiah” or “Christ,” depending on the context.

To be anointed means to have oil poured on one’s head in a public ceremony. This was done to ordain priests, coronate kings, and designate prophets. Christ was anointed by God for all of these positions; “Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Hebrews 1:9).

The Hebrew word for “anointed” or “anointed one” is “Mashiach,” which is written as “Messiah” in English. This was God’s special chosen one who wasn’t anointed with oil, but with the Holy Spirit. Every prophet, priest, and king in the Old Testament was a mashiach. However, God’s special One was the Mashiach, the Messiah.

When 70 Hebrew scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek, the word “mashiach” became “christos,” and then “Christ” in English. The dispersed Jewish people built their synagogues all around the Greek-speaking world and taught interested Gentiles about the God of the universe and His promised Christ who was to come.

In our day and age we really don’t get the concept of anointing. We think, “Yuck! Who would want to get all greasy like that?” But in the Middle East, oil was also used as a part of a healing process. In a land that is hot and dry, skin and hair become dull and scaly; oil poured out is refreshing and gives the body softness and shine.

Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament and the Christ of the New because, for us, He became God’s Anointed.

March 13

He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…
Isaiah 53:3

He was born in a barn because there was no room for Him anywhere else. Poverty demanded that only the minimal religious offering be made at His dedication. He grew up being gossiped about, because He was thought to be illegitimate. But they didn’t know the truth; they didn’t know Him.

He healed the blind, the lame, and those with incurable diseases, but wasn’t paid for His services. He often slept outside because He owned no house or even the money for a night’s lodging. He had a group of close followers, but one was a traitor and the rest abandoned Him to His enemies.

He was a rejected king, without an army and without a following. His soul felt troubled, weighed down by the seriousness of His mission, yet He didn’t weep for Himself. When He saw the city of His execution, He wept for the lost and deceived folks inside.

This Man of Sorrows endured the cross and despised the shame because of the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2)– the joy of finally wiping away every tear from the cheek of fallen man.

“Man of Sorrows” what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

-Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876)

June 3

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say,
“Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”
Luke 7:34*

Criticism – Who can escape it? Not even the perfect man was free from the critical eye and negative comment. Some critics judged Christ for the company he kept and assumed that He was over-eating and getting drunk. After all, that’s what they would have done, given the same opportunity.

Externals – Superficial things can become very important in any society. Setting a fork to the left of the plate is neither right nor wrong in itself, but can be used as a measure to discern who is cultured and who is not. The socially elite spurned the Lord Jesus for being at the wrong party. They weren’t seeking truth; they were seeking faults.

Pride – The desire to look good and feel important is the source of every malicious remark and sarcastic comment. It fuels envy and prejudice and opposes the Savior. No wonder God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Example – The Lord was misunderstood for being a friend of sinners. When disciples imitate their Master who showed love to the unlovely, they too are put down and criticized. However, what can be better than having the heart and mind of Christ?

*see also Matthew 11:19

June 2

Then God [Elohim] said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” … So God [Elohim] created man in His own image; in the image of God [Elohim]
He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-27*

The deity of Christ, far from being an obscure doctrine, permeates the Bible, beginning in chapter one. Elohim, the Hebrew word most commonly translated as “God” in the Old Testament, clearly communicates the concept of the Holy Trinity.

The word denotes “Mighty One,” but its grammar also envelopes the idea of plurality within unity. Some English words have similar structure. If someone requested a pair of pants and some scissors, it would be clear that he wanted one of each, even though these words are grammatically plural.

The universe is not run by a committee or a board of directors. It is controlled by the one true God, Elohim (Deuteronomy 6:4).

The one Almighty God is expressed to us in three persons. God the Father fills every cubic inch of the universe (Psalm 139:1-16). God the Son is the Most High revealed in physical human form (1 John 5:20). God the Spirit is the special presence of the Holy One in the lives of believers (Romans 8:9).

Just as I can be a brother, father, and husband all at the same time, Elohim relates to His creation in distinct ways without being divided Himself. One person of God is not the same as the others, yet one manifestation certainly cannot deny the existence of the rest. There is more to Elohim than a narrow view of God.

*Elohim is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament

June 1

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.“
Matthew 1:23

The given name on my birth certificate is “Richard”; it means “strong leader.” My wife’s name is “Carol” which means “manly” or “strong.” Now, if you told me what your personal name means, I probably wouldn’t care. There’s usually not a lot of correlation between people and what their names are supposed to mean.

Immanuel is Hebrew for “God With Us.” That’s not what it means; it is the phrase all sounded out. But you wouldn’t know that if you didn’t know Hebrew. It is a description, not a name.

People who want others to know the meaning of their child’s name often use an English word for their moniker such as “Faith,” “Hope,” or “Huckleberry.”

Even so, putting a label on someone is no guarantee that they’ll live up to expectations.

Starting in the 1990’s, hundreds of baby girls in this country have been named “Unique.” Since that name caught on, now none of them are. Even with over 30 variations of spelling (which includes Uneek, Euneke, and U’niq) a person’s name usually is a classifier and not a describer.

The New Testament has been translated into more than 2,000 languages. In each case, Matthew 1:23 contains a transliteration of the word “Immanuel”; the name is converted to the script of the native tongue so that it can be sounded out to something that resembles Immanuel in English. That text might be Spanish, Arabic, or Mandarin, but the result is mostly the same; the reader comes across a hard to pronounce Bible name that means nothing to him.

But then comes the translation “God With Us” and its understood. It doesn’t matter if the person is an Eskimo from north of the Arctic Circle or an Aborigine from Australia; it’s explained to them in their own language. Jesus Christ is “God With Us.”

May 31

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:16*

The Bible is the full revelation of God to His people, so that all those who love the Lord also love His Word. I’m not surprised at the great and precious things that I find fresh and new every time I read the Word, even though I’ve gone through “The Book” many times before.

One thing that does surprise me is some of the stuff that has gotten in. God’s written down some things that don’t seem very important to me and I don’t know how to process it. Take Genesis 36, for example, where the genealogy of Esau is given. These men became chieftains and kings of Edom, dozens of them, all with names that are hard to pronounce. These kings lived and reigned long before Israel ever got to their Promised Land and since Edom was later cursed by God, no descendants of that nation exist today. I mean, really, who cares? Obviously, God does, because He wrote it down in His book.

God keeps a lot of lists. Just read First Chronicles. There are lists of Levites, priests, singers, and doorkeepers. In heaven, there’s a list of every person’s sins and the Lamb’s Book of Life catalogs all those going to heaven. Somewhere in all that paperwork of heaven is a complete listing of all the kings that ever lived on earth. Since every king ultimately receives his power and authority from God, one day they’ll have to settle accounts with Him.

At the Great White Throne, there will be kings of Edom, Rome, Greece, Persia, and Babylon. Every monarch that ever lived will be present and, when the signal is given, every one of them will bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All the proud and mighty will humble themselves before the true King of kings.

* see also 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14.

May 30

Now a great sign appeared in heaven…
Revelations 12:1

Abbreviations come in handy when there’s a lot to write down.  They’re also helpful to keep from revealing a secret or a forbidden word.  Such is the case with this title of Christ.

The Greek letter for “ch” is Chi and looks like an English X.  Rho sounds like “r” but is written like an English P. They form the first two letters of Christ.

During times of Roman persecution, Christians used symbols that could be recognized by other believers and overlooked by the authorities. The Chi-Rho,  , identified a person with Christ.

In the dawn of the fourth century, the Emperor Maxentius began the last purge of Christians.  Every believer in the empire was to be put to death without mercy or exception. All provincial rulers had to enforce this edict, yet there was one who refused.

Constantine was a pagan, but his mother, Helena, was a Christian. Since there was no persecution in Gaul, many believers fled there. Constantine was summoned to Rome to answer for his disobedience and he went, taking his troops. The little army left knowing that they were outnumbered ten to one. On the way, Christian soldiers began swelling Constantine’s rank and by the time they got to Rome they were only outnumbered three to one. The day before the battle, Constantine looked at the sun and saw a  in the rays of light and tradition says he heard a voice saying, “In this sign you will conquer”. A  was painted on every shield.

When the battle was joined, Maxentius’ huge army melted before Constantine. Panic ensued as thousands of men retreated across a pontoon bridge. The little boats that were tied together soon fell apart. Everyone wore heavy armor, so when Maxentius and most of his troops fell into the Tiber river, they soon drowned. The river killed more than the sword.

Constantine became the undisputed emperor of Rome that day and persecution of the saints came to an abrupt end.  Seeing the , even the most devout pagan had to admit that there was something special about the name of Christ.    

May 29

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to god must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
 Hebrews 11:6

“By faith Moses . . . refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter . . . esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”  (Hebrews 11:24 & 26).

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose”, Jim Elliot, modern martyr.

Judges, kings and prophets . . . “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions . . . Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.”  (Hebrews 11:33 & 35).

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented –”  (Hebrews 11:37).

“—Of whom the world was not worthy”, (God’s opinion of them – Hebrews 11:38).

“You can’t out give God”, (that famous Greek philosopher, Anonymous).

“The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge”, (Boaz, talking to Ruth – Ruth 2:12).

“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” , (Jesus of Nazareth – Luke 14:18)

“If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes”,  (Jesus to the father of an epileptic son who needed healing – (Mark 9:23).

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief”, (The dad’s response – Mark 9:24).

“Oh, LORD, me, too.  I want to be faithful to the very end”,  (Rick Khol, martyr wannabe).

 

May 28