Month: September 2024

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:16,17

OK, if you want to be technical, this title refers to Christians and not the Lord. However, if we are joint heirs with Jesus, then He is a Joint Heir with us. The title is a legitimate name of Christ.

The idea is that the children of God will share with Christ everything that is God’s. Now, if Jesus got 50% of the total and the rest was divided between every believer, calculated out, that means even the lowliest saint would at least get a galaxy or two.

That sounds great at first, but stars and planets would have no worth if everyone had them. The title conveys that the Master shares with us things that are of far greater value. He gives us His glory, His power, and His position before God.

As Joint Heir, Christ shares with me His glory: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

As Joint Heir, the Lord shares His power: “So Jesus said to them, “… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).

As Joint Heir, Christ shares with us His position with God: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!…” (1 John 3:1). “…by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).

May 23

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”
says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8*

By the time a child loses his two front teeth, he is expected to know his letters from A to Z. This simple achievement offers a lifetime of benefits. It is the vehicle to a whole new world of literature, information, and ideas. Letters combine to make words, words form language, and language expresses the thoughts and feelings of the soul.

When Christ claimed to be the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), He was in effect declaring Himself to be the whole revelation of God – the divine communication medium to the human race.

Everything that we will ever know about the Almighty is through Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the personification of divine love and the supreme example of holiness. Glory, grace and righteousness are only abstract concepts until they are expressed to us through Christ. He says it all.

The world cannot contain the books that could be written about the Lord Jesus. There aren’t enough trees for paper, or even enough carbon to make the ink. But heaven contains the Alpha and Omega, and with eternity, there is time enough to declare who He really is.

*see also Revelation 1:11, 21:6, 22:13

May 22

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:18*

The reality that Jesus rose from the dead is one of the most important tenants of the Christian faith. Because Christ rose from the dead, all true believers have the hope and assurance of resurrection, which is based on the fact that the Lord is the Firstborn from the Dead.

Unfortunately, many don’t understand this title, because Jesus wasn’t the very first to rise from the dead. Both Elijah and Elisha brought someone back from death and a cadaver also came to life where it touched Elisha’s bones. Christ also resurrected three people before coming back to life Himself.

The title doesn’t refer to chronological order but to legal right. The firstborn is the heir. He owns it and can give it to others as He wishes. Life, the power of resurrection, and immortality belong to the Lord and those who rose from the grave before Jesus did so by His power and authority. He always has the preeminence.

Yes! He came from heaven,
Suffered in our stead;
Praise to Him be given,
“Firstborn from the Dead!”
Jesus, meek and lowly,
Come the lost to save;
He the victim holy
Triumphed o’re the grave.
                     Hanna K. Burlingham (1842-1901)

*see also Revelations 1:5

May 21

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 25

One familiar put down to someone who gives you unsolicited advice is “you think you know it all.” Even Job, frustrated at his friends who mocked him in his sufferings, retorted, “No doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you!” Nobody likes a “know-it-all” yet the Lord Jesus knows all and sees all.

Jesus came to this world to die to save us from our sins, but the bulk of His ministry was spent trying to teach people how to live in a sinful world.  Admonitions of “turning the other cheek” or “going the extra mile” are not just wishful thinking for the life principles of a perfect world; they are the strategy for turning this evil world order on its ear. 

Conventional wisdom tells us that most of what the Teacher taught won’t work in our modern society. Yet it is conventional wisdom that produced the breakdown of the family, relationships with no commitment and the “every man for himself” philosophy that has made this mess in the first place. 

The biggest problem with ignorant people is that they don’t know that they are ignorant. The clueless are clueless that they are clueless and the unteachable think they know more than their teachers. They have ears but they do not hear and eyes but do not see.

It’s great to admit that we don’t make good decisions and then we can start to look for wisdom. When we teachable, we are then able to approach the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God Who Alone is Wise and become wise ourselves.

May 20

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Isaiah 53:2

Desert plants survive in conditions that would kill any plant in the garden. They thrive on less than 10 inches of rain per year, stand up to 110 degrees of direct sunlight and blistering sandstorms with regular frequency. They were designed to grow in these extreme conditions, endowed with such features as needles, scaly leaves, thick waxy skins, and deep woody roots. The plants themselves are usually short to the ground with gnarled limbs and heavy taproots. Ornamentals they are not, but as works of plant engineering they are marvelous.

The children of Israel were certainly familiar with desert shrubs. In the treeless area of the world, they were often chopped up for firewood including the roots which were exposed by the shifting sand. This was not lumber for houses or furniture. It was fuel that was burned and its ash scattered.

Like the desert root, Isaiah tells us that when the Messiah came he had “no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). John tells us that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11). How sad! Christ was consumed as a sin offering and not appreciated until it was finished.

The good news is that it’s not too late to appreciate the uniqueness of the wonderful Root Out of Dry Ground. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

May 19

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.
1 Peter 2:4*

Human life is precious. They say you can’t put a dollar value on it, yet judges and lawyers do it all the time in wrongful death cases. They’re worth millions.

Precious gems are also worth a lot of money. Diamonds in the rough look a lot like blobs of melted glass or chunks of rock salt yet a small bag of diamonds can buy a hundred truckloads of salt and still have money left over; they are just that precious.

Some things are so precious they’re priceless. Some works of art can never be replaced and yet if you know the right people, they can tell you how much they are insured for.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the most precious entity in the universe. “There is no salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12); there’s also no real hope, peace, or joy outside of Him. If Christ didn’t come to die as a substitute for sin, we’d all still be lost and separated from God. No amount of faith, obedience, silver or gold could do what He has already done. Since absolutely nothing else can do or be what the Savior is, the best that can be said is that He is Precious.

Every year, news sources have stories about how masterpieces and rare antiques are sold at garage sales for a pittance. The reader usually has some envy of the buyer and feels sorry for the seller for failing to see the value of what he or she had. A sadder story is repeated a million times a day as the Incarnate Creator comes to his creation and is rejected by men. They don’t have a clue that He is Precious.

*see also John 6:48 

May 18

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35*

Americans are taught in school to work with metaphors. High school English classes distinguish between the literal and figurative, and the real and symbolic. In reading the verse above, no one would think that Jesus was made out of flour or that people ate Him. Obviously, Jesus gives spiritual life to the soul just as food gives physical life to the body.

This concept is not so easy to communicate in a primative culture. Among the Quichua Indians of the Amazon rain forest the figurative and abstract doesn’t exist. Years ago, I spent many hours trying to prepare a message on this portion of scripture. It became even more difficult when read in context with John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

I understood that faith was taking Christ into our lives, just as we take in physical nutrients when we eat, but how could I get this message through to a stone-aged people? I just bowed my head, thanked the Lord that I wasn’t a missionary to cannibals, and started working on another message.

Months later, I was at the Quichua Bible Conference in Conambo. Since it was the biggest social event of the year, hundreds of Indians traveled for many days up river or over a jungle trail to get there. The men of Conambo had filled a shed full of baskets of smoked monkey meat, wild boar, and fish. Huge pots of chicha (masticated, fermented manioc root) were ready for drinking throughout the day. At night the thatched roof church building was packed to overflowing as Quichua preachers shared the gospel and I fired up a portable generator to show a Christian film. The meetings during the day were different. A dozen old ladies, two old men and a sprinkling of children were spread out in the big church hut. All the men and most of the families were still hanging around the kitchen eating jungle meat and drinking chicha.

On the third day of the conference, attendance to the morning sessions was worse and I said to myself in frustration, “When these people seek after Jesus as much as they seek after food, they will start to have real faith.” In an instant, I finally understood John chapter 6. When Christ becomes as important to us as our necessary food, He becomes our Bread of Life.

May 17 

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:29

My firstborn is a Navy SEAL. He was born for adventure and grew up in the Amazon rainforest. Jungle Indians taught him how to hunt, trail blaze, and spear fish. He, in turn, taught his seven brothers how to be men, and more importantly, how to be a Khol. 

The “Khol boys” had quite the reputation at Bible camp for daring. They climbed the tallest trees, ate caterpillars, and thought outside the box (truth is, they never even saw the box). My oldest taught his brothers things I never could and he taught them well. 

Only recently, I found out that when the boys were all young they were taken to the top of a 30 foot cliff by their big brother. Each had a choice. They could either jump into the swimming hole below (just like he had done many times before), or get thrown in. The older boys voluntarily followed their elder’s example. But the four year old twins needed special hands-on encouragement. He immediately jumped in behind them to make sure everyone was safe.

Jesus is our big brother. He’s the Firstborn Among Many Brethren. Being God in human form, He made the transition from being Spirit to having a physical body. Then, when Christ died and rose again, He went from the mortal realm to return to the immortal. We don’t know how to do that now, but we will be able to do the same because our Savior will show us how.

Before the world was even formed, God had a plan for his future creation. After the inevitable fall, God would send Christ to earth to be our example and enabler of righteousness. Without God’s help, no one knows how to be a child of God; after all, we are born as sons and daughters of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). Jesus is able to conform us into the image of God’s Son because He’s been there and done that. Only Christ has the right to do that; He’s the Firstborn Among Many Brethren. 

May 16

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6

Discrimination is alive and well in regards to dead people. They’re not allowed in any movie theater and they won’t be served if they go into a restaurant. Dead people make living people feel uncomfortable and besides, they don’t smell very nice. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the spiritually dead don’t go to heaven.

The Apostle Paul told the believers in Ephesus: “And you He has made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). This world is full of people who are physically alive, but dead to God. They don’t respond to anything when He tries to communicate to them.

People can be very smart and have advanced degrees, but if they are spiritually dead, they’ll never understand things that are spiritually discerned. There is far more evidence for intelligent design than there ever was for evolution, but many scientists never see it, because they are spiritually dead. They have eyes but can’t see the advanced engineering. They have ears but can’t hear the still small voice of God trying to get through. Their spirit is dead and they don’t even know it.

Something that is dead can never decide to become alive, because dead things can’t do anything. However, if Christ, the giver of life, chooses, He can give life to someone that has none. Just ask Lazarus about that.

I have an old pair of leather gloves. It is nothing more than pieces of a dead cow that someone has sown together. For the most part, those gloves just sit in a box and do nothing, but if I want, I can give them life. By slipping my hands in them, they begin to move, work, and respond. There is now life in them, where there hadn’t been any before.

When Christ enters a person, everything changes. Old things pass away; everything becomes new. He moves from death unto life (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

May 15

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6

Jesus Christ is truth and truth is necessary for those who want to find the way to heaven. A map is useless if it confuses north and south or gives a mirror image of the terrain. Having the right information (i.e. truth) is essential to following directions.

No one comes to the Father except through the Lord Jesus and it’s the truth aspect of Christ that helps us get there. The Savior of the world told the Samaritan woman, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Makes sense. God hates lies and no one can approach Him clinging to a lie.

Sin is a lie that leads to spiritual death. The drunkard and the gang banger are offered wrong directions and false ideas that never live up to what they hoped for or expected. Many people are slaves to sin by nature but expect to go to heaven. They have rejected Christ, but sincerely believe that everyone goes there when they die. Believing a lie with all your heart doesn’t make it true. The Bible says, “Let God be true but every man a liar”(Romans 3:4). The truth remains that no one will ever get to heaven unless they believe Christ.

The way is the right direction for those who are lost and the truth is the right answer for those who tend to believe a lie. Faith is agreeing with Christ that everything about Him is The Truth. 

May 14