Month: September 2024

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2

I’m really into castles, though I’ve never really been to one. I’ve taken virtual tours online and checked out books from the library. Sometimes, as a kid, I’d lie in bed at night and fantasize about owning a thick-walled castle. I’d pretend the enemy surrounded the place. They’d be yelling, screaming and shooting arrows, but I saw myself reclining in a four-poster bed away in some high tower. Then, I’d fall asleep.

King David had a thing for fortresses too, and they also helped him sleep at night. Five times in the Old Testament, David calls God his fortress and then adds on several other terms that communicate defensive positions. David wasn’t just paranoid; bad guys really were out to get him, but the bottom line was that he felt safe when he was close to God.

Living in a dangerous world, tragedy can come into everyone’s life at any time. Many people are afraid to leave their homes or meet new people. Bound by fear, they are paralyzed to venture out past their comfort zone. They can’t be spontaneous; they’re too afraid of what might happen.

Believers who are “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10) have Christ as their fortress and “fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4). There is a peace and attitude of security, because they know that God is in control. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can happen in the life of a child of God that isn’t His will. There’s great confidence in that. It enables us to live life to the fullest.

If, and when, bad things happen to good people, God is still in charge and allows this for a greater good. Scoffers mock God when this happens and say, “See, God can’t save you from harm!” The fact of the matter is that the Lord can and does protect His saints. The mockers will never understand the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7), because they have never even spent one day in the security of Jesus the Fortress.

 March 5 

…one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Ephesians 4:5

In today’s Christianity the Lord Jesus comes in many styles and sizes. There’s a black Jesus, an Asian Jesus (with almond eyes), a “cool” Jesus (with designer sunglasses), and a Catholic Jesus (still nailed to a cross). Then, there are the political varieties. Sometimes Christ is a Democrat, sometimes a Republican, but He’s always very independent. He might be opposed to any kind of war, abortion, or gay marriage, but then again, He might be fine with one or more of them.

In the beginning, God made man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Ever since then, Man has been seeing God in his own image. Like God, people are spiritual beings; they can reason, communicate, appreciate beauty, problem solve, and know the difference between right and wrong. Unlike God, the human race is sinful, petty, boastful, nasty, and especially divisive.

God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4) and He really enjoys it when His people are one. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).

Christ is the common denominator of every true Christian. Certainly, there are attributes of this One Lord that aren’t up for discussion. He is sinless, divine, almighty, and loving. Every real believer will recognize the real Jesus as soon as they see Him, but He will also be different than the stereotype that they have built in their minds.

The “distinctives” that are the bread and butter of the thousands of Christian denominations and organizations will disappear. Things that have separated blood-bought believers over the centuries will be gone forever, and they will be left with one faith, one baptism, and One Lord.

 March 4 

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 2:23

Believing that the Bible is the inspired Word of God means to acknowledge that it doesn’t contain errors or contradictions. It also means that there are no irrelevant details or useless information. Everything in scripture is there for a reason.

Christ was called Jesus of Nazareth, even though He wasn’t born there and Matthew makes the point that He was called a Nazarene. It wasn’t coincidence that both Joseph and Mary hailed from Nazareth, Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the family relocated in Nazareth a few years later.

The Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah 5:2, but according to Isaiah 9:1-2, He would come from “Galilee of the Gentiles.” The city of Nazareth didn’t even exist in Old Testament times, but in the first century it was a northern Roman garrison.

Herein probably lies the reason Jesus needed to be from Nazareth. Everybody disdained the place. It was the kind of town that someone who was despised and rejected by men would come from.

When I was growing up, people would tell “Polack jokes,” saying ridiculous things about folks lightly esteemed. Today, the popular put-down is about “Rednecks.” In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people probably told “Nazarene jokes.” When Nathaniel asked “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:45), he might have been voicing a popular cliché rather than expressing personal prejudice.

In any case, Christ did what He always has done. He took that which the world puts down and then lifted it up to glory. Today, it is quite an honor to identify with the Nazarene.

 March 3 

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
Hebrews 9:11

In A.D. 70, Roman legions destroyed the Temple and burnt Jerusalem to the ground. There hasn’t been a high priest on earth since then.

Most Christians have a very limited understanding as to the office or ministry of the high priest. Many consider it an Old Testament thing with little or no importance to them, while others see the position as a type of Christ. As such, it helps those believers understand better the role the Savior has in atonement and intercession for the saints. When Christians die or are raptured, they will lose their sin nature and finally be completely conformed to the image of God’s Son. Without sin, we will no longer need Jesus to plead our case before a Holy God. We will no longer need a high priest – or at least that’s what I used to think.

Jesus is our High Priest of Good Things to Come. He did not stop being High Priest after atoning for our sins on the cross, and He doesn’t get laid off once the job of intercession is done. Clearly, Christ is “High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:20), so He’ll be doing something special up in heaven.

The book of Hebrews tells us that the Old Testament offerings and rituals were types and shadows of good things to come (Hebrews 10:1). For example, the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle was a perfect cube (with the height, length, and width all equal). New Jerusalem (the celestial city) is also a perfect cube, so in one sense, the Tabernacle in the wilderness foreshadows heaven.

No one really can imagine all the great things that will happen when we get to heaven, but two things are certain:

#1 Heaven is out of this world, and
#2 Christ will be the High Priest of Good Things to Come.

 March 2 

 

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
Revelation 5:5

Surprisingly, this well-known title of Christ occurs only once in scripture. The popularity of this phrase is due to the images of power and agility that it brings to mind. The Lion is the king of beasts, and a king with a lion title (such as Richard the lion-hearted) is known for courage and strength.

The Apostle John had a vision of happenings in heaven that are yet to come. He saw a great multitude of celestial creatures waiting for judgment to fall on the sinful planet. The Son of God had been crucified, and earth and the human race had never been brought to justice. The judgments had been written and sealed and were awaiting someone to execute the Holy Writ. Sadness fell on the crowd when it was clear that no one there was worthy to bring about such severe judgment.

Suddenly, everything changed. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah appeared; He was worthy.

In Christ’s first advent, He came as the Son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant. In His next appearing, He will be seen as the great, conquering King. In Jacob’s blessings to his sons he said, “the scepter will not depart from Judah,” prophesying that Judah would be a kingly tribe.

However, it almost appears that the scepter has departed from Judah, because Jerusalem was destroyed and a descendant of David hasn’t been on the throne for over 2,000 years. It seems that this prophecy isn’t true but, of course, it really is.

Jesus came as the King of Glory, but His own people rejected Him, and the scepter has been in heaven ever since. When the time is right, Christ will come back with a roar. He will show Himself as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to execute judgment.

 March 1 

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he
would not see death before he had seen The Lord’s Christ.
Luke 2:26

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:20

These two slightly different titles are actually one and the same. Jesus is the Lord’s Christ/the Christ of God. Many Christians like to think that Jesus belongs to them. He came to save them. He died on the cross for them and God gave His Son as a gift to them. No one can take that present away from them. He is “their personal Savior.”

Although these statements may be true, this line of thinking also misses a major truth. Jesus was the Lord’s Christ, and He was under orders from the Godhead to save Adam’s sinful race. The Savior saves sinners because it’s in His job description. It is not because people are worthy of salvation or deserving of God’s grace; we’re not.

Redemption, justification, and sanctification are all God-things, and it’s Jesus who does it, because He is the Christ of God. Christ is the God-Man, but it is not His humanity that saves mankind, it’s His deity.

Simeon was a devout and righteous man who waited for the “Consolation of Israel.” His faith and faithfulness set Him apart from the thousands of other Temple-goers around him, so God gave him a special promise: He was to see the Lord’s Christ. When baby Jesus was eight days old, God directed the old man to the newborn, and Simeon held God’s Messiah in his hands.

One time, the Lord Jesus was alone with His disciples and He asked them who they thought He was. Peter answered without hesitation: The Christ of God.

Every man, woman, and child must search out for themselves who Jesus is. The right answer leads to eternal life. The wrong answers mean hell.

 February 29 

 

So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the
prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Matthew 21:11

Never had a title so much irony. It would have been funny, if it weren’t so sad. The setting of this verse was Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Thousands were cheering, others shouting “Hosanna” (literally, “save now”). People were cutting down palm branches or throwing down articles of clothing so the donkey He rode on could touch them and they could walk away with a souvenir. It was a very big deal.

Some in the group were late-arrivers and didn’t know what was going on, so they asked “Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10).

“This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth,” the people replied. At this point in His career, everyone had heard about Jesus of Nazareth. Before Jesus was famous, everyone looked down on the insignificant town in the rural hill country of Galilee. Now, He put the obscure, northeastern outpost on everyone’s map. He was the healer, the preacher, the feeder of thousands. He should have made his hometown folks all proud.

Yet, Jesus’ neighbors and boyhood companions had rejected Him and even tried to kill Him, because He wouldn’t perform miracles for them (Luke 4:21-30). Christ was acknowledged as a prophet everywhere, except with those who grew up with Him.

When Nathaniel (i.e. Bartholomew) was first told of Jesus of Nazareth, his first reaction was “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). When he finally did come and see the Savior, he was changed by Him. He was ready to leave everything he had to follow this Prophet from Nazareth.

 February 28 

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 8:12

On the first day of creation, God (Elohim) said “’Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Before God invented it, light didn’t exist. After He made it, God’s bright creation was obvious to anyone with eyes. Actually, He also had to create eyes and the brain software that converts light into images, so that others could enjoy what He made.

When Christ came into the world, God began a whole new act of creation. The Savior offered a wonderful, new upgrade for the human race to change people into sons and daughters of God. The best part of it was that it cost them nothing at all. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The difference between the new and old person is as clear as night and day (or light and darkness). However, not everyone can see the difference, because eyes of faith are necessary to see it. To transformed people, Jesus became the Light of the World. Those who are unchanged are blind as bats. They actually see just enough to know they want to get away from His presence.

Most creatures of the night try to flee or hide from light. Cockroaches, mice, and sinners don’t want to be seen. The first two run away because they don’t want to be eaten by another animal. The last group are ashamed of their deeds.

Jesus not only reveals what people do at their darkest moments, but He also shows them who they are. The majority of sinners don’t want to see that they have fallen short of the glory of God, so they close their eyes to the light. But as many as receive Him become sons and daughters of light, because He is the Light of the World.

 February 27 

      I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles…
Isaiah 42:6*

God promised Israel that He would send His Anointed to them. Many details were given about the Messiah, so God’s people knew what to expect. Born of a virgin, He would be Immanuel, “God with us,” who would reign forever on the throne of David in Jerusalem. One additional fact was repeated a number of times: He would be a Light to the Gentiles. But when hundreds of years went by without the prophesies being fulfilled, many of the Jewish people gave up waiting and re-explained the scriptures to mean other things. Gentile nations occupied and controlled Jerusalem without allowing a descendant of David to reign there. The prophesy seemed impossible to fulfill.

However, one curious bit of ancient history was playing out that no one expected. Ptolemy I, a general under Alexander the Great, ruled North Africa and commanded a Great Library be built in Alexandria, Egypt. He wanted a Greek translation of every book that existed in the world. Seventy Hebrew scholars translated the Old Testament. It was called the “Septuagint,” which means “seventy.” After that, this translation made its way into every synagogue of the Ancient Greek-speaking world.

Curious Gentiles read the prophesies of the Jewish Messiah, but the word that was used in Greek was “Christos” or “the Christ.” Educated Greeks knew that this Christ was to come, and huge numbers responded when they heard the message of the gospel, recognizing that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised one of God.

Paul and Barnabas saw this supernatural response of the Gentiles and paraphrased Isaiah’s prophesy when they preached in Antioch of Psidia: “For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:47).

The Jewish people had not recieved their Messiah as king, so He’ll come at a later time to reign. The part of the prophesy that has been clearly demonstrated already was that the Lord’s Anointed became a Light to the Gentiles.

*Isaiah 9:1-2; 49:6; Luke 2:32, Acts26:23.

 February 26 

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
John 1:9

If there is true light, there must also be false light. What is that like?

False light is light that is used to deceive. It is found in optical illusions and the tricks magicians do with smoke and mirrors. However, perhaps the greatest false light comes from the flash and sparkle of Hollywood.

Hundreds of thousands of young people have been attracted by the allure of their name in lights on a theater marquee. Being in the spotlight and having name recognition seem so desirable and important that they sacrifice everything to attain these goals. The sad thing is that few ever do get it, and even sadder is that most who acquire the fame are unsatisfied by it.

Recently I googled “actors that committed suicide” and found a list of 227 men and 145 women who ended their own lives in despair. The sheer numbers of “successful” entertainers that had nothing to live for speak volumes about the fatal attraction of false light.

Contrast all this with Jesus Christ, the True Light who gives light to everyone in this world. That light reveals truth – the good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s a problem, because people prefer delusion over inconvenient truths. Men and women love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). They don’t want to hear about sin, righteousness, or judgment and would rather that the god of this age blind them to the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

If a candle and a 100-watt light bulb are both burning 10 feet from each other, the candle casts the shadow. Although the world seems to glitter and glow, people need to get out of the shadows and into the True Light.

 February 25