Month: November 2024

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

Buried somewhere in the more than fifty storage boxes of object lessons and teaching aids that I have stacked in my basement, I have a map of the universe. It starts by showing where planet Earth is in our solar system and then shows where the closest stars are in relation to our sun. This small cluster of stars is found about three-fourths down one of the spiraling arms of the Milky Way.

The map locates the closest galaxies to us and then, shows us ten billion light years in each direction which is as far as the Hubble Space telescope can see in any direction. The idea is that if anyone gets that far, he can stop at a gas station and get a new map.

The thing that interested me the most was that nowhere on the map does it show where heaven or the throne of God is located. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, because no space craft from earth has ever left our solar system to go someplace else.

Heaven exists and everyone wants to go there, but no one can find it on the map. Even if someday astronomers can get a sighting of the celestial city, the fact remains: We can’t get there from here!

Can we go somewhere that has access to Heaven? The good news is that anyone can get to Jesus through faith and Christ will lead him to paradise. Christ Himself said, “I am the way…No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

May 13

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Isaiah 57:15*

God is Holy. It’s not only His nature, it’s also His name. That’s who He is. Holiness itself is defined by the character of God. That which is godly is holy. If something is ungodly, it’s sinful and sinners can’t stand before a Holy God. His holiness is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) that would destroy a sinner presumptuous enough to try to approach Him.

The scene in heaven revealed in Revelations 4:8 shows the four living creatures worshiping God and chanting day and night: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” A triad of holies is lauded to the Triune God. After all, each person in the Trinity is Holy: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Because Christ is Holy, He voluntarily took on the sins of the world Himself by becoming sin for us (Romans 5:21). This is why, when the Holy One of God died at the hands of sinful man, a miracle took place. Instead of planet Earth melting away in the universe in a torrent of divine wrath, grace was poured out, transforming sinners into men and women set apart for God. They became holy.

Peter writes, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written; Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Just how neat is that? One of the most sublime titles of Christ is extended to the child of God. Just like the Redeemer, we can be holy.

*see also Hebrews 7:26; Revelations 3:7

May 12

…or thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Isaiah 57:15

The year King Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1). Who would that have been? He wouldn’t have been God the Father, because He is Spirit and invisible. Isaiah must have seen the pre-incarnate Christ, since He’s the second person of the Trinity that manifests Himself in physical form to the human race.

Before Bethlehem, Jesus was the King of Glory. The splendor and majesty that surrounded Him, attended by myriads of angels, is more than anyone this side of eternity can ever really comprehend. Often believers lose sight of this. We celebrate the baby Jesus at Christmas and are encouraged by the fact that, as Great High Priest, He intercedes for us. As Man of Sorrows we are comforted that He bore our grief and carried our sorrows. We come to see Him in a very human way as some sort of celestial friend and benefactor. Although this is true, we tend to be guilty of what J. B. Phillips put in a book title: Your God is Too Small.

The Nicene Creed describes Christ as “very God of very God, begotten, not made, being in substance with the Father, by whom all things were made (both in heaven and earth).” We need to greatly elevate our view and appreciation of the Lord Jesus, because He is the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity. From this high and holy place, He lifts up the sinner to fellowship with Himself.

May 11

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.
Acts 3:14

Holy One! What a powerful name to preach to those who had just crucified their Messiah. Peter preached this name at Pentecost, quoting from Old Testament prophesy: “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27, Psalms 16:10). The apostles saw how awful it was to trade the most Holy One for a murderer, and the listeners were convicted of their sin. Three thousand converted at Peter’s first sermon on Pentecost and another five thousand after his preaching in chapter three.

To take that which is holy and desecrate it is an offense and attack on God who is the source of holiness. Our present unholy society uses the name of Christ as a swear word and defiles His image in perverted art forms. Christ is not their Lord and certainly they don’t acknowledge Him as the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24).

When many first century Jewish people realized what they had done, they repented with fear and trembling. They realized the seriousness of rejecting Christ. Those who would dare to profane the Holy One can only expect the full wrath of God to fall on them. In this context, Hebrews 10:28-29 is understood: “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Unfortunately even believers fail to keep this title fresh in their minds. They live in open or hypocritical sin, but wear the title Christian (i.e. Christ One) for the unsaved world to see. They make the sacred profane, because they’ve lost sight that their Lord is also the Holy One. 

May 10

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 21:9

At the time of Christ, every Jewish person clearly understood that “the Son of David” was a messianic title. This is why the chief priests and scribes were so indignant that the crowd chanted the title at Christ’s triumphal entry (Matthew 21:15). During the ministry of the Lord Jesus, people wondered if the prophesy of the Lord’s anointed was being fulfilled in their eyes, so they asked one another, “Could this be the Son of David?” (Matthew 12:3).

The stated purpose of the gospel of Matthew was to prove this point. The book begins, “The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). The verses continue to show that Joseph (Jesus’ adopted dad) was a direct descendant of David and would have been king, if there had been the continuation of Davidic dynasty.

Matthew presents Christ as the legitimate king of Israel and so, used the title Son of David ten times (more than all the other gospels put together). The two blind men outside of Jericho and even the Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter cried out for healing to Christ saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!” (Matthew 15:22; 20:30-31).

The people assumed that like David, their Messiah would defeat all the enemies of Israel and establish a lasting kingdom. The prophesy certainly is true and Christ will do that at His second coming, but they didn’t understand that before He could defeat the political and geographical enemies of Israel, He needed to defeat sin, death, and hell by dying on the cross. In doing that, He proves His right to reign forever as the Son of David.

May 9

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1*

Abraham was special. He had special promises, a special relationship with God, and a special place in human history. It is not surprising that he was a significant ancestor of the Messiah. Both genealogies of Christ call Him the Son of Abraham.

The patriarch was promised “descendants as the dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16). That means lots – too many to number. And so it is today the true number could never be reached. Both the Jewish people and Arabs proudly consider Abraham as their father (the Jews through Isaac and Arabs through Ishmael). Both ethnic groups are sons of Abraham, although they don’t necessarily have the patriarch’s features.

God’s promises to Abraham weren’t really about billions of people claiming relationship through some distant DNA, but being conformed to the faith and actions of Abraham. Zacchaeus was Jewish by birth but ostracized from Jewish society, because of his political affiliation. When the little man came to Christ, the Savior declared “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9).

In a very real sense this is what happens to believers when their faith is life changing and they believe God’s promises to be true just like Abraham did. “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6), therefore know that only those who are of faith are true sons of Abraham.

Because I have faith in Christ, I’m adopted into the family of God and I become a son of Abraham. Sisters in Christ are Abraham’s daughters. This is one of the few titles that Christians can actually share with their master. Praise God!

*see also Luke 3:34

May 8

I Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.
Revelation 22:16

The Bright and Morning Star occurs only once in scripture and is the last title that Christ ascribes to Himself. The Book of Revelation ends with accounts of the New Jerusalem surrounded by new heavens and a new earth. Truly a new day will dawn, but we’re not there yet. 

Still to come is the Great Tribulation and terrible judgments of God to be poured out on planet earth. The darkest part of night isn’t over just yet, but as the morning star is the brightest light in the darkness, so Christ’s presence will still be with mankind for those who look up.

He is coming, coming for us;
Soon we’ll see his light afar,
On the dark horizon rising,
As the Bright and Morning Star,
Cheering many a waking watcher,
As the star whose kindly ray
Heralds the approaching morning
Just before the break of day.
                                    Author Unknown

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” (Psalms 139:11,12). 

May 7

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice.
Song of Solomon 2:9

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s, presents a vivid description of marital love. Yet, through the centuries it has been understood that the comments of the Shulamite about her “beloved” expresses the sentiments of the believer about Him who is “Altogether Lovely.”

Even Jewish sages for centuries have interpreted this passage as referring to the Moshiach – the Messiah. Rabbi Yitzhaq Kaduri of Jerusalem explained the above scripture as follows: “Just as this gazelle can be seen and then hides itself, so the first Messiah (Moses) revealed himself to the Children of Israel and then again hid himself from them.” The idea here is that “the Messiah,” who is like Moses, will be seen in fleeting glimpses.

The attributes of a gazelle are its speed, agility, and unpredictability. You might see one out of the corner of your eye and then, when you turn for a better view, it’s gone. The Lord Jesus can’t be analyzed in a test tube. He doesn’t stay in one place to be calculated or figured out by people. He’s bigger than that.

In C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, it was often commented that the main character, Aslan, was “not a tame lion.” In viewing Christ with this title of Gazelle, it’s clear that He is unlike any farm animal. He would jump the fence or pen anyone could try and use to contain Him. We can’t conform the Lord to our own will; we must conform our will to His.

Every encounter with Christ should be exciting, exhilarating. To find Him boring, or see Him as ordinary only proves that the observer was looking in the wrong place and never got a real good view of this high-energy Savior. He’s worth chasing after, because in really discovering Him, there is adventure! After all, He is the everlasting Gazelle.

May 6

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
John 4:19*

Titles come in all styles and sizes, so it sometimes helps to sort them out into categories to better understand how it applies to Christ. For example, the derogatory titles were given to the Lord by His enemies in order to put Him down (e.g. glutton and winebibber) A similar grouping is what I call the “lightly esteemed” because these terms fall far short of understanding. Labeling Jesus as a carpenter, a Nazarene, or even calling Him “Sir” understates who He really is.

The woman at the well came to draw water and she assumed that the stranger she saw sitting there was no one out of the ordinary. Even when she saw some of His exceptionalities, the most she could imagine was that maybe He was a prophet. There was nothing wrong or disrespectful in addressing Christ as “Sir.” If anything, it’s the highest courtesy and honor that you can give someone that you don’t know.

In time and with interaction, faith grows and knowledge of who the Savior is increases. At the end of the conversation, this Samaritan lady acknowledged Him as the Messiah and no longer did she approach Him as “Sir.”

The significant point to be made is that this is an important pre-faith title that can transition into a deeper relationship. “Sir” communicates both respect and openness. Living in this world of God-haters and Christ-rejecters, derogatory titles are often used and that often shuts the door of our faith.

Mislabeling also misses the mark. Attitudes that frame the incarnate God in images of “Jesus, my ol’ buddy” or the “all-accepting god” makes it hard to understand that His name is Holy. However, a sinner who is searching for God, can probably find him if he has enough faith to approach him as “Sir.”

*see also John 4:11, 15, 49; 5:7; 20:15

May 5

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but
there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

By my own guidelines, this is not a name of Christ, because it’s pulled out of context. It comes from a proverb that gives broad generalizations about friends and friendship. However, if I make the rules, I can also make my own exceptions. Through experience, I’ve found Christ to be A Friend Who Sticks Closer Than a Brother.

Brotherhood is a powerful bond; there’s almost nothing like it. Sharing childhood, growing up together, and discovering the world at the same time are experiences that few can compete with. Even so, brothers grow up, get married, and move away. Time and distance take their toll, and the brothers settle into their separate lives.

A really good friend is harder to find than a brother, because brothers often share the same bedroom; they’re always right there. A good friendship usually takes years to develop and must be cultivated, especially at the beginning. But once it takes root, it is hearty and continues through thick and thin.

I’ve been close to a big brother and to a very good friend. Death took them both from me. Each time, I felt empty, alone, and numb. The loss of a great relationship is a great loss.

I’m able to take complete comfort in the fact that I’ll see them both again. The truth of the matter is that we all have a mutual friend, and we’re going to meet at His place as soon as I can finish my last breath.

In the meantime, Jesus supports me. When I’m lonely, He’s there; when I’m tired, He pulls the load; when I hurt, He comforts me; when I am frustrated, He listens. The best part of all is He’ll never die. He’s already done that. He is for me A Friend Who Sticks Closer Than a Brother.

May 4