Month: January 2025

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Acts 3:14-15

After Peter and John healed the lame man at the gate of the temple, a crowd formed, so Peter saw that it was a great opportunity to preach. Only a few months had gone by since Christ’s crucifixion, and the events were on everyone’s minds. Peter clearly placed the guilt of rejecting the Messiah on those temple-goers, noting the irony that they chose a murderer to be granted life, but cursed the Prince of Life to be murdered.

Contrasting Barabbas with Jesus shows both ends of the human spectrum. Matthew called the criminal a “notorious prisoner,” and Mark said he committed “murder and rebellion,” while John just noted he was a “robber.” On the other hand, the Prince of Life was viewed by His enemies as a political threat, and they saw that as much worse than someone who just went around stirring up trouble and killing people.

Our sinful nature can justify any form of deviant behavior. Psychologists have been shocked to discover that most criminals in prison have an extremely high self-esteem. They feel pretty good about themselves and have reasons for doing the terrible things they have done. Others, of course, buy into their lies, so every year really notorious bad guys are acquitted of their crimes, if they have powerful lawyers and a high-profile case.

When the human heart rejects the Savior and justifies its evil deeds, the trial of Jesus occurs all over again with the same results. The guilty are exonerated and the Prince of Life is condemned.

September 29

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a
curse for us (for it is written,“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”).
Galatians 3:13

If there is any title of the Lord Jesus that truly belongs in the “Who’da thunk it?” file, it would have to be “Curse.” Stranger yet, this is not a title given to the Savior by His enemies; it’s one that He chose for Himself. But how is it that He who brought blessing into the world has become a Curse?

It all has to do with substitution. We were cursed, so Christ took our place in order to redeem us from the curse of the law.

When the children of Israel came into the promised land, half of the tribes stood on Mount Gerizin and the other half on Mount Ebal. A blessing and a curse were set before the nation. Those on Mt. Gerazin read from Deuteronomy about the blessings that result from obeying God. The people on Mount Ebal listed the terrible things that result from breaking the law; this is the curse of the law.

The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We’re all under the curse of the law and the only way to turn that around is to exchange our curse for His blessing. Christ was sinless, so he gave us his blessing and took on Himself our Curse.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the ground and it produced thorns and thistles. It was no coincidence that on the day of His death, Christ was given a crown of thorns.

In crucifixion, the Savior was lifted up for all to see, and so the curse of Deuteronomy 21:23 fell on Him: “ for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” While Jesus was dying, His critics came to mock Him. They spit on, taunted, and cursed the spotless Lamb of God. Even so, He blessed His enemies by saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). It’s strange, but Christ could not have blessed us if He had not first been made a Curse.

September 28

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of mny waters
and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Revelation 19:6-7

Wow! One of the strongest and clearest titles of Christ’s deity often goes unnoticed and therefore unused by a majority of Christians. Perhaps because of laziness or not taking time to understand the context, the casual reader assumes that this name is given to God the Father when the verses clearly demonstrate that it belongs to God the Son.

The timeline falls just before the Millennial Kingdom begins. The Great Tribulation is over; Babylon the great has fallen, and there is great rejoicing in heaven because the King of kings is about to reign. The scene is reminiscent of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem just before His crucifixion. There is a huge multitude shouting praises and alleluias, and the excitement is intense. But this time the crowd is not saying “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.” Instead, they are acknowledging that the Messiah is the Lord God Omnipotent.

The rejoicing moves into the marriage of the Lamb. Here the church, the bride of Christ, has come to share in the celebration of the All-Powerful One’s victory over the devil, the world, and the beast. Millions of saints have suffered persecution, torture, and death throughout the thousands of years of church history. At this point, it all makes sense; truth and justice overcome the forces of evil. Finally, finally, Jesus Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.

September 26

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

A large variety of vegetation can be transplanted with just a small piece of root. The new plant will have all the characteristics of its parent, although the size and shape might differ greatly.

The Lord Jesus was the Root of David, and the parallels between the two are remarkable.

Characteristic	David	Christ
Birthplace:	Bethlehem	Bethlehem
Gossip Material:	…for having both a prostitute and a foreigner in the family tree.	…for being thought to be conceived out of wedlock.
Early Occupation:	Shepherd of sheep.	Shepherd of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
Anointed:	…by the prophet Samuel to be King of Israel.	…by the Holy Spirit to be Christ of God.
Betrayal:	…by his own son, Absalom.	…by his disciple and close friend, Judas Iscariot.
Rejected King:	Lived through two civil wars (with Isbosheth and Absalom).	The mob in Pilate’s court shouted for their King to be crucified (Matthew 27:22).
Relationship to God:	A man after the Lord’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).	Is the well-pleasing, beloved Son of God (Matthew 17:5).

Come O Root of David and reign on the throne of the son of Jesse. *see also Revelation 22:16

April 27

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar
of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.
Genesis 35:14*

After Jacob had a vision of a ladder to heaven, he set up a rock as a pillar and then poured oil on it as an act of worship (Genesis 28:18). More than 20 years later, Jacob returned to the same spot and again poured out oil. This was long before Moses gave instructions for drink offerings, but in every case, three aspects of sacrifice are always present.

1. Poured out – When a liquid is poured out on the ground, it never can be retrieved again for anything useful. The world would look on this as a waste, but the drink offering was a free-will offering given in gratitude to God. The Apostle Paul poured out his life in service for the gospel of Christ and considered it a sacrifice that he was joyfully willing to give (Philippians 2:17).

2. Precious – Oil and wine are not cheap. A quart and a half of wine was poured out every morning and every evening in the daily sacrifices and then much more was given on top of that for feast days and public worship. David once poured out water as a drink offering, because his three mighty men risked their lives to break into a Philistine garrison to get him a jug of water. David said that it represented the life’s blood of his men and it was too precious to drink. Instead, he poured it out in worship to God.

3. Praise – as a part of the grain offering, the drink offering was included in the sweet-smelling sacrifices that the LORD delighted in. It had nothing to do with sin and transgression and everything to do with worship and appreciation. The liquid of this sacrifice was usually wine, which was sipped and then had the rest poured out to God, as if both the creature and the Creator were making a toast together.

The Lord Jesus Christ freely gave His life as a Drink Offering to the Father. On the cross of Calvary, the Savior poured out His precious blood to save the human race of their sins, for the praise of the glory of God.

*used 66 times in various ways in scripture.

 March 29 

And He put all things under His feet, and
gave Him to be head over all things to the church.
Ephesians 1:22

The Apostle Paul just finished a seven-verse, 166-word prayer for the Ephesian church that was all contained in just one sentence. The old missionary focused on the beauties of Christ as he asked God to reveal a better knowledge of the Savior to the believers. It was the sentence prayer that seemed to never end, and by the time he finally got to the period, Paul still hadn’t gotten to the bottom line. He added it in this verse: They needed to know that Jesus was the Head over All Things to the Church.

Christ certainly isn’t over all things to the world, because He isn’t their Lord. Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), but people also follow a pantheon of lesser gods that include prosperity, power, passion, and pride. It’s no wonder that people today seem confused and pulled in different directions.

It’s not supposed to be that way for the body of Christ. The Lord is Head over All Things to the Church and supplies and equips every believer for every situation (Ephesians 1:23). Jesus is the facilitator of every committee, Head-pastor over the head-pastor, as well as the CEO over every program, project, and person in the church. Well, it doesn’t always happen that way, but that is how it’s supposed to be.

True, sometimes He is not acknowledged as Head over All Things to the Church. Some local churches operate by tradition. They’ve always done things a certain way so long, there’s no need for Jesus to give them direction now. In some places, the pastor does everything. Why should the congregation have to do anything? “After all, that’s what he is paid for.” Sometimes, even the preacher can go on for years recycling old sermons, so no inspiration or divine guidance is ever needed.

That’s probably why Paul had to remind the Ephesians that Jesus is the Head over All Things to the Church. He’s in charge; He bought it; He directs it. It would probably be a good idea for those who are a part of it to ask the Guy-in-charge what He wants them to do.

 March 28 

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ,
the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 11:3

Spoiler alert!! Today’s meditation is clearly politically insensitive. You may want to skip over it if you are easily offended, or if you don’t want your preconceived ideas to be challenged.

Most other commentaries on the titles of Christ put a period where the first comma is and then leave off the whole rest of the verse. That way, they can avoid controversy and explain the phrase out of context without ruffling any feathers. They simply say that Jesus is everybody’s boss, whether male or female, and we all ought to obey Him. I guess I can’t argue with the conclusion, but that’s not what it says in this verse or chapter.

The section that the title comes from is dealing with male and female roles in the Christian home. The man and woman in the verse are husband and wife. The husband is tapped to be the spiritual head in the family and submits to Christ, just as Jesus submitted to the father when he said “…not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). When it says, “the head of every man is Christ,” it means that the father of the family is responsible for his household following the Lord and is directly accountable to Him. The part that says, “the head of the woman is man” means that the wife is to support her husband in building the Christian home by submitting to him.

Obviously, this teaching rubs people the wrong way, even to the point of having some churches teach that 1 Corinthians chapter 11 was the culture of the day and therefore is not relevant to our modern society. That’s interesting, because they still accept 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

If somebody is your boss, you do what he says; you don’t just blow him off by saying, “We don’t do that anymore.” The bottom line is: the Head of Every Man is Christ.

 March 27 

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right
hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary
and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
Hebrews 8:1-2

Many ministers are overpaid and under-worked!…or at least that’s what some people think. They see the preacher give two or three half-hour sermons each week and a few times a year speak at a wedding or a funeral. They think that is all they do, and they wish that they had it so easy.

Although there are lazy people in any profession, preaching is just the tip of the iceberg for most Christian workers. Most of what a true servant of God does never comes into the public view. Hours are often spent discipling others, making phone calls, and doing visitation. More time yet is spent in prayer, meditation, and Bible study. What ministers do to be holy is the key to what they do, even if it isn’t seen or appreciated by others.

Christ Jesus, in His capacity as High Priest, atoned for the sins of every believer on the cross. He continues to intercede on their behalf and separate each believer for service for God. After this world is dissolved, the Lord will become Minister of the Sanctuary in the New Jerusalem. What exactly He’ll be doing isn’t revealed, but Jesus isn’t lazy, and there will be much to do. Worship will be a constant activity, and the True Tabernacle will be up and running. Whatever will be done there was foreshadowed in the books of Exodus and Leviticus regarding Moses’ Tabernacle of meeting. A lot of the imagery of the Old Testament will finally make sense in that coming time and place.

In heaven we’ll be able to see the Throne of Grace, streets of polished gold, and real-live cherubim. We’ll also see our glorified Lord and Savior there serving as the Minister of the Sanctuary.

 March 26 

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2:1

Absolute zero is minus 459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale – that sounds pretty precise, but no one has ever been able to ever get something that cold, because it is the total absence of all heat. It would make atoms completely stop moving.

To be totally free from sin is to be righteous. Living in a sinful world with all the lusts and evil thoughts that abound here, righteousness is a concept that is approached rather than obtained. The Christian life is the process of working with God to crucify the sinful human nature by working with God to live righteously (Galatians 5:24-25). This may be an impossible-to-reach goal this side of heaven, but each believer is encouraged to get as close to it as he can.

Christ is the only one who is truly Righteous. He never had a bad attitude, flew off the handle, made poor choices, nor snapped under pressure. Everything He thought, felt, or did was totally right. As God, He could not do wrong, but even in His human capacity, He chose to be sinless.

Believers become more and more righteous as they progressively conform to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29). It’s not easy to keep one’s thoughts on everything that is true, noble, just, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8), but Jesus certainly did. When Christians have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:16), they are able to do that also. They begin to be righteous even as He is Righteous.

 March 25 

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:47

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the theory of the evolution of living organisms cannot be seen occurring today, nor can it be demonstrated in the fossil records. However, there is an evolutionary process that is clearly evident: the automotive industry.

I was in college in 1967 when the Chevrolet Camaro first came out. It was a muscle car that immediately became popular, but the demands of consumers changed over time and so did the Camaro. Today, the “sixth Generation” of this car is available in showrooms, which means that the original design has gone through five major engineering overhauls at General Motors. That included hundreds of thousands of tweaks and adjustments. The hundreds of engineers who worked on the project would argue that it was all accomplished by intelligent design and nothing was left to mere chance.

God did an excellent job when He created human beings. Adam was the first man, and that same make and model is still available everywhere on the planet today. However, there is one major flaw with the design – the sin problem. The good news is that the product has been recalled and each one needs to go back to their Creator for an upgrade.

People are put together exclusively with dust, atoms, and energy that come from a sin-cursed world – Earth. What is needed is a complete core exchange that doesn’t come from around here (i.e. it needs to be heavenly).

Christ Jesus is the Second Man, and He is the Lord from Heaven. He came to this world with the express purpose of fixing the problem and making a permanent upgrade available to everyone who requests it. “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).

 March 23