Author: rickkhol

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”
Revelation 15:3

Since Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords, He rules over many diverse people and nations. He’s the King of Israel, King of Righteousness, King of Peace, and King over all the Earth. But there is one distinction that really gets me excited. The Lord Jesus Christ is King of the Saints; He’s going to be my monarch!

When Christ was on earth, enemy soldiers gave Him a crown of thorns, mocked Him for being a king, and then spit on His face. Since then, He was caught up to glory and believers through the centuries have also suffered abuse as they waited for the return of the King of the Saints.

Ten terrible Roman persecutions fell on the faithful; some were crucified, some burned alive, and some fed to wild beasts. Still, they waited for their Lord’s return. The rise of Mohammed in the seventh century brought Jihad, beheadings, and slavery to Christians who longed for their coming King. Then the crusades, inquisition, and the rise of Communism brought more torture, imprisonment, and death for the saints. Still, they waited for their sovereign to come and bring peace.

The signs of the Lord’s soon return are becoming more evident every day. Terrorism clearly demonstrates “wars and rumors of war” that fill every corner of the planet. Talk of a new world order, as well as one global community and government, prepares the way for the Anti-Christ and his minions.

The good news is that this may be the last persecution. If the blood bought disciples of Christ can overcome one more reign of terror, then it’s over. Jesus is coming and those who served and suffered for the Lord will reign with Him. Hallelujah!

Even so come, O King of the Saints.

November 9

…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18*

In studying the combined titles of Christ, word order is very important. Lord and Savior only occurs four times in the New Testament and interestingly enough, all are found in 2 Peter. In the Old Testament, three times it says, “I, the LORD am your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3, 49:26, 60:16). Although exact wording varies slightly, there is an additional two times that says “I am the LORD, besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11;Hosea 13:4).

It’s worth noting that the reverse order is not used even once, although the phrase is popular in modern evangelism. Frequently people are heard to say, “Just invite Jesus into your heart as Savior and Lord.” Although it might not be done consciously, the subliminal message that is communicated here is that Jesus is sought after as Savior and then somewhere down the line He may or may not become Lord. It can be argued that those who put the term Savior before Lord are not really shifting the spiritual emphasis. However, the part that is undeniable is that many sinners are eager to make Jesus their Savior (they don’t want to go to hell) without any intention of making Him their Lord.

In one sense there is no chronological order to this title, because Jesus is both Lord and Savior. At the same time, Christ instantly and automatically becomes the Savior of everyone who owns Him as Lord.

As the Lord of lords, the Savior has power over sin and death and hell, so He can and will save every sinner that comes to Him. As Savior who came to suffer and die as a substitute for sinners, true faith demands that He be loved, cherished, and obeyed as Lord.

That is why the two titles are actually one and Jesus is Lord and Savior.

*see also 2 Peter 1:11, 2:20, 3:2

November 7

…That we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true,
in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20

The Lord Jesus is the True God which is something that true believers already know. However, to even need a title like this concludes the existence of fake gods that would deceive people allowing them to usurp the position of the True God.

In modern society, it’s anathema (an evil) to suggest that someone else’s religion is really a lie. For many, it is preferable to allow someone to go to hell unchallenged, than to risk the chance of them becoming offended.

Recently, a kindergarten student was sent home from class because he was having an asthma attack. Unfortunately, he died in the hospital a few hours later. Before school the next day, the principal called a teachers’ meeting to present talking points concerning discussing the child’s death with students. If a teacher was to be asked, “Is he in heaven now?” or other religious questions, teachers were instructed to say “something non-denominational” such as, “Everyone has different ideas and beliefs about what happens when we die. We don’t really know what ‘Johnny’ (not his real name) and his family believe, but he was a good person.”

How sad! At a very teachable moment, Christian teachers are forbidden to discuss anything about heaven and faith with students. With many years of experience in public education, I’ve seen repeatedly that it’s only the Christian teachers that follow the rules and do what they are told to do. Many atheist and agnostic teachers do what they jolly well please and don’t follow guidelines that they don’t like. It is rules like these that try to discourage any discussion of the True God. The lie that anything anyone could ever choose to believe is valid has become the official doctrine of modern society. To believe that only the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life cannot be allowed or tolerated by the establishment, even though He is the True God. 

November 6

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11*

Reinforced concrete makes up the majority of modern  foundations. In ancient times, people dug through the top soil until they got down to bedrock. Jesus explained in His Sermon on the Mount that those who got down to the solid rock were wise, because storms and winds won’t bring down their houses. It’s the lazy people that have no foundation. They don’t put the effort into making something that will last. Their houses won’t stand the test of time, proving them to be foolish.

The Lord Jesus is the spiritual foundation of every believer and it’s the nature of foundations to be built upon. Everyone builds their lives on some kind of worldview. If a person has a philosophy of life that lives for the moment and has no concept of God, judgment, or eternity, then it’s as if they had a foundation of sand and their destruction is sure, although maybe not immediate.

Belief in Christ and the Word of God opens potential for greatness that endures forever, but that’s only if faith expresses itself in action. Faith without sweat equity is like a big slab of concrete without a building on it. The Apostle James put it this way, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).

In God’s eyes, obedience, fervent prayer, meditation on His word, worship, and dedication are comparable to building materials made of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).

When a Christian has the Savior as his sure foundation, but his life is composed of incomplete obedience, hypocrisy, and materialism, it is like building a ramshackle shanty made with cardboard boxes and sheets of plastic on a footing made for a skyscraper. The wasted life results not only in a great loss of reward for the believer at the judgment seat of Christ, but is a terrible insult to the Son of God who laid down His life to become our Foundation.

*see also Isaiah 28:16; Luke 6:48,49; 1 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Timothy 2:19

October 28

… To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
Daniel 9:24

Sometimes in the Old Testament it is difficult to determine if a title of God is referring to God the Father or if it is actually a prophesy of the Christ who was to come. This time it’s not hard at all because it is a part of Daniel’s seventy-weeks prophesy. This section is actually the only place in the Old Testament where the title “Messiah” is given (Daniel 9:25,26  KJV and NKJV) and in the verse above, the One who is called the Most Holy is anointed.

Conditions in an operating room must be nearly 100% sterile. To arrive at that condition, antiseptics and antimicrobial devices are used to kill bacteria on surfaces and in the air. These things are not only sterile, they also make everything around them germ free.

Anything that is holy is free from sin. Since the term Most Holy is superlative, it must be more than 100% sinless and is able to sanctify whatever it touches. In the Old Testament, the phrase refers to things that were used to atone for sin. The inner part of the Sanctuary (1 Kings 6:16) and the bronze altar and its utensils were considered most holy (Exodus 40:10). The priests who interceded for sinners were set apart for service to God and the sin offering and other offerings made by fire were most holy before God (Leviticus 6:17).

All of these Old Testament images are nothing more than types and shadows of God’s Anointed, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He is the Most Holy of all the most holy things that were ever used for atonement. With His one and only sacrifice on the cross, He was able to make an end of sins, make reconciliation for all mankind, and bring everlasting righteousness to the earth.

October 27

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:7

Sheep herding was a poor man’s business at the time the Bible was being written. It was labor intensive but required low capital investment. Starting with just two sheep, a flock could be built up over time and equipment was minimal. The rod and staff were nothing more than short and long sticks and the sheepfold could be made out of rocks. Israel has an abundant supply of rocks which are everywhere in the desert, so stacking them to form walls is not difficult. On the other hand, lumber to make a door and hardware to make it open and close cost money, so that was generally left off. The shepherd would sleep at the narrow entrance to the pen and would in fact become the door of the sheep.

With the shepherd at the opening, the sheep couldn’t wander away at night, but more importantly, wolves and bad guys couldn’t get in to hurt the sheep. Everything had to pass by way of the keeper of the sheep. That gave the flock a sense of security and discouraged the predators, because the shepherd usually kept a camp fire going and his two sticks could poke or hit them.

As Door of the Sheep, Christ cares for and defends His flock. All the spiritual sheep must enter through the door and be recognized as a member of the flock. In the first century, flocks were generally small, so shepherds could recognize their own charges and often had names for each one. Jesus knows each of His followers and interacts with every one. It is also extremely comforting to realize that nothing bad can happen to a believer that doesn’t first pass through the Savior. If Christ allows it, then the Christian can be assured that the strength and patience to overcome the trial will also be there. Jesus is more than just the Good Shepherd; He’s the Door of the Sheep.

October 26

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation……
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Colossians 1:15,17

Big things, little things, fat things, skinny things, things that wiggle and squirm; the Lord Jesus made them all. Whether by chronological order or by importance, Christ is before them all.

How did God work up to creating a universe from nothing? Did He start with an atom or a star? Since neither existed before creation, the LORD might have started with the idea and then applied the physics. But gravity and laws of physics didn’t exist either, so maybe He invented those first. Did He make a rough draft of the solar systems or did he experiment with gravity to get the mass to distance ratio just right?

One thing for sure, He had plenty of time to work and get it right. Eternity before creation is just as long as “forevermore” will be after the earth melts with a fervent heat.

Before the universe began, God created the angels and heavenly host, as well as establishing His eternal throne. Lucifer and a band of renegade angels rebelled against the Almighty and they were cast out of heaven. Oh yes, there’s at least one other thing that happened before all things; my name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Ephesians 1:4). Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me!

As firstborn over all creation, Christ was there before all things were made. “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). He assembled the atoms and in Him “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17 NIV).

As the Blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of  Lords, Jesus outranks everyone else. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a president or pope, seraph or cherub, principality or archangel, God the Son is  Before All Things. It doesn’t matter what that something is. It can be life or death, angels or principalities or powers, things present or things to come, height or depth or any created thing (Romans 8:38-39): Everything pales  before Christ who is Before All Things. 

November 22

‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him.
Leviticus 25:47-48

…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19

This  important name of Christ is very clear and observable in the original Hebrew but is a little hard to grasp using only English translations of the Bible. Although it takes some effort to fully understand this title, the effort is well worth it.

In the oriental law of kinship, the gâʼal (literally “next of kin”) was required to buy back a relative’s lost property, marry his widow, rescue him from harm, or avenge his death. Abraham acted as gâʼal when he rescued Lot and his family from the four mighty kings of the East with only 318 trained servants; and Boaz was Ruth’s gâʼal, marrying her and restoring her land.

The role of the kinsman-redeemer is well-established in the Hebrew scripture with the word gâʼal appearing 71 times. We miss this in English because there is no direct translation. Gâʼal sometimes is translated as Kinsman, redeemer, redeem, relative, close relative, deliverer and even six times as “avenger of blood.”

As a “Friend that Sticks Closer than a Brother,” the Lord Jesus has become our Gâʼal. He is our Deliverer from the powers of the devil, sin, and death and  restores us to the close relationship with the God that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden. He redeemed us from the slavery and self-destruction of sin and adopted us into the family of God. As Kinsman-Redeemer, Christ sought us, bought us, and fought for us. He is our Gâʼal. 

October 24

 “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”
Mark 1:24

It might seem obvious, but I’ve learned a lot from my twenty year study of the titles of Christ. What started as a challenge to find a name of the Lord for every day of the year ended with a deeper love for and fellowship with my Savior. I also discovered things that I never heard preached on before and I never knew were there. One example of this is insight I’ve gotten from the “demonic titles.”

Sometimes when Christ healed the sick, He also cast out demons and a few of those carried on a conversation with Him. They addressed Jesus of Nazareth by name without any formal introduction, because they knew who He was. After all, He cast them out of heaven before the foundation of the world.

The thing that surprised me about the demonic titles is that they all speak truthfully of who He is. The evil spirits address Him as Christ, the Son of God, and even the Son of the Most High God (Luke 4:41, Mark 5:7), but they never called Him Lord or Savior. The title Holy One of God was never spoken except by fallen angels as if it were a phrase they heard in heaven before Satan rebelled against the Lord of Hosts.

I find it interesting that demons never insulted the Son of God nor made disparaging comments about Him as did His human adversaries. Christ’s dissenters called Him Beelzebub (Matthew 10:25), a Samaritan (John 8:48), and a glutton (Matthew 11:19), not knowing the condemnation they were laying up for themselves. “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves” (Jude 10).

The demons not only knew who Christ was, they knew that their punishment was ready to be handed down and they begged Him not to cast them into hell before their time. Although condemned and without hope, they appealed to Him on the basis of who He is: the Holy One of God.

October 25

For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.
Hebrews 3:3

Even today Moses holds a unique place in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. He was their deliverer and principal figure in the foundation of Israel as a nation. However, although this man of God was great in all he did, he pales in comparison to Jesus Christ, who is Worthy of More Glory than Moses.

In the very least Jesus Christ is Worthy of More Glory than Moses, but on a much grander scale, He is worthy “to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). Praise and worship be to the Lord of Glory.

October 23