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…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

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

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed
Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
1 Corinthians 5:7

For at least a week before the Passover ceremony, a Jewish mother diligently purges the house of “leaven.” Bread, crackers and anything else that might contain yeast is tossed in the trash. The pantry is scrubbed with soap and water before storing the matzo meal used in many of the Passover dishes.

Finally, on the night of the ceremony, the father takes a few bread crumbs in full view of the others and drops them to the floor. He then sweeps them up as a symbol that the house is clean and ready for the Seder service to begin.

The Passover ceremony often lasts 3-4 hours and involves everyone seated at the table. Beginning with the lighting of candles, there is the washing of hands, the asking of questions, and the reading of the Old Testament story of the Passover. On the center of the table sits a bowl of salt water, a meatless lamb bone, cups of wine, roasted eggs, squares of matzo, and some horseradish. Each of these has its own special significance which is explained and considered during the course of the evening. To the Jewish people, the Passover is the festival meal that recalls Israel’s embittered bondage in Egypt and God’s wonderful deliverance.

For the Christian, Our Passover is simply Christ. He is our sacrifice that delivers us from the bondage of sin and brings us into communion with God. We celebrate Our Passover by remembering who our Savior is and what He has done for us. This is best done when the “old leaven” is first purged out, that is to say, laying “aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1) so that we can truly show Him our appreciation.

March 30

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

And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
Exodus 12:11

Many Christians understand the historical significance of the Old Testament observance of Passover and even know that the “Last Supper” was actually Christ celebrating the feast with His disciples. Modern calendars mark when the Jewish holiday occurs today, but few believers have ever seen this Feast of the LORD celebrated.

John 6:4 describes Passover as a “feast of the Jews”, but it is also deeply Christian. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says: “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” In order to better understand this expression of the Savior, believers must grasp that this is the LORD’s Passover and not just the holiday of another religion.

Everything about the Passover belongs to the Lord, its history, its symbolism, its message and even the dinner itself. The LORD himself told Moses exactly what to say and do. A perfect lamb was chosen and then lived with the family for four days before it was killed and the blood was smeared on the headboard and sides of the doorframe. Judgment was to fall on every household in Egypt, so the sacrifice of the lamb was to protect the children of Israel who believed God’s instructions. God declared: “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

For over three millennia the Jewish people have celebrated the LORD’s Passover to remember what God did the night of the Exodus to deliver them from slavery. But the celebration is more than just historical; it was prophetic because it clearly illustrates the substitutionary death of the Lamb of God on the 14th of the month of Nisan, which was the very day the LORD’s Passover was to be sacrificed.

If you ever have had the chance to attend a Passover Seder service, go for it. It is well worth the price of admission (it usually includes a catered meal). The program is an object lesson of God’s faithfulness through the ages, Jewish culture and the telling of the Passover story. A traditional Jewish Seder service would be very edifying, but one with a messianic congregation would be even more enlightening. There, it would be even more evident that Jesus Christ is the LORD’s Passover.

April 28

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

Unger defines immortality as exemption from death and annihilation, and with reference to humankind it is unending existence beyond the grave. Sounds good! Where do I sign up?

The unfairness of death is a reality that most people have to deal with before they themselves stop breathing. Why do some young people get cancer and die, while some bitter old grouches make it to a second century? Why does death have to be so final? Why can’t we earn extra lives like in computer games? Why?

Most religions propose one form or another of eternal life, but proof of life beyond the grave is woefully lacking. Sigmund Freud blew off religion as a classic example of wish fulfillment, but he never offered an explanation of why people would even want to live forever.

Being made in the image of God, we long for things that the animal kingdom is oblivious to. Humans are not just higher forms of animal life. We can distinguish between right and wrong and even right and left. We know beauty when we see it and attribute value to pieces of paper or round pieces of metal. The most intelligent dog or dolphin can’t do these things and they don’t aspire to live forever. Eternity isn’t hard wired into their brains as it is with people. Humans want to go back to their roots, go back home to their Creator.

Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28, 29). Christ makes it clear that there is consciousness forever after the body dies, even for those who don’t believe in Him. If someone wants to be with the Savior forever in heaven, he needs to believe the one who has been there and done that. After all, He is the Immortal.

April 29

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

Talk about a curve ball, I never saw it coming. I tried to look it up in more than twenty English versions, but the word “overcomer” doesn’t appear in the Bible. To me, that was strange since I’ve heard dozens of sermons, (not just a few of them being my own), with the central theme being Overcomers. However, preconceived ideas don’t die easily, so I’m going to write on this title anyway.

For the most part scripture commands Christians to “overcome the world” (I John 5:4-5). This is an expression of faith inherent in the act of believing in Jesus and not the optional choice for the spiritually mature.

Paul instructed believers to “not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). That is not how to become a Christian; that’s just what Christians do.

Christ admonishes all seven of the Churches of Revelation to be overcomers. To the persecuted church of Smyrna, the glorified Lord states, “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11). Don’t misinterpret this verse.  It is not saying that a Christian must overcome tribulation to be saved, but that all the saved will overcome everything Satan and the world throws at them because that’s what believers do.

To the lukewarm church at Laodicea, the Savior writes, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21) This is the kicker. We are able to overcome because Christ already overcame sin, death, and hell (not to mention conventional wisdom, popular opinion and political correctness). We stand alongside the Conqueror on the winning side.

The bottom line is that true Christians are, in fact, overcomers because their Lord is the ultimate Overcomer.

April 30

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good  works.
Titus 2:11-14

Some preachers struggle with presenting the gospel in just one hour. Others can adequately cover the main points in about a half hour and maybe a few can get the job done in ten or fifteen minutes. In Titus 2, Paul nails every important question in only four verses.

1.      What is the underlying power of salvation?  The grace of God.
2.      Who can be saved?  Everybody.
3.      What are we saved from?  The power and self- destruction of our ungodly and worldly lusts.
4.      What life changes should we expect as a result of our salvation?  We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present evil age.
5.      How did Jesus save us?   He gave Himself to redeem us from our desire to sin.
6.      Why did Christ give His life to save us from our sin?  It was the only way to purify, for Himself, His own special people
7.      (The last question is one that should be answered in every meaningful presentation of the gospel) Who is Jesus Christ?

He is Our Great God and Savior.

May 1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1

You can’t look up Liberator in a concordance and find this title listed there. Yet, that is what He is. Christ set free more slaves than Abraham Lincoln and liberated more oppressed people than anyone else in history.

When Jesus preached his first sermon in the synagogue in Nazareth, He opened the Isaiah scroll and said that He came “…..to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). What actually did He mean by this?

Those who were wanting a political liberator were openly disappointed with Jesus. Obviously, the iron-fisted Roman government still enslaved people, heavily taxed the occupied territory, and crucified dissenters. Although that is true, all the Caesars are long dead.  Other despots that have come and gone throughout the centuries were also temporary.

Political dictators, by their nature, don’t last long on history’s stage. Christ’s liberation transcends the centuries, cultures, and world governments, because He frees individuals from the internal tyrants of the soul.

Sin, certainly, is a huge self-destructive force that enslaves people to life styles and conditions they hate. The drunk really doesn’t look forward to waking up again another day with a splitting headache and covered in his own vomit. Few prostitutes, if any, feel they made the best career choice and jails are full of people who don’t want to be there. The Lord Jesus sets them free by taking away the power and compulsion of sin.

What most people don’t understand is that Christ, the Liberator, frees us from everything that enslaves us: guilt, anger, grief, addictions, doubt, anxiety, and even the fear of the unknown. Talk to the Lord and turn these over to Him one by one and one by one, the Liberator will take them away. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Note:  If you are weighted down with grief, anger, depression, or addiction issues, go to  www.tradingpain.com for Set Free Prayer Ministry.  It can help.

May 2

Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:15

Joshua had been Moses’ general. Now he was supreme leader of all Israel. With more battle experience than anyone else, no one dared to challenge him, at least, not until that day. He was alone on a battlefield when a man approached him with a drawn sword.

“Friend or foe?” Joshua cried out.

“No,” the man answered, “But as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come” (Joshua 5:14). Joshua fell on his face to the ground and worshiped Him.

Theologians explain that this story is actually a theophany, a visible manifestation of God to mankind. The Commander of the LORD’s  Army had a human body but received worship from Joshua and declared the ground on which He stood to be holy. His appearance must have been remarkable because General Joshua immediately humbled himself and surrendered as soon as he knew who He was.

Revelation 19 explains that Christ will come on a white horse with the host of heaven to defeat the armies of the antichrist at the battle of Armageddon. His appearance will be terrifying. His eyes will be like flames of fire and his robe dipped in blood. A sharp sword will come out of his mouth to strike the nations. Behind Him will be every warrior angel and weapon in God’s arsenal.

I’m glad that He is my friend. How terrible it would be to be His foe. So, at the last battle in human history, Christ, the  Commander of the LORD’s Army, returns. Even so come Lord Jesus!

May 3