The One who is and who was and who is to be

And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.”
Revelation 16:5

Because God is omnipresent, He is everywhere at once. Because not only did He invent time, He owns the patent to the time-space continuum. Just as God made atoms and energy, He also created time.  Time didn’t exist before creation, because there were no reference points or mile stones.  At the final judgment, time will be no more, but God and his people will continue forever. 

Revelation, the last book in the Bible, is a book of prophecy. It speaks of things yet to come, but it uses the past and present tenses to describe them. In the soon to come future, the “angel of the waters” will pour out his bowl of wrath on planet Earth and then he’ll report to Christ that His orders are carried out.  He’ll say “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be” (Revelation 16:5). 

Since Christ by nature controls past, present, and future, He can now allow evil men to persecute His church, because their coming judgment is just as sure as it was when it was written down long ago. In the same way, those who are persecuted will be greatly blessed, because that was his plan all along.

When time is irrelevant, the first century Christians will not spend more time in heaven than believers today. The opposite is also true; those who actually crucified the Savior will not spend longer in hell than the twenty-first century Christ-rejecters.  Infinity plus 2000 years equals infinity minus 2000 years (∞ + 2000 = ∞ – 2000). This makes sense not only to a mathematician, but to the One who is and who was and who is to be.

April 19

Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:11

Although this title occurs only in the tenth chapter of John, few are as well known. The Good Shepherd is found in the name of countless local churches and has been found in early Christian art from the second century.

Depictions of a young shepherd carrying a lamb on his shoulders have been found on the walls of the catacombs of Rome and are among the most common symbolic representations of Christ.  In those early centuries of the church, believers hid in caves and risked death to be a disciple of Jesus.  Focusing on the Good Shepherd who loved them unto death, surely was a comfort and encouragement in the darkness.

Most people in this modern urban society don’t have a clue about the details of a shepherd’s job description. They certainly did in the Roman Empire. Shepherds had the thankless job of caring for poor, smelly, helpless critters that were too dumb to take care of themselves.  Left on their own, sheep soon die, because they can’t find their own food and water, nor can they protect themselves from predators.

Isaiah 53:6 connects the dots: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” We are those stupid, stubborn animals that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gave His life to save and care for.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
                                          Psalm 23:1-3

April 20

Teacher

Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Luke 20:21-22

When Jesus taught His creation on this earth, many rejected Him as the Christ, denied Him as Lord and refused to accept that He was “God with us.” However, one title that even His critics and enemies had to acknowledge was that he was a great teacher. This sparks my interest as one who has been in the teaching profession for over forty years. What was Jesus’ teaching style? What kind of lesson plans did He use? And how can I teach like the grand master?

In the portion above, it’s clear that Christ had what every educator eventually runs into, students that try to to get the teacher to say something that can be used against him. It’s the classic “student that comes, but doesn’t want to learn” scenario. They complimented Him for being politically incorrect and then baited Him with a loaded question that they hoped would bring Him down. Jesus not only took their bait, He took the whole rod and reel and made their question backfire on them.

Christ responded to their question with a question, “Why do you test me?” showing that He saw through their ruse.  Instead of side-stepping the issue and avoiding the question, He took it head on. (In pedagogy, it’s called a “teachable moment”). They showed interest in something, so He’d tell them something they didn’t know. Show me a denarius,” He added. This used many teaching techniques:
1. It got the student kinetically (physically) involved.
2. It made them put their tax money where their mouth was (i.e. showed that they had the money to pay their taxes).
3. It produced a manipulative (i.e. a physical object to focus on).
Whose image and inscription does it have?” was His next “right there” question. It was a simple question that anyone could get right and caused the answerer to buy into the learning process. “Caesar’s,” they responded acknowledging the obvious.

At this point the Lord hit them with the zinger, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25). The lesson came short and to the point, just like a really good teacher does it.

April 21

Jesus of Nazareth

So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me,
‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
Acts 22:8*

Everybody has a small list of names they go by: first name, surname, middle name, nick name, pet name, maiden name, pen name as well as aliases (also known as “a.k.a”). It can and does get confusing, so at some point, those in charge want to know your legal name. 

Jesus of Nazareth was Christ’s legal name. It is the name that set Him apart from all the other Jesuses of His time. It was how friends and enemies knew Him; it was the name brought up at His trial and the name put on His death certificate. Legally, that’s who the Savior was. 

Family names have been around for only around 600 years. They weren’t necessary when people lived in small rural communities. If people needed to differentiate between two people with the same personal name, a by-name was added. This was a descriptive term or phrase that would set that person apart from others. The name would stick and people would be introduced with that moniker.

When Saul of Tarsus was struck down by a blinding light on the way to Damascus, he saw a vision of the celestial. Someone was up there talking to him, demanding answers for the persecution he was meeting out. Saul wanted to know who this messenger of God really was. “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,” was the reply. Saul then had no doubt who He was. 

Jesus of Nazareth – the name on the accusation sign at the cross
Jesus of Nazareth – the name the Sanhedrin had made illegal to mention.
Jesus of Nazareth – the name Stephen was executed for preaching.
Jesus of Nazareth – the name on the letters of authority that Saul carried to arrest Jesus’s followers in Damascus.
Jesus of Nazareth – the newly found Lord and Savior of Paul of Tarsus. 

*used a total of 17 times in Matthew through Acts

April 22

Defender

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.
Psalms 5:11

I like titles that are clear and crisp, that are right there in scripture so that they jump out at you when you read them in boldface. I get a little bothered by other name-finders who invent titles from phrases or ideas, thus making them equal to the obvious appellations of the King of kings. 

I’ll go with implied titles when I must, when it would be blatantly obvious that it is missing and it would be irresponsible not to include it. In Psalm 68:5, God (Elohim) is described as the “Defender of the widows”, but He is also the Defender of all who are poor and needy.

In Old Testament writings, the LORD defended Israel time and time again, delivering them from overwhelming odds. The empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (and more recently the Third Reich) tried to annihilate the Jewish people, but God was their Defender

The New Testament clearly portrays Christ as our Defender. He defended the woman caught in adultery by writing her defense in the sand (John 8:1-12). Jesus defended his disciples when they were surrounded by Judas’ army in the Garden of Gethsemane. He spoke the words, “I am” and all the bad guys fell down. He then commanded His followers to be released and they were (John 18:1-8).

Christ encouraged His followers in the sermon of the Mount of Olives not to worry about what to say when they were persecuted and arrested for His sake (Mark 13:9-13). He would be their Defender.

Paul had first-hand experience with the Defender of the saints, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

April 23

Righteous

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 

Minister of the Sanctuary

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 

Head of Every Man

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 

Head Over All Things to the Church

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 

Drink Offering

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