A Wretch Like Me

Luke 23:26-43

God's grace is beyond amazing. He holds out hope to the hopeless and forgives the unworthy.

There is the outward person, the one everyone sees, the one we show. Then there is the one inside. The one we hide in shame. The innermost thoughts. The things only God can see (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

The place where the flesh and the spirit fight, where the war rages. It is a seemingly endless struggle (Romans 7:14-8:1).

The Holy Spirit is stronger than the flesh.. He is the One who guides us into the Truth of Christ Jesus, who has overcome the world (John 16:33).

He calms the storm that rages in our innermost being and gives peace and brings us into salvation, and makes all things new (Romans 8:1).

God is AWESOME!

The Lie That Divides

Image Bearers

In our modern society, children are being taught to hate one another because of the color of their skin. This ought not be.

We were created in the image of God Most High. We bear His image. All of us. (Genesis 1:27) If you are in Christ Jesus, there is no reason you should believe the lie that we are different because of the color of our skin. It's a ridiculous notion. If you believe that, then you have fallen for a lie of the enemy. Satan wants to divide us. He wants to steal our joy (John 10:7-11).

We are a family. We are one in Christ and should not be fighting among ourselves over imagined diffences (Galatians 3:26-29).

We are, in fact, commanded to love one another by King Jesus Himself (John 13:4-35). That's huge. The world will know that we belong to Christ Jesus by our love for one another. We cannot move His Kingdom forward if we are too busy fighting with eachother over a lie.

God is AWESOME!!

Not Quite Wild Enough

John 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-17

It is the greatest miracle in all of history. A miracle never done before and will never be done again.

In John 1:1-4, the Apostle John wrote "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)

So the Word was in the beginning and everything was created through the Word. (Genesis 1:3-24)

When the time was full, the bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came to Mary and that the Most High would "overshadow" or hover over her (Luke 1:34-35). The Most High hovering over her has the same meaning as it did way back in Genesis 1:2. A very powerful event was about to take place. I heard a song about how those who studied the scriptures and knew them better than anyone else would dream about the coming of the Messiah, but their wildest dreams simply weren't wild enough.

He was coming. Who is He? The Apostle Paul tells us who He is in Colossians 1:15-17.

The Word became flesh (John 1:14). Paul tells us in Colossians 1:15 that Jesus (the Word) is the "first born of creation". But He is not a creation. He is one with God. He is The Word.

The spirit of the Most High hovered over Mary. He spoke and the sound waves reverberated deep inside Mary's womb and a cell formed.

God is AWESOME!

The Order

Genesis 14:1-20 and Psalm 110

I heard a preacher on the radio refer to Melchizedek as the "pre-incarnate Christ". That bothered me. I have heard that taught a few times in the past. It is simply not true.

The more I studied it, the more I was convinced that this teaching is wrong. Melchizedek was the king of Salem (modern day Jerusalem) and also a priest of God Most High, but not Christ.

In Psalm 110, King David writes about One who would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The author of Hebrews elaborates on this in Hebrews 6 and 7.

Melchizedek was in an order of priests of God Most High because the twelve tribes of Isreal did not exist yet. Levi had not been born, the Levitical Priesthood had not yet been established. And only those of the tribe of Levi were qualified to be priests because Aaron, the brother of Moses, was the original High Priest for Isreal (Exodus 28), and Levi was descended from Aaron.

Christ Jesus is our High Priest, but He fulfilled the law, so He could not have qualified as a Levitical priest because He is of the tribe of Judah. So He had to be in the same priestly order to which Melchizedek belonged.

Our Savior is currently at the right hand of His Father, as High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

God is AWESOME!

Holiness: A Foreign Concept in Modern Times

Leviticus 10:1-7 and 2 Samuel 6:1-7

There are passages in the bible that tell us about some of the judgements of God on certain people. Some will read these passages and declare God to be unfair. But God was very clear about how things were to be done and laid out procedures for how His holy objects were to be handled (Numbers 4:1-49).

Only the sons of Kohath were to carry the ark, and under no circumstances were any of the holy objects to be touched. God was very clear that touching any of those items would result in death.

Again, God gave very specific instructions for the burning of incense and fire (Exodus 30:1-10).

So, when King David went to get the Ark of the Covenant and was transporting it home, an ox stumbled and the cart was jarred. Instinctively, Uzzah reached up to steady the ark. The moment he touched it, God struck him dead (2 Samuel 6:1-7). And when Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire while performing their duties, God destroyed them as well (Leviticus 10:1-7). A lot of people think of these as harsh and unfair judgements. But God is a Holy God, the Most High God, and He is to be regarded as Holy. He means what He says. He is not the "The Big Guy", He is not "The Man Upstairs", and He is not your buddy. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega. (Colossians 1:15-20)

In Luke 13:1-5, we see that a lot happens to us because of our sin.

But it is because of the free gift of grace in Christ Jesus that we are now free of condemnation (Romans 8:1-2) and it is only in Christ Jesus we find salvation (John 14:6). We are eternally secure in that salvation (Colossians 3:3). What more secure and safe place could there be than in Christ?

God is AWESOME!

No Spoiled Children

John 9:1-3

We are told to cast our cares on the Lord and to ask in faith for our needs and wants to be met (Mark 11:24). But the answer is not always yes.

All through the book of Job, God is proving a point. Job did not understand what was happening or why. But he trusted God and did not blame Him. And in 2nd Corinthians 12:7-9, even the great Apostle Paul asked for his "thorn in the flesh" to be taken away. The answer was no.

Our wise Father is a good Dad. He knows when to say yes and when to say no. He does not spoil His children. He knows what is best for us and what lessons we need to learn and when we need to be humbled. He has the big picture.

We experience things in life that we don't understand. Sometimes people make the unfortunate decision to blame God. They decide He can't be trusted. Some make the decision to draw closer to Him and trust Him no matter what (Job 13:15). I believe God's sovereignty is absolute. He is in very strict control of everything that happens. God has a plan and is not obligated to let me in on His reasons for things. I have decided to trust Him because of this belief. Because He is worthy of my complete trust.

Because God says no does not mean you are lacking in faith. It may mean He is up to something great that will bring you into a closer relationship and a deeper understanding of who He is. What a blessing in that. He may even be teaching someone else something.

God is AWESOME!

The Old School Mountain Top Experience

John 18:1-6

In Exodus 3:13-14, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that I AM sent him. And on the top of Mount Sinai, when God was speaking to Moses, the people at the foot of the mountain thought it was thunder.

In the garden, when Judas and a detachment of Roman soldiers (anywhere from 300 to 600 soldiers) approached Jesus and His disciples, Jesus asked them who they were looking for.

They said they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene. The NASB bible says that Jesus replied "I am he." The original language does not have he there. He said I AM. When He said that, they all went back and fell to the ground.

I am thinking it was that same thunderous voice filled with unspeakable power that slammed 600 soldiers to the deck. I think for that moment, He wanted to remind Judas and the Romans exactly who it was they were dealing with.

I don't know how long it took them to regroup and shake it off. But after this event, Christ Jesus allowed them to continue what they had come to do, because it was His Father's perfect will. And our Savior obeyed and fulfilled His role as The Lamb of God for our sakes.

He didn't have to go through any of it. But to make us whole again and save His bride, He finished it. He was our Scapegoat (Leviticus 16:20-22).

God is indeed AWESOME!