Longing for Home

Job 19:25-27

In Matthew 24, I find great encouragement in Jesus' answer to His followers when they asked him about the end of the age. His answer is a little unnerving, but encouraging. To put it simply, if the ones claiming to Him don't come in the clouds, it ain't Him. When He returns, there will be absolutely no mistake as to who He is. The strength to endure everything that comes our way is found only in Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit wherein lies our salvation (Matthew 24:3-14).

Things will get much worse before the end (Matthew 24:36-37). I went to Genesis 6 to see what it was like in the days of Noah. In Genesis 6:5-7, it says of man that the intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Wow. Then there was a "but". Verse 8, "But Noah..."

Our wise Father spared future generations for the sake of one man. We see this over and over again throughout scripture. All the while pointing toward the One Man, the Final Priest, the Savior King (Psalm 110).

We all, from time to time, grow weary of the struggle between fighting the desires of the flesh and the temptations of the enemy. We wish the Lord would get here quickly and long for it all to be over (Revelation 21:1 and Revelation 22:20).

This is why it is vitally important that we gather together on a regular basis and encourage one another in our faith (Hebrews 10:23-25 and Proverbs 27:17), So we can run this race together and endure until the end.

God is AWESOME!

What - Me Worry?

1 Peter 5:6-7

The Apostle Peter tells us that we should cast our anxieties or cares on God. This is prefaced by an admonition to humble ourselves. I think Peter tells us this because it is difficult, if not impossible, to trust anyone else with anything if our pride is telling us we don't need help. It takes humility to admit that you can't do something alone.

I like Peter's wording in this passage (1 Peter 5:6), "the mighty hand of God...". God is indeed strong. His power raises the dead (John 11:1-44). His strength has no upper limit and His authority is absolute (John 1:1-5 and Colossians 1:15-18). So Peter tells us to "cast" our anxieties on Him. All of us throwing or casting all of our worries on Him would require a lot of strength to hold all of that. Not only can He hold all that, but He can crush them in one mighty hand!

Our God loves us because He is our Father and we are His children. We know that we can trust in Him (Psalm 28:7). Those of us in Christ Jesus have no reason to fear anything (Psalm 46:1-3)!

Our worry and anxiety will only build and we lose sleep and our mind and spirit are weakened by it. When we let go of it and trust in the Lord, new strength is found in Him (Isaiah 40:28-31).

God is AWESOME!

How Long

2 Peter 3:8-9

In our modern culture, we have become accustomed to instant gratification. If we have to wait more than a half hour for food or more than two days for a mail order, we get upset. Modern times have taught us to be very impatient. But God's word tells us to be patient. Slow to speak, slow to anger and to wait upon the Lord (James 1:19-20 Isaiah 40:28-31 and Psalm 27:14).

Peter tells us that God is not slow to fulfill His promises. We see it as very long periods of time, but God is eternal. Time means absolutely nothing to Him. In one of his psalms, King David asked God how long he would have to wait (Psalm 13:1-2) and even the saints in Heaven who had been murdered asked how long they would have to wait for the Lord's retribution against their murderers (Revelation 6:9-10).

God promised Abraham and Isaac and Jacob a land for their people. From the time of that promise to the time Israel took possession of the land was about 480 years. From the time the coming of the Messiah was foretold (Genesis 3:15) to the birth of Christ Jesus was 3,974 years. From the time Joseph was sold into slavery to the time he was made Prime Minister of Egypt was 13 years. From the time Christ was taken up (Acts 1:9-12) to present is between 1,962 years and 1,954 years. We, and when I say "we" I mean the collective we who have trusted in our wise Father since the beginning, have done a lot of waiting.

Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to strengthen us, to pray for us when we don't know how and to help us continue to wait in faith and in hope.

God is AWESOME!

Dragonflies and the Mind of God

Isaiah 55:1-13

I love to watch dragonflies. They are such amazing creatures. When I observe how they are able to maneuver, darting here and there, going full steam ahead and then coming to a dead stop without slowing down first, I marvel at God's ingenuity.

God created so many fascinating creatures (Genesis 1:20-25) that came straight from His beautiful imagination.

We can never know the mind of God. Our intellects are not equipped for the depths of God's understanding (Romans 11:33-34 and 1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

The things the bible tells us about God don't even scratch the surface of who He is. But the Spirit of God, as we mature in our faith, will take us deeper in our understanding of the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-12). As we learn more, as the Holy Spirit continues to pull back the curtain, the more we understand how much we don't know (Job 39-40:1-4).

The more we discover through the sciences that study the physical and natural world, and the vastness of space, the more we can see how beautiful the mind of God is. How much deeper and how absolute His understanding is. Our God is enternal. He has never had to learn anything, it is impossible to give Him new information (Isaiah 40:13-14).

In Christ Jesus, we have been given the gift of eternal life, and one day, when we get our new bodies and our minds are free from all sin and are living in the New Jerusalem, we will be given a full understanding of who God is and the enormity of what He as done, and we will worship Him forever and never stop being amazed.

God is AWESOME!

The Filter

1 Peter 4:12-19

Have you noticed that all the movies and television shows portray Christians as mean and hateful idiots and racists? It seems to be ramping up in our modern society. Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and even Satanists are treated so respectfully by society in our country. But Christians are treated as some sort of dangerous fanatics. And a lot of us act surprised by this.

Jesus said that this would happen (John 15:18-25). Both Peter and John told us too (1 John 3:13-18 and 1 Peter 4:12-19). It should not be a surprise at all.

The bible is filled with a history of followers of Christ Jesus being hated and persecuted. The Prophets of God were almost never welcome when they were sent to give God's message. In 1 Kings 18, Jezebel was rounding up prophets and killing them. All throughout history, Christians have been killed or made to suffer. In many countries, it is illegal to be a Christian.

In Isaiah 53, the suffering of Christ was foretold. When followers of Christ Jesus share in His suffering, we should be encouraged (Matthew 5:10 and Revelation 2:10).

Suffering is the great filter that God uses to purify our faith and bring us into a deeper understanding of who He is.

God is AWESOME!

Total Depravity

Psalm 14:1-3

One of the tenants of Calvinism is the total depravity of man. Left on our own, people will not seek God (Psalm 14:1-3 and Romans 3:10-11). And, just to get it out there, yes, I am a Calvinist. I believe the bible teaches what John Calvin, Martin Luther and other great theologians taught, which is God initiates contact, not us. Jesus Himself said it (John 6:44 and Matthew 11:25-27).

Some people are tripped up by the term "total depravity". When we think of depravity, we think of pornography, human trafficking, serial killers, etc. All sorts of horrible images come to mind. But that is thinking using our own understanding. God is a holy God (Revelation 4:8-11). His standard is holiness, period. The only thing in us that could possibly live up to His standard is complete obedience, even in our innermost thoughts. None of us is capable of that, so we all fall short (Romans 3:23).

Let's examine God's holiness and how seriously He takes it.

In the book of Leviticus God tells Moses all the standards, procedures and specifications for Aaron and his sons to follow in all the duties of the priesthood. They were not to deviate in any way from any of this. In Leviticus 10:1-3, Aaron's sons deviated from the standard, and they paid the price. God told Moses that He was to be regarded as holy to anyone who comes near Him.

In Exodus 25:12-15, God gave very specific instructions for transporting the ark, and in Numbers 4:15, God designated the sons of Kohath as the ones to carry the ark. And that the ark, among other holy objects, was not to be touched "lest they die".

In 2 Samuel 6:1-7, Israel went to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. They put the ark on a cart pulled by oxen. The oxen stumbled, the ark was jostled and Uzzah reached up, almost reflexively to steady the ark. He touched it and the bible says God struck him. Uzzah died. It doesn't seem fair.  Even David became angry about it (2 Samuel 6:8). But God stated very clearly that the ark was not to be touched and what would happen to anyone who touched it. God will not compromise His holiness.

Let's take a look at ourselves in comparison. We are sinful. Our righteousness compared to His is woefully lacking (Isaiah 64:6-7). Anyone who encounters a holy God shrinks back in shame and fear (Isaiah 6:3-5 and Luke 5:8). We know that, in the presence of His holiness and absolute righteousness, we, in juxtaposition, are totally depraved.

Thanks and praise to our great God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We have been made alive in Him (Ephesians 2:1-6).

God is AWESOME!

Old vs New

Genesis 12:1-3

Our preacher at church was telling us how a lot of people believe the Old Testament and the New Testament are not related, and how the Old Testament should be disregarded by Christians since we are in the New Covenant. This is false teaching of the most insidious kind. The Old and New Testaments are inextricably linked.

From the moment Abraham believed God, he was blessed (Genesis 15:1-6). He became the founder of our faith. Because Abraham believed God, we received our salvation in Christ Jesus (Matthew 1).

To bring His promise to Abraham to all of it's fullness, He extended His grace in Christ to the gentiles (Acts 10).

Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. He was faithful to keep His promise to His friend (James 2:23) and has now given everything to His Son, our savior and our great King Jesus the Christ who has the authority to reveal His grace to whom He wishes (Matthew 11:27-30).

God is AWESOME!