RE-POST FRIDAY

Today we look back at a Post where Jesus Christ gives an analysis of the Spiritual Journey of every person on earth! CLICK HERE!

Belt of Truth

For many, truth seems to be a relative thing.  One person’s truth may not be the same as another.  So how can the born-again Christian navigate the truth that is put out by the world?  Especially when the truth that is presented by the world seems to be so against the truth that is found in the Bible.  As we have already seen in our previous post on the Feet of Peace of the Gospel, we know that the peace that the world offers is different, and far less reassuring, than the peace that is offered by God.  With this knowledge, we can already see that the truth that the world provides is indeed opposing the Biblical truth, this is because the ruler of this world is opposite the one true God.

So what is the truth that the born-again Christian needs to understand?  The answer can be found in John 17:17, “17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” So, since God’s Word is truth, we can be rest assured that what He says He means, and it is applicable in our lives today. This is vital in understanding since real peace comes from having real truth. This truth is depicted by Paul as the belt “stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,” Ephesians 6:14a. Historically, a belt would hold the weapons of a soldier. How ironic that metaphorically speaking the belt of truth holds the Sword of the Spirit. The truth that Paul discusses is not only the truth that is found in the Scriptures, it is anything that points back to God as the one true God. For example, nature declares the truth of God, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1. We have God’s sovereign Word and witness accounts to proclaim with even more vivid nature His divinity and absolute control. If His truth does not give peace, we clearly are not understanding His truth. This becomes even more important when we examine that God in His sovereignty has given prophecy. We are able to see that all the promises that God has given are kept, thus those promises that are made for future events should be taken as a matter of fact. It is why Prophecy should be studied in churches; it is part of God’s truth. It gives us hope, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of [a]our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,” Titus 2:13.

What does truth provide the believer? As mentioned above, it allows us to know that God’s Word is true.  When He says that nothing can remove us from Him, we know that this is true because we are sealed to Him. “13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” Ephesians 1:13

What is the point which we as believers can come and identify why knowing His truth is so important? The answer is quite simple, the more we know His truth, the more we are able to rely on Him being our peace. Each piece of the armor discussed by Paul are interconnected, you cannot have one without the other. We cannot have peace without knowing His truth, if we do not have peace we are identifying God as not being able to supply that peace and be in control. This goes directly against what He has promised in the Bible. This is a difficult concept for all believers to come to grips with. The more we study His Word, the more we understand God’s truth and see how what is being offered by the world brings no peace.  We then begin to change and become more Christ-like. “21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ” Ephesians 4:21-25.

When we wear the belt of truth, we are called to grow in the faith not to remain as we once were.  Having the belt of truth means that we know God’s Word.  We can then differentiate between what is presented as truth by the world, which is really nothing more than crafty lies I encourage you to look again into Genesis 3 to see how crafty the enemy can be, and what we can know for sure what is the truth. When we focus on the Word of God, we can hear His voice more clearly and this allows us to differentiate between right and wrong.  When we have the knowledge of truth, we will not be swayed by what the world says.  “14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:14-16

There are dangers when we do not wear the belt of truth.  Without a solid foundation in the truth, what the scriptures say, then we will be carried away by the battle we face.  When we do not wear the belt of truth we will begin to conform to the world. So many pastors today, people who should know the truth, have been swept away because they have conformed to what the world wishes.  When we wear the belt of truth, we will stand above what the world desires, “2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Jesus identifies Himself as an agent of truth to Pilot when asked if Jesus was a King. “Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.” John 18:33-38.

Simply put for a person to have real truth, you must have God’s truth, you must have Jesus. When Paul wrote about God’s truth being the belt of the believer, he was making a statement that many today miss the importance. The belt typically was not only larger than it is now, but it was relied upon more due to the ability to protect the organs as well as hook the rest of the armor to the waist when not being used. In short, Paul is stating that God’s truth rests all other parts of the armor. As believers, we must understand and know that God’s truth is our greatest asset when it comes to understanding that God is in control and we can have peace. With God’s truth we can understand that each of the other pieces of armor that we will discuss all rest on Jesus Christ being the truth, being God’s truth.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,               

Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (VI)

“The answer to life’s greatest question is simply Jesus Christ. To have all of life’s answers and yet fail to have this one question correct, is to fail entirely.”

 Author Unknown

  It is without a doubt that during these times there are so many who are attacking the credibility of who Jesus Christ was. It makes sense, if you can remove Jesus as being God, you remove all claim, authority, and power that He has, thusly terminating Christianity. Nevertheless, the more we scrutinize the Word and examine the endless supply of evidence proving His deity, we are left with the unmovable question of who Jesus Christ is to us personally.

These last several weeks we have studied a few of the preincarnate visits of Jesus Christ, not to prove His deity, but to authenticate His statements made during the gospels. He made the claims Himself, and I feel in no part that I must defend Jesus Christ’s life. I am to only speak the truth and allow His own actions and words to orchestrate His own defense.  He claimed to be God, He claimed that He was the key to salvation, yet it was the fact that He proved through His actions prior to making these statements that causes us to look on in amazement. Only Jesus Christ could act upon His own statements as a man prior to being born. This man would have to be God to put such a plan into action. Many today scoff at the very idea of His humble arrival in Bethlehem, yet what they miss is His awesome actions proving His deity prior to Bethlehem. A virgin birth is nothing when you see the actions Jesus Christ had already done in the Old Testament. Jesus had already, through a multitude of people, proved that He was the Son of God. He used Abraham, Jacob, Nebuchadnezzar, and others to see the reality of who He was. As we have learned that His statements are backed up prior to Him saying them, we can take His statements of His future actions with one hundred percent certainty! This is a sobering fact, for Christ warned and proclaimed that He was the only way, the only truth, the only life that could cause a person to be saved. This points us back to our unmovable question of who Jesus Christ is to us personally.

Many today would argue that Jesus became the Son of God through His actions. Some incorrectly believe that Jesus Christ became God’s Son at the incarnation. They will use Luke 1:35 “He shall be called the Son of God.”

Others claim, Jesus became the Son of God at the baptism. They will use Matthew 3:17 “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well please.”

Still others say that Jesus became the Son of God at the resurrection. They will use Romans 1:4 “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Even others claim Jesus became the Son of God at the ascension. They will use Hebrews 1:1-4 and specifically point out the fact of “appointment” at His ascension.

Each of these groups fail to remember one of the most famous quotes in the Bible, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten SON, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (Emphasis mine). Jesus Christ, has always been God, the second in the Trinity.  However, each of these groups fail to recognize the law of limit, to be God you must not have a limit, you must not have been created. Jesus Christ was not created but rather was before and was only briefly humbled, “but we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews. 2:9. I would ask you the simple question of this, based on Hebrews 2:9 how can a person be briefly humbled unless He is already at a station of authority? You cannot be briefly humbled if you are already at that station of place. Christ came to earth in humility to save us, any claim by scoffers to say He was only a man, ignores the facts of all His claims to be God and His previous actions before He arrived in Bethlehem.

But His actions prior to His birth, His earthly life, and the claims of His future events do bring us back to our unmovable question of who Jesus Christ is to us personally. For the past six weeks we have studied Jesus Christ, prior to His humble arrival. Yet, any study of Christ is void if we do not have the correct answer to our unavoidable question of who He is to us personally.

If He is anything other than your personal savior, you have missed the mark of who Jesus Christ is and who He wants to be in your life. When we see that eternal life and unity with God only comes through the sacrifice that He has given us in Jesus, we must humbly accept that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be. His actions prior to His birth only solidify His right to claim what He stated in the gospels. Words do not compare the desire that I write to you today to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord! For no matter what you do now, there is a coming day to which you will recognize Him, for Philippians 2:11 states, “and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Our only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, on His actions, on His statements, and on faith in Him. We have more than just the four gospels to review such an amazing God. If you are truly wanting to know more about Jesus Christ, God will move heaven and earth to make sure you get the answer.

If you are looking for answers on salvation or have questions on any of the topics discussed about in this series, reach out to Mill House Ministries on our contact page!

 Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

RE-POST FRIDAY

This RE-POST FRIDAY we look at what the Bible details as the incorrect way to be a Biblical woman. CLICK HERE!

Feet of Peace

Peace is something that is hard to find today.  It is true that the world will tell you that peace no longer exists with so many different sides against each other.  There is so much fear and anger out there that we often forget that we do have peace in this world.  However, while the world claims that it can give you peace, we see time and time again how wrong that is, for true peace can only be found in Jesus Christ. As we begin our study in the armor of God, it is important to start at the base of the foundation which is “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace” Ephesians 6:15.

If you are like me, before going out for the day you will check to see what the weather is like to make sure that you are wearing the proper shoes.  This aspect of being prepared for the day applies as well to the armor of God.  In this case, the shoes that you must wear are the shoes of the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel is called the Gospel of Peace not in that it unites everyone, for in many cases it divides people as seen in Matthew 10: 35 “35 For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; “ if we have family members who do not belong to the family of God, it is often times a dividing factor.  The Gospel is hard to understand if you do not have the Holy Spirit to guide you and to teach you. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”  So if it is not uniting everyone together, then how can the Gospel be called the Gospel of Peace?

It is because the Gospel unites sinful man with Holy God.  It is with Jesus Christ that we find true and perfect peace.  When we accept that Jesus died for us, that He rose again, and is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us today, then we receive the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Holy Spirit that we are convicted, and it is how we learn to understand the Scripture.  The Holy Spirit allows us to be seen as righteous to God and therefore, we are no longer at war with Him.  We can then receive the peace that He offers.  It is a peace much better than what the world offers! Christ broke down the wall that separated us from God by His actions on the cross.  He has united us with the God of Peace. “14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”. Ephesians 2:14

By wearing the shoes of the Gospel of Peace we have a firm foundation in what the Scripture says.  This means that we will not be swayed by what the world tells us.  I can think of one aspect of this happening in my own life.  If you have read my introduction, than you will know that before I became a believer in Jesus Christ, I attended a church that told me to apologize to the men for bringing sin into the world as a woman like Eve.  With no doubt this was not taken well by me but because I did not have a firm foundation in the scripture, I could not rebuke those in leadership who were pushing something that is not Biblically sound.  So instead I left the church and thought I was leaving God behind.  Thankfully, God was not done with me and instead placed friends in my life who were able to show Biblically what it meant to be a Christian, one of these friends also turned out to be my husband who has continually encouraged me to bring everything back to Scripture and has helped me to have a deeper understanding of God.

The point of this story is that without a firm foundation in the Scripture, we are easily swept away from God.  We all need to be thankful that God does not chose to let us wander away, but will come after us “4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Luke 15:4. Now it is easy to see how a non-believer can be swept away with so many unbiblical teachings around today, but how does this affect the born-again believer?  If we fail to put on the feet of peace, not having a firm foundation in the Scripture, then we are still putting ourselves at risk for what the enemy would say.  Look back into Genesis 3, the serpent simply asked Adam and Eve a question which caused them to doubt God and sin. For a believer to be truly at peace we must understand the Gospel is our only source of assurance in this life, without Jesus Christ at the helm we are lost. Each part of the armor of God is vital but for those who wear the shoes of peace, they have a clear distinction when the rest of the world screams in dismay they have a solid rock to stand on.  

When we as believers do not have a firm foundation in what the Scripture says about the Gospel, then we are allowing the enemy to twist things.  This is how ideology that salvation comes from works and not by faith alone have been formed as well as many other ideologies that do not agree with what the Gospel says. When we fail to put on the feet of peace, then we leave ourselves open to a spiritual attack. History tells us that in any war there is mass confusion, yet God in His wisdom and understanding that in this spiritual battle we as believers need to be unified. When soldiers march in columns they are in lockstep cohesion, as Christians we need to have our shoes of the Gospel of Peace readily on so that we can stay united and moving in the direction that Christ wants us moving. Soldiers are always focused on keeping their feet ready for whatever war demands, part of that is the careful preparation and selection of boots, likewise as Christians we need to be focused on the Gospel to which will ready us for any demand that this spiritual war may send our way.  

In previous blogs, we have seen that the peace that God offers is not the same as what the world offers.  We as believers should be grateful that it is different for the peace that the world offers is hardly peace at all, especially with what we are seeing now.  While God’s peace is different it does not mean that we will not face trials.  “33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33. We can have peace in our tribulations because God has overcome the world. “16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16.  Christ is not only truth, but He is peace and grants us His peace in every circumstance.  The more time we spend reading His Word, the more we understand our God who is a God of peace. This allows us to build that firm foundation in the Scripture.

So why then do we need to put on the feet of peace?  It is a preparation act, when you are preparing something it means that you are getting ready.  In the case of the armor of God, you are preparing for a spiritual battle, a battle that will go on around you weather or not you are aware.  How you face that battle depends entirely on your preparation, which is why Paul states that you must put on the Gospel of Peace. This part of the armor allows us to have the peace that only God can offer, with firmly having the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a believer is able to not only be on God’s side but will be able to be used by God when and how He desires to use us in this world.   If you stand firm in the Gospel then peace can be found, if not then you will be swept away by the fears and worries of this world. “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,               

Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (V)

“If God had a beginning, He is not God. All beings who have beginnings must assume to the role of the law of limit. God has no beginning; therefore, He has no limit. His power has no limit, His presence has no limit, and His attributes have no limit in His character. In contrast the devil is a created being, he has limited power, limited presence, limited definition of who he is. There is no comparing the two as rivals. One is a doomed created being, the other limitless, endless, and forever in all ways and so much more.”

Author Unknown  

As we have been studying the preincarnate visits of Jesus Christ, we have been learning who Jesus was before His humble arrival in Bethlehem. We have been learning that Jesus Christ who claimed to be God, had proven He was God prior to arriving to make these statements. Elmer L Towns stated correctly, “When we consider that Christ would meet with men as He did throughout the Old Testament and then spend a life among men on earth, we cannot help but be impressed with the intense personal concern of Christ. He is intensely interested in our personal lives and takes a personal interest in the problems and decisions that face us day by day. As He existed in the past and demonstrated His interest in the affairs of men, so today He is interested in our problems. He desires to become involved in our lives.”[1] These visits reveal the character of Jesus as the Son of God and thusly God in precious ways. Our next event of Jesus on earth before His humble arrival in Bethlehem can be found in Judges 13.

“Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years 2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. 3 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. 4 Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” Judge 13:1-7.

Once again we have someone seeing God in the flesh and being able to recognize immediately that it was Jesus. In verse 6, Manoah’s wife identifies the man as God, “A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome.” Unlike our previous lesson of awesome power being shown, here we have the gentle arrival of Jesus, here He is wanting to deliver a message and giving hope to the Jewish people. The story continues,  “Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” 9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me.” 11 Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 Manoah said, “Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation?” 13 So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. 14 She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.” Judge 13:8-14.

Here we see a clear stance taken by Jesus in the gospels already being portrayed in the Old Testament. He is listening to the Father. When God heard Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of the God came again. Jesus was sent back! He obeyed! This is in clear connection to John 5, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” John 5:19. Yet, He is not done there, Jesus shows more of His character as He is patient to wait on those who doubt or need further clarification of who He is.

“15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” 16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. 17 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?” 18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.

Many wonder and contemplate the scenario of what will happen when they first get to meet Jesus. If it is anything like many individuals in the Bible, we will fall flat on our face. Manoah and his wife are able to further signify this is Jesus by their actions of falling with their faces to the ground. While this is not the only sign of God, this sign shows the power of God and not of a man. No man can perform what just happened before them. Nevertheless, Manoah and his wife’s discussion helps highlight the restraint that Jesus Christ uses. He is controlling in whatever he does, He is self-controlled to a degree that Manoah and his wife come to the realization they would have been dead if the angel of the Lord had wanted it. “21 Now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. 22 So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.” Judges 13:21-23. This is huge for us to understand, Jesus Christ’s restraint should never be looked at as weakness, but as complete sovereignty over any situation. He is always in control no matter how desperate it might seem. This confirms His statement in John 10, “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded” John 10:18. Our God Jesus Christ, is someone who we can place all of our faith in, He is not only God, but man perfected, He is the Alpha and the Omega. For those who wish to diminish who He is, is to diminish who God is. That is why we need to take His words so seriously, as Manoah and his wife did. They were able to see God’s promise of a son come true, and Israel having a hero to help save them. “24 Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” Judge 13:24-25.

As we study the Word of God, never forget the old saying, “scripture answers scripture!” So, for Jesus to make some crazy statements about Himself in the gospels, you can already assume His previous actions have backed it up. When you read the story of Manoah and his wife, remember that Jesus is not just all powerful, but He is in control of every situation.  We can rest assure that He is who He says he is, Jesus Christ is God in the flesh!

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

[1] Elmer L Towns , Concise Bible Doctrines, PG. 122

RE-POST FRIDAY

Today’s RE-POST FRIDAY we review how the Bible is a great timeline within human history. CLICK HERE!

A Spiritual Warfighter’s Tools

If you are a born-again believer in these times, it may seem as if the world is attacking you.  In certain areas of the world this means a physical attack as well as an attack on churches with lock-downs preventing services.  While this may seem hard enough as it is, there is another attack taking place on the born-again believer, and it is a spiritual attack.  Sadly, this is the type of attack that many Christians are the least prepared for and yet is the most dangerous.  So how do we, as believers in the one true God handle all of this?  The answer can be found in Ephesians 6:10-18.

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Paul is reminding the Church in Ephesus that they need to be strong in the Lord, that their power comes from Him and not from themselves.  This is as true today as it was then!  Our greatest strength in this world has nothing to do with our physical capabilities or the political party that we belong to or any other materialistic thing.  Our strength comes from the one true God!  To believe that we are powerful enough on our own would be like the disciples in Matthew 17:18-20 who could not cast out a demon from a young boy but with one word Jesus Christ commanded the demon to leave.  Jesus then reminds the disciples that if they had greater faith they would have been able to cast out the demon.  This issue here was that the disciples did not believe that God was big enough to cast out the demon, there is nothing more powerful on this earth than our God!  God is the source of all of our strength!

But why do we need to be strong in the Lord?  It is because there is a war going on today, an unseen war, and that is a spiritual war.  We must be strong in the Lord and put on all of His armor so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes.  Our war is one that is “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12. It is important to note here that there is no verbiage that states that putting on the armor is a one and done type deal. Just like knights who had to put their armor on daily, we to as believers must put on our spiritual armor each and every day. When we slack in putting on one aspect of the Armor, we leave ourselves open to attack.  This could come in confusion of a doctrine, believing that one version of the Bible is superior to others, division in the church, and so many other ways that are to numerous to count.  All of these ways can cause a believer to stumble.

It is important for us to wear the full Armor of God because of who we are fighting against.  While we can never be torn away from God once we belong to Him, “28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” John 10:28-30 this does not mean that this warfare does not affect the born-again Christian. The old saying, “if you fail to plan you plan to fail” has more truth in this coming study than most realize. While we who are saved cannot lose our salvation, we can be caught in the devils schemes and hurt. This is especially true if we are not prepared. 2 Corinthians, Paul warns the believers in chapter 2 verse 11, “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” We need to be vigilant as our Father wants us ready for anything at a moment’s notice. We must remember what Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”.

As we will see in the next several weeks, God does not leave us undefended or unprotected from the spiritual attacks that we face. By studying the Armor of God, we will see how it can be applied to us today.  When we have the Armor of God, we are strong in Him and can stand against what this world will throw at us.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

                        Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (IV)

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse….you can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing non-sense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

C.S Lewis[1]

Unfortunately, today there is a growing problem in the so-called church! According to LifeWay Research, 30% of evangelicals believe Jesus Christ was only a good teacher and not God. How sad! “All total, 52 percent of Americans say they believe Jesus was a ‘good teacher, but he was not God,’ according to the survey. Although the poll’s finding about the general population may not be shocking, Ligonier said it is surprising that nearly a third of evangelicals (30 percent) affirm the statement and believe Jesus was a good teacher and nothing more.”[2] This highlights the need to not only study Christology (the study of Jesus Christ) but also study the preincarnation of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. These visits prove without a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ is God! As stated last week, only Jesus could show His character through actions THEN BE BORN and make the statements of who He is. He does it in reverse to show His awesome power! No moral teacher, no religious zealot, no political leader, could pull this show of majesty and power as the Son of God could. Jesus Christ is who He said He is, “I am.”

Nevertheless, we want to today continue in part four of our seven-part series reviewing some of the preincarnate appearances of Jesus Christ before His humble arrival in Bethlehem. Today we review, one of the quickest but grandest demonstrations of Jesus Christ as the Son of God!

For this event let us to go to the book of Daniel chapter 3.

At the very start of the chapter we see Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon concocting a foolish idea, “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed; ‘To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire” Daniel 3:1-6. Nebuchadnezzar thought himself as God, he believed he was worthy of worship and the image that he had created was to be the focal point of the kingdoms worship. However, our three heroes in the story Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, refused to bend the knee and worship a false god.

As the story continues, we find out that charges are brought against the three who refused to obey the command to worship a false god, in doing so they declared their lives forfeit. They were more interested in following the true God, the living God, the ever-close God, Jesus Christ. “For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: ‘O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jew whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.’ Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” Daniel 3:8-15.

What a pompous statement made by Nebuchadnezzar! “and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” Nebuchadnezzar could do whatever he wanted and to throw three individuals into the fire would be no issue at all. However, as we find out, there is a God who could deliver them out of his hands. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refuse to obey and declared their lives to the fire, Daniel 3:16-18. As expected, Nebuchadnezzar becomes enraged and has the furnace heated up seven times more than it was usually heated, “He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually. He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abedn-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up” Daniel 3:19-23. These three who have refused to obey, have given over their lives, and have been thrown into the furnace. While they were being thrown in, the fire killed the ones that threw them into the flames. In almost any other case, we would say that this story was over, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were martyrs to their cause for only worshiping the true God. But God has other plans! These three are about to experience the preincarnated Jesus Christ! How do we know? Just like Abraham’s, and Jacob’s encounter, Nebuchadnezzar has this revealed to him. We are not given how the conclusion comes to this, but apparently it was obvious to Abraham, Jacob, and Nebuchadnezzar. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in hate; he said to his high officials. ‘Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?’ They replied to the king, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!’ Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the kin’gs high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God,’” Daniel 3:24-28.

What we have here is an incredible story of God saving the lives of His followers. While at first glance it would appear that God is only in one small part of this larger story, you would be mistaken. This story actually portrays much more of Christ than when first read. Remember only Jesus Christ can do the actions prior to birth and then be born and make the statement. In this story we see the subtle hints of Jesus Christ.

To better understand, we need to take a pause and reflect on what statements Jesus Christ has said is coming. We know from Daniel chapter 9, that there is decreed a special amount of time specifically for the relationship of God with Israel. This relationship has seven years to play out. These seven years have been called many things from “Jacob’s Trouble” to “The Tribulation” but in the end, it is a focus of seven years with God dealing directly with the Jews. Unfortunately, we do not have the time today to discuss further but in future posts, Lord willing, we will see more of the seven years of Tribulation. But for now, we know that the Bible is clear that it is coming and has not happened yet. We know from Revelation chapter 13, that a mark of the beast will be established and people will be forced to take the mark of the beast. This could be a literal mark of 666, symbolizing the Antichrist’s name, or they will die. While the actual mark is still speculative, we know from Revelation 13:18 that this mark is coming and one day it will happen, in verses 11-17 of Revelation 13 we see that it will be forced.

Now at this point you might be wondering to yourself, where I am going with this but bear with me. How odd is it that the three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are given an ultimatum to worship the image which was 60 cubits high, 6 cubits wide, and with 6 listed instruments? How ironic that the number becomes 666! Furthermore, the furnace is heated to seven times its typical heat. Jacob’s trouble is for seven years! On top of all that, where is Daniel during this time? He is not even in the story, but why? Because he was not there! Historians and Biblical scholars believe that Daniel was either on an errand for the king and was out of country during this time, or the Chaldeans were afraid to mention his name due to Daniel’s high status. Either way, we know that he is not mentioned so he is missing from the story. When you look at all the scripture relating to the Tribulation, be it Old or New Testament, you will see no mention of the Church on earth during the Tribulation. Why? It is because we are gone. There are many who will claim we are here for the entire seven years, and/or we have to be here until God’s wrath comes. I would respectfully disagree and tell them to keep seeing the Word of God for what is says and not what man foolishly speculates.

So, we have a group of Jews who are refusing to bow down and worship an image that hints to 666 and are thrown into a furnace seven times hotter than normal. Nebuchadnezzar, not knowing Jesus, identifies Him with the best title he is able to give Jesus at that time, “Son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar is identifying this man as different, He had saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and their garments were not only protected but the three didn’t even smell like smoke. We see that this person has the power to control earthly elements. Now the power to control fire does not mean you are God, nor does it mean you are a good person. Revelation chapter 13 shows the False Prophet will be able to call down fire from Heaven in front of the first Beast. So how do we know this fourth person is God? First, we can tell because of the number four. In my book The Haggai Project, I show through research the number four has strong significance, “4: Is the number of the gospel. There are 4 sides to a cross and four books in the Bible specifically talking about Jesus’ life on earth. There are 4 major Prophets in the Old Testament, ‘Judah, the messianic tribe from which David and Jesus descended, is the 4th tribe of Israel. The first 4 of the 10 Commandments deal with our relationship to God (the last six deal with our relationship to fellow man, hardly a coincidence since 6 is the number of man). Jesus told his disciples to spread the Gospel in 4 places, in Acts 1:8.’ God on the fourth day of creation created the physical elements for light. Some of have argued that another clue as to why the Jews should have known Jesus was coming was because of the argument of the fourth day representing 4 thousand years of mankind and just like on the fourth day, in the fourth century the light arrived. How ironic that the gospel is there for anyone to see but will only be found by those who are seeking God. What seems trivial to some as just numbers will be seen by others as the significance of God’s Word.”[3]

We also know this is Jesus because Nebuchadnezzar is not stopped by any of the three Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego when he proclaims the amazing attributes of God in verses 28-30. Jesus is not done here though, this representation shows that Jesus not only loves the individual, as we saw with Abraham and Jacob, but also the national group which is being represented by Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in a future event. Jesus has the power to save anyone from anyone, thing, or cause. “ For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39. He still cares for Israel and will one day come back to them. How amazing is Jesus Christ who before His humble arrival has given us so many actions to back up His statements that He would make later.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

[1] Michael C. Bere, Bible Doctrines for Today, Pg. 140

[2] Michael Foust, Christian Headlines, Drifting Away from Scripture: 30 Percent of Evangelicals Say Jesus Was Not God, Poll Shows, August 27th 2020.

[3] Jon-Luke Thomasson, The Haggai Project, Pg. 96

RE-POST FRIDAY

Today’s RE-POST FRIDAY we see the remarkable actions of a courageous woman. CLICK HERE!

God Is Bigger Than Our Rejection!

In the last two weeks, we have looked at the two choices that is presented to everyone.  We can either humble ourselves and turn to God as Nebuchadnezzar did, or we can ignore Him like Balthazar did.  Everyone has this opportunity because God works in the lives of both the believers and the unbelievers.  There is nothing that can stop Him from using someone to complete His work, if we believe something is outside of God’s power to change we are limiting God with limits that He does not have. But what happens if you are one of His and you turn away from the faith?  Will He love you even then?  For that answer, we need to look at one of Jesus Christ’s own disciples, we need to look at Peter.

Peter was a fisherman and one of the first to be called by Jesus Christ to be a disciple.  One account of this can be found in Luke 5:1-11.  Jesus had gotten into Peter’s boat asking him to go a little way from shore so that He could teach the crowd gathered there.  When He was done, He asked Peter to place his net out who replied “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” Luke 5:5. Peter was already beginning to see that there was more to this man, but he did not yet know who it was.  When Peter let down the net, there were so many fish that the net began to break.  Upon seeing this Peter responded to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Luke 5:8. Peter knew then that this was the one that was foretold about in the Old Testament. Even though Peter knew that he was a sinful man, when Jesus told him to follow he listened. “19 And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’” Matthew 4:19.

From here Peter continued to follow Jesus throughout His ministry and was even one of the disciples who was there to witness His transfiguration as described in Matthew 17, and he was the disciple to recognize that Jesus was the Son of God, “13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ 14 They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15 ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ 16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’17 Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” Matthew 16:13-20.  In these verses Jesus Christ even states that Peter would be the rock that His church would be built upon! What an honor!

So how could a disciple such as Peter be the same one who would eventually deny Jesus Himself?  Peter often looked at the short term of Jesus’s ministries, he failed to see that Jesus came to save the whole world from sin.  This often caused Peter to be rebuked by Jesus, in one occurrence when Jesus was explaining the plan of salvation that God had, “21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ 23 But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’”

Peter’s failure to see the bigger picture also caused Jesus to have a dire warning for him, “31 ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ 33 But he said to Him, ‘Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!’ 34 And He said, ‘I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.’” Luke 22:31-34. The man that Jesus was to build His church on, was being petitioned by Satan to be separated from the twelve!  It was only through the prayers of Jesus that Peter was not sifted away. While that is a powerful statement alone, especially when we understand that Jesus is currently at the right hand of God petitioning for us even now, there is a bigger aspect to these verses. 

If you look at verse 32 again, you see that Jesus knew that Peter would fall away.  However, if you look closer, you see that Jesus knew that he would return! With that knowledge, Jesus was already giving Peter his marching orders for after His death, and that was to strengthen fellow believers.  Peter did not understand the significance of what Jesus was telling him, he merely stated that he would never fall away and that he would follow Jesus to death. Again, Peter was looking at the short term instead of seeing the overall picture.  Just as Jesus stated, Peter did deny Him and when “Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, ‘Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.’ 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:61-62. 

Peter can be an example to those of us who have been following after Jesus for a while, but for whatever reason have turned away from the faith and now have a deep conviction about what has occurred.  To make this clear, this type of conviction is only there for those who truly have made the 180 degree turn and have accepted the free gift of salvation that Jesus Christ offers to all.  While being a born-again believer does not make us perfect while on this earth, we are found righteous before God through the actions of Jesus Christ on the cross and it is through the Holy Spirit that we have this conviction.  It is this same conviction that caused Peter to go out and weep over his actions.  Let us continue to look at Peter though to see what God made of the man who denied Him.

Once Jesus was resurrected, He met with Peter and the other disciples on the shores of Galilee (John 21:4). The men did not recognize Jesus at first but upon His command to throw the fishing net to the right side of the boat, and the amount of fish they brought in, John recognized that it was Him which caused Peter to jump out of the fishing boat to hurry to swim back to Jesus. (John 21:6-7).  It was as they were all eating, that Jesus then puts a charge to Peter, to feed His lambs, to care for His sheep, and to feed His sheep (John 21:15-17).  And this is exactly what Peter does.  If you continue to read what Peter accomplishes, you will see that he had the ability to cause a lame man to walk (Acts 3:1-11) and raised a woman from the dead (Acts 9:36-43).  But more importantly, Peter had the ability to go in front of a crowd but this time he was not denying Christ, he was preaching about Him (Acts 2:14-41).  In this one occurrence, Peter led around three thousand to accept Jesus!  He truly was the stone that God built His church on!

If a man who denied God’s Son could be used in this way, imagine what God can accomplish through you.  If you are someone who may feel that they have ran from God, understand that God never leaves you.  What is even more is that your sins have been forgiven already!  Just as Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, He also knew that Peter would return.  We all have our orders, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20 and this order remains even if we have turned away.  We can be brought back and still be put to work by God.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (III)

“I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity…. Everything in Christ astonish me. His spirit overawes me, and His will confounds me. Between Him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by Himself. His ideas and sentiments, the truth which He announces, His manner of convincing, are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things….The nearer I approach, the more carefully I examine, everything is above me- Everything remains grand, of a grandeur which overpowers. His religion is a revelation from an intelligence which certainly is not that of man….One can absolutely find nowhere, but in Him alone, the imitation or the example of His life…I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”

Napoleon Bonaparte[1]

As stated over the last two weeks, many today are attempting to redefine Jesus Christ as being only a man. Some have gone as far as to question His existence entirely. Yet, for those who truly look at the accounts discussed in the Word of God, we can see how real Jesus Christ is! Jesus Christ is not just a man and not just a God but one hundred percent man and God at the same time, He is truly one of a kind!

When we study the glimpses of Jesus prior to His humble arrival in Bethlehem, we come to undoubtedly one of the strangest written events of Jesus Christ. Jacob, the second son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, is certainly one of the most devious individuals in the Bible. He not only steals his brother’s blessing in Genesis chapter 27, but also runs away from dealing with his brother in Chapter 27-28.  The name Jacob even means “usurper.” Still the account found in Genesis chapter 32 can only be described as unique. Jacob meets angels of God and realizes that he is in the camp of God, Genesis 32:1-2. While there he wrestles with God.

“Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When He saw that he had not prevailed against him, He touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with Him. Then He said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said ‘Jacob.’ He said ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked Him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But He said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And He blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.’ Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip” Genesis 32:24-32.   While our study is not over Jacob’s life, it is unique that he would do whatever it took to receive a blessing from God. Any person who has wrestled knows the amount of energy and focus such a task takes, to do it for such an amount of time as Jacob did is incredible.

In verse 30, Jacob gives us the credibility needed to connect this encounter as God wrestling with him. However we can further reason that the specific representation of the trinity in this situation from John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” He as in Jesus Christ, has “explained” or in layman’s terms “revealed, shown or brought to light” God for us to see. Thus, based on this, we can connect this encounter of this Man wrestling with Jacob as only Jesus Christ. Elmer Towns stated rather eloquently, “Since Christ is the only one of the three persons of the Trinity to be seen, we are left to believe…Christ appeared to Jacob and wrestled with him during the night. Jacob recognized the next morning he had met with God.”[2]

Yet, we can further see the character of Jesus Christ in the Man who wrestled with Jacob. The Man wrestled with him when presumably at anytime could have dislocated his hip. He showed restraint against man, this is a subtle but vital clue in understanding that this is Jesus Christ. One must only look at all the encounters of Jesus Christ with the Pharisees and other confrontational incidents to know that Jesus Christ showed an amazing amount of restraint. Satan actually helps highlight the capacity of the power of Jesus Christ’s authority to order angels in Matthew 26. Here Satan has finally been given his permission to use Judas to betray Jesus and have the Son of God arrested. The very thought of God being arrested by man is laughable but Jesus, in submission to the Father’s plan, allowed it. During Christ’s arrest, He confirms that He is willfully restraining Himself from what He could do, “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” Matthew 26:53-54. Self-control is in fact one of the best examples of God’s presence. He can do what He wants at anytime but He will resort to what is necessary for the sake of those He is working with, which in this case is Jacob. Jacob needed to understand that God has preserved Jacob’s life and the coming encounter with Esau was to be left in God’s hands.

Nevertheless, as we study the appearances of Jesus Christ before His humble arrival in Bethlehem, we must continue to find the relevance as to why this is important for us today. The subtle lesson of this encounter is a single event of the overall grander scale and nature of God with all of us. Jesus Christ is willing to do whatever it takes to help us come to grips with Him. In the case of Jacob, Jesus needed to wrestle and physically hold him back to get Jacob to trust Him with the coming encounter of Esau in Genesis chapter 33. Jesus’ willingness to do whatever it takes reminds me of the gospel of Luke in chapter 15 when Jesus sheds light on His actions as the Good Shepherd with those who He seeks, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” Luke 15:4-7.

We can see the loving character of Jesus; He will do whatever it takes to wake up the individual. In the grander scheme, Jesus, with humility and restraint, gave up His own life for us, so that while we were still sinners, He died for us! We can see from this preincarnate encounter with Jacob that Jesus’ love and commitment to doing whatever is necessary, is already there! His character is timeless! This means we can take hold of His never changing character and hold His promises as faithful and true! If He says He is coming back for us, we can take it to the bank, because He has never broken a promise and His character is that of loving to the point of restraining Himself to do what is necessary to get our attention. What an amazing God we have! Typically, a person would make a statement and then show their actions to coincide with those statements made. However, only Jesus Christ could show up prior to His birth in Bethlehem, perform such actions of devotion, restraint, love, and so much more and then be born of a virgin and make the statements/declaration about Himself. We can take what He says in the New Testament as a verified fact, because He has already verified it with His literal actions in the Old Testament. You would not know this unless you studied Jesus in the Old Testament to fully understand Him in the New Testament.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

[1] Michael C. Bere, Bible Doctrines for Today, Pg. 140

[2] Elmer. Towns, Concise Bible Doctrines, Pg. 121

RE-POST FRIDAY

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Two Choices Part 2

Last week we looked at Nebuchadnezzar who was a proud man and who thought that his reign was succeeding on his will alone.  He failed to recognize God’s authority in his life and that decision led him to become more like a beast than a man.  It was only after Nebuchadnezzar had bowed his knee to God and realize that God works in the lives of unbelievers as well as those who belong to him, did Nebuchadnezzar regain his kingdom and all the honor that went along with it.  We saw how God will use times when we are comfortable in our lives to send us situations that will either cause us to lean on Him or to turn from Him.  This week we will look at another man who had a choice to follow after God, but instead of turning to Him like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar kept the idols that were in his heart.

Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, he had heard of the events that occurred in Daniel chapter 4 but did not take Nebuchadnezzar’s lesson to heart.  Instead Belshazzar continued to be prideful and secure in his own castle. So sure, was Belshazzar, that he even held a feast for all his nobles while Babylon was under siege. He believed that there was no way that the Medes and Persians would break down the walls.  He knew that Babylon was fortified enough to last several years under siege, so he was comfortable.

Not only did he hold an elaborate feast, Belshazzar also called for the gold and silver cups from Jerusalem that Nebuchadnezzar had brought to Babylon to be used (Daniel 5:2).  Belshazzar and others who drank from the cup than began to praise false gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Daniel 5:4).  Belshazzar then saw something that caused him to become pale and his knees to tremble (Daniel 5:6).  A human hand appeared on the wall across from him and wrote out a message (Daniel 5:5).  Belshazzar called for his advisors to see what they could make of the message, none were able to decipher it (Daniel 5:8).  Belshazzar was then reminded of Daniel who had been able to help solve problems like this in the past (Daniel 5:12). 

Daniel was indeed able to decipher the message on the wall, but it was certainly not good news for the king.  Daniel reminded Belshazzar that even though he knew of what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar had not humbled his heart and instead had put himself against God when he drank from the sacred cups and praised false gods (Daniel 5:17-23). Daniel then continues to rebuke the king, Belshazzar had honored gods who do not “see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored” Daniel 5:23.  Daniel then interprets the message for Belshazzar, “26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.””.  Unlike with Nebuchadnezzar, God did not wait to carry out His sentence. That very night Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede took control of Babylon (Daniel 5:31).

Belshazzar can be used as an example for many in today’s world.  Especially if you are an American Christian, you have heard at one time or another different aspects of the Bible.  Just like Belshazzar who had heard of what had happened to his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, we know the stories but we often ignore them, and thus we have a false sense of security that we can do things on our own.  We begin to build up idols in our hearts, and as is seen in Psalm 115:4-8 we become like our idols. “But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”  We place our trust in idols of our own making, idols that have mouths, eyes, ears, and noses but all of that is worthless because these idols hold none of the power of the only true God who breathes life into His creations, ““The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4.  Our idols offer us a false sense of security, just as Belshazzar had with the siege going on behind his walls.  And just like Belshazzar, God will still reach us when we feel we are content in this world and who we are in it.  In Belshazzar’s case, it was a literal writing on the wall, for those today it may be a worldwide lock down causing you to reflect on what is truly important to you. 

Belshazzar had the opportunity to heed his grandfather’s lesson and humble himself to God, however, he chose not to.  This choice resulted in God turning against him.  Belshazzar’s kingdom was divided amongst the Medes and Persians, a fact that Daniel had predicted in Daniel chapter 2 (this was also why Daniel was not interested in being made the third ruler in the kingdom, he knew that the kingdom would be divided amongst the Medes and Persians, God had already shown Daniel this). Belshazzar’s false security failed him when confronted with God’s will.  By failing to humble himself to God, God was against Belshazzar.

We all have the choice to humble ourselves to God or not. As we saw last week if we choose to humble ourselves, we will be saved just as Nebuchadnezzar was.  But if we choose not to humble ourselves then we are choosing a path that goes against what God would will for us.  God wants all to come to Him and acknowledge Him “3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:3-6. However, if we take on the attitude of Belshazzar then God will be against us just as He was against Jerusalem in Jeremiah 21.  What is interesting about this passage is that God used Nebuchadnezzar to bring His people back to Him.  We all have two choices we could make when the God breaks through our false sense of security.  We can either turn to God like Nebuchadnezzar, or we can ignore him and be separated from God forever as Belshazzar was.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

                        Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (II)

“The deity of Jesus Christ, is pivotal in Christianity, for without Jesus being God, His statements are meaningless.”   

There are many today who would claim that Jesus Christ was only a man and did not exist before He was born in Bethlehem. These scoffers are sadly found in churches and church leadership today. Yet, as we started last week in studying the preincarnation of Jesus Christ, we are seeing how very real He was prior to His humble arrival. Today in part two in our series, we focus on one of the most misunderstood and read over passages found in the Bible.

A promise by a visitor!

Now the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant”. And they said, “So do, as you have said.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, kneed it and make bread cakes.” Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah denied it however, saying “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.” Genesis 18:1-15.

Here we see several key points to help us understand who this individual is. Let us start first with the name “Lord.” This word in Hebrew is the proper name of God, it is “Yhvh.” The first time the word is used is in Genesis 2:4, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.” Simply put, this verse is describing God, for only He can create anything. Thus, we now have a conundrum, we have two verses describing Lord in two different ways. Genesis 2 shows His power to create the known universe, while we also have Lord being used in Genesis 18:1-15 as being a man. The scripture describes this man as being tired. Abraham was allowed to prepare a meal to refresh the Lord, “and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant” Genesis 18:5. So here we see two distinct natures that help identify the characteristics around the word Lord. Imagine, Abraham is sitting and attempting to cool down in the hot sun and suddenly he has three men in front of him, one of whom he identifies immediately as God.

How did Abraham immediately know? I have no idea, for the scripture does not say. But I can only assume that Abraham was permitted to know. Additionally, the Lord knows the thoughts of Sarah when she is not even in His presence. In verse 12, Sarah laughs to herself about being told by the Lord that she is going to have a son. When confronted by the Lord on the matter, she is afraid and then corrected again when she tries to say she did not laugh in verse 15. The Lord knows the thoughts, Jesus Christ is also identified as knowing the thoughts of people, “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand” Matthew 12:25. The similarities continue to prove that both individuals are one. Nevertheless, this is not the end of the story. For we are about to see more evidence as to this man being God incarnate.

 “Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?”  And He said, I will not do it on the account of the forty.” Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there” And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on the account of the twenty.” Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on the account of the ten.” As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.”  Genesis 18:16-33.

This helps outline the characteristics of the Lord, spoken in Genesis, is in fact, Jesus Christ. In verses 18 and 19, we see that the Lord is prophesying He would bless the nations through Abraham. Also, in verse 25, we see Abraham as identifying the Lord as the Judge of all the earth. There is no one who is capable of judging the World but God, “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” 1 Peter 4:5. Jesus Christ, is further shown to ultimately judge all those who are in the world found in Revelation, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, everyone one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s’ name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” Revelation 20:11-15. We can tell just from these two clues that this person is God!

So out of Genesis chapter 18 we have identified the Lord as having specific qualities that will help identify if the Lord as described in Genesis 18, is Jesus Christ. Verse 1 identifies Lord as being God with His name. Verse 5 shows the Lord could get tired, when we examine John 4:6 we see Jesus being tired, “and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” Verse 17 shows the Lord as prophesying of what will happen to Abraham, we see Jesus Christ being referenced as a Prophet in Acts 3:22-23, “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” Verse 16 shows the Lord walking, look at any of the gospels we can clearly see Jesus Christ’s entire ministry was done on foot with Him visiting locations and stopping to give lessons, signs, and to fulfill specific prophecy.

I would lastly argue that this is Jesus Christ because of the nature of the Lord’s departure from Abraham in verse 33. When He was done talking, He just departs. Jesus in all of the gospels is quick to continue to where He is needed, and He is deliberate in His actions and concluding those actions.

Wrapping up, we are seeing the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as being God. Any argument of Jesus Christ being only a man is inherently wrong and lacks a clear and full study of all the scripture to see Him in completeness! He is fully man and fully God, we have His pre-incarnation visits to prove His authenticity as God prior to His humble arrival in Bethlehem.  But what is the take home value of knowing this? What is the “SO WHAT FACTOR” of the Genesis 18 account? The Genesis 18 account does two things for us in studying Jesus Christ, it shows His authenticity in His ability to prophecy (promises to Abraham and actions against Sodom and Gomorrah), but also with passing of judgment on individuals and whole groups within Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18, Jesus Christ is not bound by man’s limitations. Yet, during His 33 years of life, He chooses to orchestrate within man’s limitations. Hebrews testifies this in chapter 2, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” Hebrews 2:9.

The second take away for us studying this is confirming Jesus’ own statements found in John 8, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, ‘you are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’” John 8:56-58. This is vitally important; Jesus Christ’s statements are backed with previously written scripture. It is not one of His followers claiming His righteous character and actions, but rather those who came before! This shows Jesus Christ is in fact God! Moses, through the power of the Holy Spirit, wrote down what Jesus stated to Abraham. This helps confirm what Jesus did in the four gospels. His pre-incarnation visit to Abraham helps shed light our marvelous God.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

RE-POST FRIDAY!

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Two Choices Part 1

We all have two choices when it comes to God, we can choose to follow Him or we can choose to ignore Him.  This is the choice that awaits for everyone and we all must come to terms with it at some point in our lives.  While we all have the choice to accept Him or not, that does not mean that God waits until we have decided to follow Him or not to begin work in our lives.  God the Father created a salvation plan for the whole world, God the Son completed that plan, and God the Holy Spirit convicts us all of our sins.  But that is not all, for those who choose to accept Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit then seals us into His family.  That still does not mean that He does not work in the lives of the unbelievers, and for the next two weeks we will take a look at two different men and their responses to the work of God in their lives. This week I want to look at Daniel chapter 4 and see one man’s reaction to God’s work in his life. 

King Nebuchadnezzar was a proud man, and his pride eventually caused God to turn his mind into that of an animal. When you compare Nebuchadnezzar before chapter 4 of Daniel to his actions at the end of chapter 4 you can see something radical has happened in his life. Nebuchadnezzar was a man who would throw people into a furnace for not worshiping his golden image (Daniel 3), it was certainly his way or the highway.  Now even though Nebuchadnezzar had seen God protect Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego from the furnace, he refused to accept God’s mighty hand. This was not a man who would think to bow his knee to God.

Daniel Chapter 4 sees Nebuchadnezzar at ease in his kingdom, he had conquered his enemies and his days were filled with doing only what he pleased.  It was in this place of comfort that God sent Nebuchadnezzar a dream that caused him to be filled with fear.  The dream was that of a giant tree, “ 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. 13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. “‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him. 17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had” Daniel 4:11-18.  Nebuchadnezzar was afraid of his dream and called all of his counselors to him to see what they made of it.  None were able to make any sense of the dream except for Daniel, who had to give the king the troubling news.

Nebuchadnezzar was alarmed and must have subconsciously known that the tree in his dream was in fact himself, based on the symbolism of the tree being referenced as “it” and the discussion in the vision referencing a verdict against “him.” Daniel would later confirm this assumption,“20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— Daniel 4:20-22.  And it is here that we begin to see God’s work in the life of the unbelieving king.  God had sent this dream as a warning to Nebuchadnezzar, change your ways or your kingdom will be taken from you.  Not only will the kingdom be taken from him, Nebuchadnezzar would also be driven away from mankind to dwell with the beasts.  Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar does not heed the warning, and a year later all that was foretold of him came true.  “29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” Daniel 4:29-32.

Nebuchadnezzar failed to acknowledge that God was sovereign, and it was through God that Nebuchadnezzar had any authority. Due to his pride, Nebuchadnezzar spent seven years living as a beast, he was driven from the royal palace, he ate grass, his hair became unkempt, and he walked on all fours until his nails grew into claws (Daniel 4:33).  It was only after the seven year time frame did Nebuchadnezzar lift his eyes to heaven to acknowledge that his authority was given only through God.  Once Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God’s authority in his life, his mind was returned to him.  As if having reason returned to him wasn’t enough, God also allowed Nebuchadnezzar to return to reigning, and still on top of that God granted Nebuchadnezzar surpassing greatness (Daniel 4:36).

Nebuchadnezzar is a great example of one response we have to God when He calls to us.  So often in our times of comfort we look around and believe that it is our own doing that has led to this.  We begin to look toward ourselves for our happiness rather than realizing where it truly comes from, and we become prideful.  The Bible is clear about how the actions of the prideful brings destruction, “When pride comes, then comes dishonor,” Proverbs 11:2 is just one example. When our hearts are filled with pride, we have no room for God, it is here that God will place us into a situation that will either cause us to lean on Him or to continue to try and fail to do it on our own.

God gave Nebuchadnezzar that chance, the dream was a warning to have him realize that all authority comes from God, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” Romans 13:1. God will also give us a chance to acknowledge Him. This chance is different for every person, for me it was a filling of emptiness, of knowing that there had to be more to the life that I was living.  Nonetheless, no matter how this chance presents itself, we all must come to a realization of who God is and if we will remove our prideful self from our hearts to allow Him to work in us. “28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28.  God works in our lives to complete His purpose, even if we choose not to accept Him as we will see next week.  However, if we take on the attitude of Nebuchadnezzar and lift up a prayer to God acknowledging His sovereignty, than we can be restored.  In Nebuchadnezzar’s case, his mind was restored to him as well as the kingdom.  For us, this restoration takes place in uniting us to God, we are no longer bound by sin and instead are placed in God’s family.

When we take on the attitude of Nebuchadnezzar, we are removing our pride that we are in control of our own happiness.  God works through our lives whether we are Christians or not. “One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” Proverbs 29:23. Pride indeed brings us low, just as it brought Nebuchadnezzar to behaving like an animal and not a man.  But just like Nebuchadnezzar, when we turn to God we receive His grace, “6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” James 4:6. When we turn to God, our situation becomes not our own, but His.  When we see God working in our lives it is difficult not to praise Him.  A fact that Nebuchadnezzar found out as well, “37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Daniel 4:37.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

                        Alex

Before the Humble Arrival (I)

“It has been said that Christ is Christianity. False religions can continue without their leaders; cults can arise and their leaders be soon forgotten. But Christ is Christianity. Without Him Christianity has no meaning.”[1]

Unfortunately, in recent years churches and church leadership have swayed in their dedication to understanding who our blessed hope truly is in our daily life. Many claim to be spiritually rich and have almost denied the need for Jesus to be that intimate savior. This has caused a not so subtle issue in the church with spiritual transformation being considered, “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” Revelation 3:17b.  Where we once were emboldened by God many in the church now find themselves to be embarrassed or ashamed to be associated with the Jesus of the Bible. This is regrettable, because the need for Jesus Christ has not changed, we are still in need of Him. This post is not directed at admonishing churches, or even church leadership but rather focusing on who Jesus Christ is. In recent months it has become apparent that the world is starting to pull the attention of the Christian away from Christ.

In the book of Matthew, we see a great example of why we need to keep focused on Jesus and not the world.

“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘it is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ and Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying ‘you are certainly God’s Son!’” Matthew 14:22-36. The more we are focused on Jesus Christ, the more we see that this world is nothing to fear at and we should do what Jesus has told us to do.

Nevertheless, there are many today who are focused on only a part of Jesus Christ, and this is unfortunate since Jesus Christ is found throughout all of the Bible. If a true study of God’s Word is reviewed and reflected on you can find Jesus throughout the entire Bible, in all 66 books.

 For the next seven weeks we are going to go over who is Jesus Christ. This study will focus on one of the most skipped aspects of Jesus Christ, we are going to study together the preincarnate Jesus Christ. Do not let the terminology scare you away, all “preincarnate” means is “before incarnated” or “before the virgin birth.” Why should we do this study? Because it is the foundation in everything that a Christian is and holds dear. “An honest person cannot study the life and ministry of Jesus Christ as taught in the Bible and not be impressed with His influence. The years Jesus traveled throughout Galilee and Judea have had a greater impact upon civilization than any other thirty-year period in the history of the world. Jesus taught a limited group for a limited time, yet his teachings have outlived those who taught a lifetime. Though Jesus Christ was not personally engaged in the arts, He has furnished the theme for more poems and songs, paintings and sculptures than any artist in history…An honest student of history cannot deny the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity; as such He is equal with God in nature, yet submissive in office. What the Bible says about God, it also maintains about Jesus Christ. Moreover, since God is eternal, Jesus Christ existed before His birth in Bethlehem. The Son of God was born into this world as you or I because He had a human birth. But the Bible also describes His birth, ‘the Word became flesh.’ Jesus Christ existed from eternity past. Since the evidence in the documents overwhelmingly attests to the life and ministry of Jesus on earth, they also attest to His eternal past. Jesus was the Son of God in the Old Testament’ this is the doctrine of preexistence. Jesus Christ has always existed and has no point of beginning. This is the doctrine of eternality. The eternality of Christ means He is not limited by time, has no beginning, and will have no end. The preexistence of Jesus Christ means He existed before His birth in Bethlehem. Because Christ existed before His earthly birth, His eternality gives Him godlike qualities. This concept of preexistence and the proofs of eternality support the proofs of the deity of Christ.”[2]

As Christians we need to understand who our Lord really is and to do this, we need to study the entire Bible to see the full revealed picture of our loving God. This is needed because we are living in the end times which are described as having antichrists and those who would bring false doctrine, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned’ and in their greed they will exploit you with false words’ their judgement from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” 2 Peter 2:1-3. While the Church will not be here for the Tribulation period, the hour of testing which will soon be upon the world, we are told the “truth will be maligned,” thus our need to keep Christ centered is needed even more. So, as we begin this study, keep your Bible open and ready, for we are about to see Jesus as the “I Am” prior to His arrival in a humble manger.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

[1] Michael C. Bere, Bible Doctrines for Today, Pg. 127

[2] Elmer L. Towns, Concise Bible Doctrines, Pg. 117-118.

RE-POST FRIDAY!

Today’s RE-POST FRIDAY reflects on a previous post regarding a warning to Christians and those who claim to be Christians. CLICK HERE!

Are You Prepared?

Imagine that you and a set of friends were planning a road trip.  In one car, one friend made sure that the car was full on gas, one made sure that the tires were in good condition, one brought a map, one brought emergency food and water, and yet another brought a portable charger.  This group knew what was needed to make the trip a success and was prepared, they got to the destination safely with no issues.  The second car however, had another story.  The friend that was in charge of filling up the car misjudged how much gas was needed for the trip and forgot their card to pay for gas, one friend forgot to get that squeaky wheel looked at that eventually lead to a popped tire, one friend thought the bag of emergency food and water was taking up to much room and left it behind, one friend thought that there would be enough cell service and they wouldn’t need a map, and the last remembered the portable charger but did not bring any cords to charge their phones.  This car never made it to the destination.  While this might seem a humorous story when you consider the actions of the people in the two cars and compare it to the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, we see that there is a much bigger picture here.

In the parable, it is not a destination that the ten friends are trying to reach, instead is it for an appointed time. More specifically a wedding feast.  For those who do not understand the marriage customs of the Jews (specifically Galilean region), after the engagement the bridegroom would go away to prepare a house for his beloved. The bride and groom would not see each other again until this house was prepared and the father of the groom told his son that it was time to bring his bride home.  This would not occur until after midnight on an unknown night, the groom and his friends would then go to bring home the bride, who while the house was being prepared was preparing her wedding gown with her friends.  Once the bride and groom were reunited the feast would begin, but if you were not prepared to go outside to meet the wedding party you were not allowed into the feast.

We see a similar situation occurring in Matthew 25:1-13. The ten women all set out to meet the bridegroom, and when the arrival of the bridegroom was delayed the women began to fall asleep (25:5).  When the announcement that the groom was on his way came the women rushed to trim their lamps, and five discovered that they did not have enough oil to keep their lamps lit.  The foolish five demanded oil from the five that came prepared (25:8) but in the end had to rush to the market to buy more oil, thus resulting in arriving after the door to the wedding feast was closed. They were not allowed entry while the five that were prepared were allowed into the wedding feast (25:10-12).

This parable is being played out before our eyes even today.  Everyone can be found in this parable, you are either part of the prudent five who had oil or you are part of the foolish five who, when the groom arrived, had to leave and look for oil. Now before we continue, we need to understand what the oil represents. The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” Isaiah 61:1. The action of having an anointing typically happened for two reasons, first was to make something apart as being holy and dedicated to the Lord. The second reason was to commission with authority on a person. It is ironic that the Church, which is set apart and dedicated to God as the Bride of Jesus Christ, is also signified as given and will be given authority. This falls hand in hand with the idea of the oil in the five prudent virgins being those who are truly saved and have the Holy Spirit of God in them. However, if you are interested in knowing more of such symbolism look into Exodus 30:30, Leviticus 4:3-5, Numbers 3:3, 1 Samuel 16:13, Zechariah 4:1-6, and so many more.

If those who have the oil are those who are saved in Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit of God in them, then who are the others? Those who belong with the foolish five are the false believers in the church.  They are the ones who believe that they will make it to the feast, in actuality the kingdom of heaven, based on association or on their works.  They believe that by going to church, volunteering to help in the church, and/or surrounding themselves with true believers, that this will be enough to get them to the kingdom of heaven. They believe that the true believers they surround themselves with or the good deeds they do will be enough to keep their lamps burning.  But they failed to see what is truly needed, they are not one of those who is recognized as having oil because they have never accepted that Jesus Christ is the only means to salvation.  And as we have seen in the parable, the foolish five have their lamps snuffed out and are unable to make it to the feast.

The prudent five on the other hand, have realized that the bridegroom may be delayed, yet eagerly wait for Him. They have the assurance of the oil that they will be ready when the time comes. What an encouragement for those who are saved, who realize that the Holy Spirit or the “oil” is inside of them. When the announcement that the bridegroom is on his way and the feast is about to begin, they have enough oil and will be allowed entry to the feast.  The prudent five are the true born-again believers.  They have accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation and are anxiously awaiting His return.  They know that the bridegroom may delay but stand firm in the faith even through hard times and times of uncertainty.  It cannot be stated enough that the knowledge that Jesus Christ will return for His bride, the church, keeps the prudent going.  They are the ones who even in the times that we are seeing now and even when things in this world get worse, their faith is not shaken.  And when Christ returns for His bride, those who are prudent, who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, will be allowed entry into the wedding feast, the kingdom of heaven.

Do you know which group you belong?  If you have any doubt in your mind, or you know that you  belong with the foolish, repent, accept and receive that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, completed a perfect life, died on a cross for your sins, was raised to life on the third day, and is currently seated at the right hand of God. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior and you will be given enough “oil”, the Holy Spirit, to keep your lamp lit. Remember it is truly a free gift of eternal life which is found in no other name than Jesus Christ, and with His Holy anointing you will be able to read the parable and truly know which group you belong in. For those who are saved and have oil, we need to be watchful and know the signs of the times we live in, for a day is coming where we will finally have an answer to, ““Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:13

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

                        Alex