“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God”, Hebrews 4:14 I’m listening to a song entitled “Almost Home.” Yes us believers are almost home. However, Jesus is passed into the heavens, already. Oh, our Savior and destiny-carrier is seated in Heaven at the Father’s right hand. We, in Him, are there with Him. Nevertheless, we must put on our helmet, “the hope of salvation” — because we still must endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ down here. “Let us hold fast our profession.” The verse completes itself with, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” Isaiah 63:9 reiterates, “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them,…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“All of your days have already been written in God’s book; when you go through a disappointment, don’t stop on that page, stay the course, keep believing; you may be tired discouraged and frustrated, but don’t give up on your future, God is faithful.” Dee dee Gee. Quietly bearing wrongs done to us, we must continue unscathed . Easier said than done, we need desperately to find a way to be quiet. Some lessons on keeping quiet: Proverbs 14:7 All things are adverse to a foolish man; but wise lips are the weapons of discretion. (don’t speak in the heat of anger.) Proverbs 18:13 He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him. (do you have all the facts?) Proverbs 14:9 Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance. (Don’t make a joke about sin and rebounding from it.) Proverbs…
…For those who are in Christ Jesus. The King James writers saw fit to add the words, “who walk not after the flesh…” This addendum is not in the original text. Why? Because Paul meant what he said, “there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus — period.” We must see that the unconditional statement, “no condemnation,” provides the only deliverance from an indwelling sin principle, a Law principle, an impotent “will” and a slavery to it all. Paul’s answer, and ours, is the miracle of Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, Jesus alone solved the “sold under sin” dilemma as He became sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21, took it to its death and burial, rose out of death, ( sin did not revive,) and offered to us “newness of life” and all this “in Christ.” Our answer to the frightful double-minded “willing to do good, yet…
When the details of life toughen, when serving God waxes near impossible, when crushing blows penetrate the consciousness — we approach a strange phenomena — the, insuperable, unattainable, undoable, unrealizable, unsolvable, place of utter dependency on God — A time and judgement that authoritatively requests, even demands, a relinquishing of all self-help — self reliance, control and power of will and exercise. We die. For all practical purposes — yes we find ourselves impotent, paralyzed. O, happy day. Imagine having all senses inoperable. First we lose hearing, the world stops. Then the eyes go blind — we take a seat. A panic settles in. A sense of smell does not help us now, our discerning taste buds bland out. We reach our hands to touch or feel, we engage emptiness. We cannot speak. But, God’s presence, which had never left us, now gains pre-eminence on the throne of our world. He speaks, He listens,…
Fishermen wade smack-dab into the water where fish swim, as a blue heron readies for it’s own breakfast, lunch or dinner. Why do they go in the water as opposed to fishing from the shore? Here are some answers: “…wearing waders permits me to fish down stream and positioning my lures in the spot that is only possible while being in the water.” “…helps me to avoid the many snags such as branches and tree trunks that are commonly found on the banks of many water ways.” “…With waders on I am able to go upstream 100 meters or so from the group and get the big ones all by myself. ” outdoors.stackexchange As Jesus promises to make us “Fishers of men,” in Mark 1:18, maybe lessons from fish anglers apply. The Pulpit commentary remarks, “It is plain that, in the pursuit of his calling, the fisherman has no power to…
“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. ” “Nothing indicates a tongue befitting the disciples of God, so much as the gift of administering consolation; and such a gift is possessed by the speaker here. “To help with words him that is exhausted” (with suffering and self-torture).” K and D commenting on Isaiah 50:4 Exhausted? Self tortured? There is a word hastening, there is a word succoring. Yes, a word nourishes the soul, as in Proverbs 10:21. Those words from righteous lips know how to bring delight in 10:32. Pro 16:12 -13 teaches “It is an abomination (regarded with disgust or hatred), to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. “Righteous lips…
“The Invitation” requests your presence at a fellowship with Jesus Christ. It politely urges you to enter into love, for eternity. It welcomes your presence at a throne of pardon, one in which all of your faults will have disappeared. It reveals a gift of righteousness, a stamp of approval, forever. It removes every hindrance to a life of meaning and purpose. Only a devil would refuse this invitation, only a demon could beg to be excused. Only hell itself would accuse the Invitation Giver of lying To all people, whosoever will, this gospel-invitation explains God’s judicial enactments, which pave the way for the Invitation. God attributes to every person ownership of the name, “sinner” — alienated from God. God lays all of that “iniquity” on His Son, Jesus Christ, who carried it to a bloody death. God attributes ownership of the name “righteous” to all who receive Christ; and…
The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us in 10:1, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.” What does it mean to have reputation? The Latin root tells us “reconsideration.” “to think again.” Webster’s says, “overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general. b: recognition by other people of some characteristic or ability.” So, reputation or “my qualifications as judged by others,” can be sullied by a dead fly? Yes, a Kamikaze fly could destroy a good perfume, causing a stench. But, Jesus made Himself of no reputation. He emptied Himself of qualifications; those judged by Men, but also real ones. see Philippians 2:7 What does that look like? Sounds like He refused to cling to an external judgement which stood on shaky ground, but also gave up…
The song goes: When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be, When we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout the victory! However, the Supreme joy of that “eternal” future is treasured in a lingering and finite present day earthen vessel. In our current “body of death” we may become apprehensive, worrisome, even fearful of the future. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us of a natural “temperament” which makes us all unique. He says: “The human person is very delicately and finely balanced. Fundamentally, we all have the same general characteristics, but the relative proportions vary tremendously from case to case.” “…we have our own particular characteristics: Our virtues, Our failures, Our weaknesses, Our blemishes. Lloyd-Jones goes on to say, “The fact that you have become a Christian, does not mean that you cease to have to live with yourself.” In keeping with these observations,…
God’s handiworks fold up, but He never changes. This we know for sure. “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Hebrews 1:10-12 Many, Christians and non, see this folding, and some see it today: Christopher Lasch has made this observation about our day, “the natural limits of human power and freedom… has become inescapable.” “Younger Americans today are perhaps the first generation to be certain that they are and will be ‘worse off’ than their parents.” “…optimism in progress is doomed.” I am convinced the prophets of doom have to be taken seriously. Maurice…