Matthew 16: 24-26
Then Jesus said to His disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole World but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
A cross is an instrument of death. No one takes up a cross with the intention to live, but to die. So when we turn from our selfish ways and not let apathy continue in our hearts toward others, determine that we will not focus on ourselves but on others and decide to serve them as serving the Lord; then God will reward us with gifts that we would not even think of or imagine, right here in this World, and eternally in the next.
Nothing in this life will endure beyond this Earth; it had a beginning and it will have an end. But God gave us a soul, which is who we are, our person-hood and person-ality, and it will never die like our bodies, but will live on forever.
So will we die to this life and live with God forever, or will we cling to this worldly life of pleasure and end up suffering forever, paying our own debt?
Each one of us has been born through Adam, and inherit his sinful bent in wanting to make our own decisions, not listening to anyone else, being our own god. It's because of this sinful bent in our persons that we make foolish choices, to please ourselves. We become selfish and apathetic toward others, always considering "Number 1" first.
That's why Jesus came the first time. The Lord God of the Universe we got to know in the Old Testament has always been the One Who communicated and dealt with His creation, Mankind. He is the One Who decided before Creation was ever begun, that He would be the go-between between God the Father and Man. And He would be the One to rescue Man if/when he sinned.
And we sinned. So He gave His people His Law, including all the sacrifices, to show what the Lord God would do when He came to rescue us. He is called the Lamb of God because He fulfilled those animal sacrifices that were acted out then. He is the Final Sacrifice, shedding God's own Blood, with endless power to not just cover, but take away sin.
Now when we consider ourselves dead to sin, because Jesus died for us, and we deny our own longings to satisfy ourselves, focusing on others instead; that is dying to ourselves, giving up our lives for Him. And then we will find that God sees to it that we gain so much more than we ever gave up, maybe not in the same way we envisioned it, but so much better!
I trust my Maker to know me better than I know myself, and His love for me which is more than I can imagine, to give to me everything He knows I need, and more, and to do in me and to me and through me what I can never do myself. Then He will get all the credit for what He has done, all the glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Monday, October 16, 2017
Two Or Three
Matthew 18: 19-20
If two of you agree here on Earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in Heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together in My Name, I am there among them.
What a wonderful promise! I know from this that God has already answered my prayers, our prayers.
Thank You so much, my most gracious and precious Father, my Abba Daddy. Thank You for Your power and Your goodness and Your love and mercy, showered upon me and us.
You have lavished Your love upon us, dear Father, though we'll never deserve Your love. You have made us worth Your attention and care, You value us that much. But we don't deserve it or can never earn it. You give to us freely, from Your great, majestic abundance.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If two of you agree here on Earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in Heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together in My Name, I am there among them.
What a wonderful promise! I know from this that God has already answered my prayers, our prayers.
Thank You so much, my most gracious and precious Father, my Abba Daddy. Thank You for Your power and Your goodness and Your love and mercy, showered upon me and us.
You have lavished Your love upon us, dear Father, though we'll never deserve Your love. You have made us worth Your attention and care, You value us that much. But we don't deserve it or can never earn it. You give to us freely, from Your great, majestic abundance.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Tamar's Pregnancy
I find a curious event recorded in Genesis 38 concerning Tamar's pregnancy. As a mother, I wonder how this pregnancy progressed, since it wasn't known there were twins until the birth.
It seems the boys were struggling and competing with each other to be born first, as Zerah put his hand out of the birth canal long enough for the midwife to tie a scarlet string around the wrist. Then it was pulled back into the womb and Perez was born first, then his brother with the scarlet string.
Is this another example of God choosing the second over the first? Perez is now in the direct line to David the King, so also in the line to Christ Jesus, too.
There is nothing else written about Zerah, he drops out of sight in Scripture, yet he actually had his hand out first. Such competition! For such a distant reward!
O my Father, You are great! You know who You have chosen: for salvation, for destruction, for their places in Your great Plan of the Ages; as well as Your plan for each one of us, our place in Your grand scheme.
Thank You, Father, for designing everything and making it all according to Your design, causing it all to function and work out to fulfill Your purposes for everything, and Your great, grand Purpose for us all!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
It seems the boys were struggling and competing with each other to be born first, as Zerah put his hand out of the birth canal long enough for the midwife to tie a scarlet string around the wrist. Then it was pulled back into the womb and Perez was born first, then his brother with the scarlet string.
Is this another example of God choosing the second over the first? Perez is now in the direct line to David the King, so also in the line to Christ Jesus, too.
There is nothing else written about Zerah, he drops out of sight in Scripture, yet he actually had his hand out first. Such competition! For such a distant reward!
O my Father, You are great! You know who You have chosen: for salvation, for destruction, for their places in Your great Plan of the Ages; as well as Your plan for each one of us, our place in Your grand scheme.
Thank You, Father, for designing everything and making it all according to Your design, causing it all to function and work out to fulfill Your purposes for everything, and Your great, grand Purpose for us all!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, October 14, 2017
The Song Of Moses
Exodus 15: 1-18
This chapter records the Song of Moses:
I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously . . . The Lord is a warrior, Yahweh is His Name . . . Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy . . . Who is like You among the gods, O Lord, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? . . . With Your unfailing love You lead the people You have redeemed, in Your might, You guide them to Your sacred home. . . .
Our God is God. He always gets the victory. He always wins every time. No other being is equal to Him, as He is the Designer and the Maker and the Creator of everything that exists.
Just like my son made Lego castles and forests and villages, and he was able to move them around any way he liked, and took them down whenever he wanted; so our God is our Master Who moves us around in the ways He likes. He has given us a will that is free enough to make our own decisions, but limited to what is available to us to decide. Nothing we choose to do can alter His plan for His Creation; He will fulfill all He has determined.
And He is Love. He loves us with a greater love than we can imagine. So He fights for us: against our enemy, the angel of light who has become our adversary and accuser; against the forces of this World system that try to draw us away from His ways; and even against our own flesh, our hearts, that lure us into the lies we tell ourselves.
He gains the victory over everything that works against our good. God is a good Father Who cares for us His children with His strong and gentle hand, to lead us into His righteousness and into His sacred home.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This chapter records the Song of Moses:
I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously . . . The Lord is a warrior, Yahweh is His Name . . . Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy . . . Who is like You among the gods, O Lord, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? . . . With Your unfailing love You lead the people You have redeemed, in Your might, You guide them to Your sacred home. . . .
Our God is God. He always gets the victory. He always wins every time. No other being is equal to Him, as He is the Designer and the Maker and the Creator of everything that exists.
Just like my son made Lego castles and forests and villages, and he was able to move them around any way he liked, and took them down whenever he wanted; so our God is our Master Who moves us around in the ways He likes. He has given us a will that is free enough to make our own decisions, but limited to what is available to us to decide. Nothing we choose to do can alter His plan for His Creation; He will fulfill all He has determined.
And He is Love. He loves us with a greater love than we can imagine. So He fights for us: against our enemy, the angel of light who has become our adversary and accuser; against the forces of this World system that try to draw us away from His ways; and even against our own flesh, our hearts, that lure us into the lies we tell ourselves.
He gains the victory over everything that works against our good. God is a good Father Who cares for us His children with His strong and gentle hand, to lead us into His righteousness and into His sacred home.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, October 13, 2017
The Greatest Commandment
Matthew 22: 36-37
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
What does Jesus mean when He says that "the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments"?
"The Law and the Prophets" was a term used in that day to refer to the whole body of works we know today as the Old Testament. So Jesus was saying that all of what God has told us about everything He has made and how it is designed to work is dependent on this principle of Love. For us to love God, and to love one another, is the foundation of how we are to cooperate with how God wants this World to operate.
There was a popular song that said, "Love makes the world go 'round," and it's true: God's love for what He made put His order into this Universe, which is what makes the Earth rotate on its axis, tilted just right to give us the seasons, and just exactly far enough from the Sun to not burn us up or freeze us.
Another song says, "To know him is to love him," and when I apply this to God, it is also true for me: the better I get to know God, the more my heart swells with love for Him. He must be first in my heart, my thinking, and my priorities. I will never pray to anyone else, for He alone is God; I will never place anything else in my life that would be a barrier between us. My love for Him is in response to all He has done to show His love for me. It is like an umbrella that shields me in the storms of life, the banner He has stretched over me (Song of Solomon: 2:4).
This can also be applied to how the World System is to work: this is how we love one another. When I love God, then I want to love what He loves, which is primarily people. When I see others through His eyes, then I will be kind and compassionate toward them, I won't want to kill them, or steal from them, or lie to them. I will automatically follow all the laws regarding interpersonal relationships and consider the other person before myself.
When Jesus fulfilled all the Law (Matthew 5:17) with His life and death and Resurrection, He left us with the principle that the Law was based on, Love. Now this principle of Love has us going beyond what the letter of the Law demanded. We will not only not kill our neighbor, we won't even think evil against him. We will not slander our neighbor, we will encourage him. We will not covet what he has for ourselves, we will commend him and take joy in what he has accomplished. We won't commit adultery, we will take care to respect one another and clothe ourselves modestly and appropriately.
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great love, for me and for everyone You made, and for all of Your creation. Thank You for giving us Your Word, to teach us everything we need to know and apply in this life to know You and to understand how to function in this World. Thank You for giving us everything we need to prosper in this World in getting along with one another, and in living our lives to be pleasing to You, and that You will even reward us eternally for what You are giving us the strength and ability to do here, now. You truly are magnificent, my Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
What does Jesus mean when He says that "the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments"?
"The Law and the Prophets" was a term used in that day to refer to the whole body of works we know today as the Old Testament. So Jesus was saying that all of what God has told us about everything He has made and how it is designed to work is dependent on this principle of Love. For us to love God, and to love one another, is the foundation of how we are to cooperate with how God wants this World to operate.
There was a popular song that said, "Love makes the world go 'round," and it's true: God's love for what He made put His order into this Universe, which is what makes the Earth rotate on its axis, tilted just right to give us the seasons, and just exactly far enough from the Sun to not burn us up or freeze us.
Another song says, "To know him is to love him," and when I apply this to God, it is also true for me: the better I get to know God, the more my heart swells with love for Him. He must be first in my heart, my thinking, and my priorities. I will never pray to anyone else, for He alone is God; I will never place anything else in my life that would be a barrier between us. My love for Him is in response to all He has done to show His love for me. It is like an umbrella that shields me in the storms of life, the banner He has stretched over me (Song of Solomon: 2:4).
This can also be applied to how the World System is to work: this is how we love one another. When I love God, then I want to love what He loves, which is primarily people. When I see others through His eyes, then I will be kind and compassionate toward them, I won't want to kill them, or steal from them, or lie to them. I will automatically follow all the laws regarding interpersonal relationships and consider the other person before myself.
When Jesus fulfilled all the Law (Matthew 5:17) with His life and death and Resurrection, He left us with the principle that the Law was based on, Love. Now this principle of Love has us going beyond what the letter of the Law demanded. We will not only not kill our neighbor, we won't even think evil against him. We will not slander our neighbor, we will encourage him. We will not covet what he has for ourselves, we will commend him and take joy in what he has accomplished. We won't commit adultery, we will take care to respect one another and clothe ourselves modestly and appropriately.
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great love, for me and for everyone You made, and for all of Your creation. Thank You for giving us Your Word, to teach us everything we need to know and apply in this life to know You and to understand how to function in this World. Thank You for giving us everything we need to prosper in this World in getting along with one another, and in living our lives to be pleasing to You, and that You will even reward us eternally for what You are giving us the strength and ability to do here, now. You truly are magnificent, my Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Wisdom And Discernment
Proverbs 8: 12-13a
I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. ...
O my Father, You are the One Who holds all wisdom and understanding and all knowledge. Please remove from me the stony places that still remain in my heart, my wellspring of the issues of my life. Replace them with flesh molded into the shape of Your wisdom and discernment.
Then may I make wise decisions according to Your ways and Your plan and purposes, and You will receive all the credit, all the honor and glory that You alone are worthy to receive.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. ...
O my Father, You are the One Who holds all wisdom and understanding and all knowledge. Please remove from me the stony places that still remain in my heart, my wellspring of the issues of my life. Replace them with flesh molded into the shape of Your wisdom and discernment.
Then may I make wise decisions according to Your ways and Your plan and purposes, and You will receive all the credit, all the honor and glory that You alone are worthy to receive.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
A Heart For The Lord
Psalm 27: 4
The one thing I ask of the Lord--the one thing I seek most--is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in His temple.
David's heart was true to the Lord, he is called, "a man after God's own heart." This verse tells us one of the major reasons God said that of him.
David wanted to concentrate on the Lord with no other considerations to occupy his mind, but, of course, he couldn't. But He wanted to. He couldn't spend all his time in the Tabernacle because he was the king over the nation, and needed to attend to all the matters of state. But I'm sure his mind was on what the Lord wanted him to do, even if he wasn't in the Temple. Most of the time.
I know David wasn't perfect, and didn't consult the Lord for every decision he needed to make every day, because we're told about some of his poor choices, and the consequences.
But he is still a good example of one who we may want as a life model. His heart, for the most part, did belong to the Lord.
O my Father, may my heart belong to You! Let me live in Your house: Your thoughts, Your path for my feet. Let me not turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither trying to control others nor withdrawing into isolation. Allow me to participate, or at least observe, and keep out of Your way in Your workings in others' lives, especially my adult children's.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The one thing I ask of the Lord--the one thing I seek most--is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in His temple.
David's heart was true to the Lord, he is called, "a man after God's own heart." This verse tells us one of the major reasons God said that of him.
David wanted to concentrate on the Lord with no other considerations to occupy his mind, but, of course, he couldn't. But He wanted to. He couldn't spend all his time in the Tabernacle because he was the king over the nation, and needed to attend to all the matters of state. But I'm sure his mind was on what the Lord wanted him to do, even if he wasn't in the Temple. Most of the time.
I know David wasn't perfect, and didn't consult the Lord for every decision he needed to make every day, because we're told about some of his poor choices, and the consequences.
But he is still a good example of one who we may want as a life model. His heart, for the most part, did belong to the Lord.
O my Father, may my heart belong to You! Let me live in Your house: Your thoughts, Your path for my feet. Let me not turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither trying to control others nor withdrawing into isolation. Allow me to participate, or at least observe, and keep out of Your way in Your workings in others' lives, especially my adult children's.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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