Wait Upon the Lord
Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). Waiting is very difficult for us, especially when a promise of our good Father is involved. Is the wait worth the denial of Self?
It certainly is! Waiting upon the Lord is rewarded with
-3/15/2020
Go Wait Go
Before we Go (Matt 28:19) we must Wait (Luke 24:49). But having Waited, we must Go.
The promise of the Father is but for the asking (Luke 11:9-13). So ask (John 14:17), receive by faith (Acts 1:8), and go by following (Rom 8:10-14, Gal 5:16-18).
-3/8/2020
Dis- vs En
Before leading Israel into their inheritance, the Lord instructed Moses to send 12 men to search out His land (Num 13:1-16). Ten of the men returned discouraged and two of the men returned encouraged.
What is the difference in courage? The ten looked around and then within (Num 13:32-33, Num 32:9) while the two looked up (Num 13:30, Num 32:12). Who was right?
God is true and he promises of God are yes and amen (2 Cor 1:18, 20). Jesus Christ is Lord of all (Acts 10:36)…all people, all time, all circumstances, all everything! Look up, not around or within, and be encouraged!
-3/1/2020
The Work of God
What is the work of God that we should do? Believe on Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent (John 6:28-29, John 20:29). What is believing work?
To believe means to:
Trust the unseen rather than the seen (Heb 11:1, 2 Cor 4:18)
Deny self, offering our lives as living sacrifices (Matt 16:24, Rom 12:1)
Surrender our will to God’s will in every circumstance (Matt 10:38-39)
Live by faith rather than by sight, being led by the Spirit rather than by the flesh (2 Cor 5:7, Gal 5:16-18, Rom 13:14)
Once we believe (Titus 3:5), we must learn how to believe (John 3:30, Mark 9:24).
Things Not Seen
Salvation from eternal death comes by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9). Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).
Salvation hangs on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the completed payment (by Jesus) and the accepted offering (by the Father) for our sin. That transaction was not seen, for it took place in the real Temple of God in heaven (Heb 8:1-6). But we have hope and we have evidence of those things not seen – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:20-23).
-2/16/2020
Servant
As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus has sent us (John 20:21). The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither is he that is sent greater than He that sent him (John 13:16).
Jesus Christ, the Servant of God and our Lord, is our model, our Standard. Therefore, we as His servants and the sons of God must remember:
A servant does what he/she is told, when he/she is told, and how he/she is told…without whining, complaining, or quibbling.
A servant is always listening to the Lord, always available to the Lord, never his/her own, and never alone.
We must decrease and He must increase.
Indubitably
Is Jesus Christ risen from the dead? That is the testimony of the eyewitnesses who saw Jesus Christ alive after He died and was buried: Mary Magdalene, the other faithful women, the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus, Peter, the eleven less Thomas, the eleven with Thomas, more than 500 at the same time (1 Cor 15:6), James, and Paul. Is Jesus Christ risen from the dead? Indubitably!
Do you believe the testimony of the eyewitnesses of the Resurrection? The faith of a child is required. To not believe is to not enter into the kingdom of God (Mark 10:15). But for those who do have the faith of a child, thanks be to God which has given us the victory (over death) through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:57)!
-2/02/2020
Heartburn
With the command to re-build the Temple (Ezra 1), Zerubbabel of the line of David led a remnant of Jews out of captivity to do the work. Ezra the scribe came in a subsequent wave of those coming out of captivity to encourage the people (Ezra 7). Then, after the command to re-build the city of Jerusalem (Neh 2), Nehemiah was sent to organize the people and to accomplish that work.
Ezra brought the Word of God to the people rebuilding Jerusalem. The people were attentive to hear and worshipped the Lord, lifting up their hands and bowing their heads (Neh 8:1-6). Ezra and those like-minded with him “caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” (Neh 8:7-8).
By the proclamation and teaching of the Word of God, the people got heartburn (Luke 24:27-32).
Promise of Resurrection
The just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38).
The just shall live by faith now, in an earthly body until death, and forever, in a heavenly body immune from death (1 Cor 15:42-49).
The just shall live by faith in God’s promised Savior, Who is the Promise of Resurrection (John 11:25-26, John 6:38-40).
-1/19/2020
Mistaken Identity
In a tragic case of mistaken identity earlier this week, the Iranian military shot down a commercial airliner carrying 176 passengers and crew. Today, far more tragic cases of mistaken identity are the billions of people who believe Jesus Christ is an angel (Michael the Archangel), merely a man (a highly evolved man, teacher, rabbi, prophet, spiritual leader, etc.), or a god among countless gods.
In His day, people mistakenly thought Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah (Matt 16:14). He was even mistaken for a gardener (John 20:15). But the testimony of God (The Holy Bible) is that Jesus Christ is I AM (Ex 3:14, John 8:58), the Savior and great God (Titus 2:13, Ps 95:3). To believe Jesus is Who the Word of God says He is carries a reward of eternal life. To believe Jesus is anything less carries a reward of eternal damnation.
Make no mistake! Study the words of God, not the words of men.
-1/12/2020
A Big Day
Christ our Passover was slain for us (1 Cor 5:7, Ex 12:2-6), the very fulfillment of Passover. He was in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights. Therefore, He rose from the dead on the 17th day of Nisan/Abib, delivering the faithful from death.
What else happened on the 17th day of Nisan/Abib?
The Ark came to rest, delivering the faithful from God’s worldwide judgment (Gen 8:4). The Jews walked out of the Red Sea on dry ground, delivered out of Egypt, a type of the world (Ex 13:3-4 and Ex 14:9-31 with Num 33:1-8).
The 17th day of Nisan/Abib is a day of deliverance! A very big Day!
-01/05/2020
