Transfiguration Sunday

First Posted February 22, 2009

2 Kings 2:1-12a -- Elijah's Ascension;
Psalm 50:1-6 -- Coming Judgment;
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 -- The New Covenant;
Mark 9:2-9 -- Prophecy About Elijah;

2 Kings:

There was at this time a sizable community of prophets-in-training known as the “sons” (disciples) of the prophets. It was generally known among the prophetic community that the Lord was about to take Elijah up into heaven. Elijah had appointed Elisha as his successor by God's command. Elisha was accompanying Elijah from Gilgal (north of Bethel), and Elijah suggested that Elisha should stay at Gilgal, for Lord was leading Elijah on to Bethel. But Elisha wanted to stay with Elijah as long as possible, so they went on together to Bethel.

At Bethel a group of the “sons” of the prophets asked Elisha if he did not realize that the Lord was going to take Elijah away that day. Elisha said he knew, and asked them not to say any more. Again Elijah gave Elisha the opportunity to stay at Bethel, while Elijah had to go on to Jericho, and again Elisha declined.

At Jericho they were again met by a group of “sons” of the prophets. These also asked Elisha if he knew that the Lord was going to take Elijah from him that day. Again Elisha acknowledged that he knew, and asked them to say no more. Again Elijah released Elisha to stay in Jericho, while Elijah went on to the Jordan River, and again Elisha declined.

Elijah and Elisha went on to the Jordan River, followed this time by a group of fifty “sons” of the prophets, who observed from a distance. Elijah took his mantle (cloak) and rolled it up like a staff and struck the water, and the Jordan river parted, allowing Elijah and Elisha to pass over on dry ground.

On the other side of the river, Elijah asked Elisha what Elijah could do for Elisha, and Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit which was upon Elijah. Elijah told Elisha that his request was a difficult one, but that, if Elisha saw Elijah as he was taken up into heaven, Elisha would receive his request. As they went on, a fiery chariot with horses of fire separated them and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw it, and called Elijah father, said that he had seen the chariots of Israel and its horsemen, and Elijah disappeared.

Psalm:

The Lord God, the Almighty One speaks and summons the earth from the farthest boundaries of east and west. God shines forth out of Zion (the temple mount; the heavenly city), the perfection of beauty.

Our God comes; he is not silent, he is bringing with him a devouring fire and a mighty tempest. He summons the people of earth and the heavenly beings to the judgment of his people. He invites his people, who entered into a covenant with God by sacrifice (of Jesus' blood) to gather to him. God himself is the righteous judge, as attested to in the heavens.

2 Corinthians:

The Old Covenant of the Law of Moses is passing away, surpassed by the unfading splendor of the New Covenant of Grace through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant was temporal, but the New Covenant is eternal.

Since we have such confidence we can speak boldly with full assurance of unfading splendor, unlike Moses, who covered his face so that Israel would not see the fading splendor of the Old Covenant. Peoples' minds are hardened and cannot understand the Bible scriptures, because there is a veil lying over their minds, which is only removed through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

“The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17; Romans 8:9). The veil is removed from believers so that we are able to see the unveiled glory of the Lord, and we are being changed from one degree of glory to another, into the likeness of the Lord. All this is only from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Since we realize that we have a ministry (of the Gospel) by the mercy of God, we don't become discouraged. We don't resort to the disgraceful, unrighteous ways of the world. We refuse to use trickery or to tamper with the Word of God. Instead we openly speak the truth, and leave it to the consciences of our hearers.

Mark:

Jesus took his three closest disciples, Peter, James and John up to a mountaintop, where his appearance was transformed and he became luminous. Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus. His disciples were quite afraid and didn't know what to say. Peter suggested building three booths (temporary shelters; shrines), to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Then they were overshadowed by a cloud and a voice from the cloud told them that Jesus was [God's] beloved Son, and they were to listen to Jesus. Suddenly Moses and Elijah disappeared and they were alone with Jesus. Coming down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the “Son of man” (Jesus) had risen from the dead.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternal and eternally true. It is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The history of God's dealing with Israel is also intended to be a series of parables, metaphors for life in this world. Moses foreshadows the Christ. Elijah foreshadowed John the Baptizer. If we know the history and the metaphors in the Bible we can see and understand when we see them being fulfilled.

Enoch was the only other person in the Bible record who ascended into heaven without dying physically (Genesis 5:24; Jesus ascended after he had died and risen again). Since Elijah ascended into heaven it was conceivable that he could return in the same way, and practically the last word in the Old Testament prophesied Elijah's return to herald the coming Messiah and prepare the people to receive him (Malachi 4:5).

John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of that prophecy, manifested to the world publicly. John the Baptizer was dressed in the garb of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 13:4). He called Israel to repent and prepare the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:3). Jesus confirmed that John was the fulfillment of the prophecy (Matthew 17:10-13).

John the Baptizer denied being Elijah because he didn't consider himself equal to Elijah in greatness. John was just a voice crying in the wilderness. Elijah in fact did also return, in fulfillment of that prophecy, and appeared privately to the three disciples on the mountain at Jesus' transfiguration.

Elijah took his mantle, which was the symbol of his office (1 Kings 19:16, 19; Luke 9:61-62), rolled it up like a rod, and struck the Jordan River, which parted so that Elijah and Elisha could pass over on dry ground, as Moses had done to part the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16), when the Israelites were brought out of Egypt.

Joshua, Moses' successor had parted the Jordan River, at God's instruction, with the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the rod of Aaron, the high priest of Moses, when Israel entered the Promised Land (Joshua 3:11-17).

In a sense Elisha saw the glory of the Lord revealed to him in the fiery chariot and horses. God's glory shines forth from Zion. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise; Jesus is the light of righteousness (John 1:5; 3:19-21, spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9), and eternal life (John 1:4; 8:12) shining forth from Zion.

The disciples of Jesus witnessed Jesus' ascension into heaven as Elisha had witnessed the ascension of Elijah. Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment in the same way he ascended into heaven (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Acts 1:9-11).

God came into the world in Jesus Christ and he will return in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28; John 14:8-10), bringing with him a devouring fire and a mighty tempest. His fire and tempest will eternally destroy those who have not entered into the New Covenant of salvation by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, but they will save and deliver his faithful covenant people who have been sealed by the blood of Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to judge his people by God's righteousness.

God's kingdom is spiritual and is spiritually perceived (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). God's eternal kingdom is all around us, but we cannot see it except through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Satan blinds the eyes of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). When we trust and obey Jesus he takes away the veil over our minds which keeps us from seeing the divine eternal truth of the Bible scriptures (Luke 24:45).

Moses' face shone with the reflection of God's glory after he had been in God's presence, and the people were afraid. So Moses would declare what God had said, with face unveiled so that they would know that he had been in God's presence, and then would cover his face with a veil until the next time he entered God's presence (Exodus 34:29-35).

Paul used the analogy of the veiled face of Moses to compare the Old Covenant of Law, of which Moses was the mediator between God and the people, and the New Covenant of Grace through faith, which Jesus instituted at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-29) and mediated. The Old Covenant was temporal; it was intended to be our guardian to restrain evil until the coming of the New Covenant which is eternal (Galatians 3:21-25). The Old Covenant revealed the righteousness of God, as does the goodness of Creation, but that splendor is transient and is passing away.

Under the Old Covenant, the main sanctuary was separated from the presence of God in the “Holy-of-holies,” by a veil (curtain). Only the high priest could enter into the presence of God, only once a year, bringing a blood offering for the forgiveness of himself and the people.

Jesus opened a new and direct way into the presence of God symbolized by the supernatural tearing of the veil of the temple in two from top to bottom at Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:51). Jesus' blood is the only sacrifice acceptable to God, shed once for all time and all people who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus is the only way to have personal fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience the glory and power of God. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “reborn” to eternal life, and are being changed from the glory of this world, which is fleeting, into the glory of God's eternal kingdom and into the likeness of Jesus Christ which are so much greater and eternal.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Monday

First Posted February 22, 2009

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2;
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21;

2 Corinthians:

On Christ's behalf we beseech you to be reconciled to God. For our sake, God made sinless Jesus to bear our sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. Christians working in behalf of Christ urge all not to waste the grace of God we've all been offered. “At the acceptable time I (God) have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation” (Isaiah 49:8). Listen! “Today is the acceptable time; ...now is the day of salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2b).

Matthew:

Don't try to appear pious to impress other people, because then that will be all the reward you will get from God in heaven. So when we give alms (charitable donations for the poor) we must not do so conspicuously like hypocrites (those who put on a false appearance of virtue or piety) do in order to have the approval of other people. We should let our charitable giving be so inconspicuous that our left hand doesn't know what our right hand is doing. Let our giving be in secret, and then God who sees what is done in secret will reward us.  

When we pray we must not be like hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogue and on street corners to pray to impress other people. Instead, let us go into our room and close the door when we pray, so that God who is in secret, and sees what is done in secret will reward us.

When we fast, unlike hypocrites, we must not call attention to our fasting to impress other people. When we fast we must not change our outward appearance; let us conceal our fasting, so that only the Lord knows it, and he will reward us.

Let us not store up treasure on earth. Material wealth is temporal; moth and rust will consume it and it can be taken by thieves. Instead let us store up treasure in heaven where it will endure for eternity without threat of moth, rust and thievery. Our hearts will be wherever our treasure is. 

Commentary:

We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ is God's one and only provision for forgiveness of our sins and salvation from eternal death and destruction in hell (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only way to be reconciled with God;  to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin (John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation).

Jesus is the “scapegoat” (Leviticus 16:8-26) who bore and took away our sins. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of Passover, whose blood, shed on the cross marks and saves us from the destroying angel (Exodus 12:7, 13). Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, we have his righteousness attributed to us by God (Romans 3:21-22; Philippians 3:9).

God freely offers forgiveness and eternal salvation to all who are willing to receive it by faith. Salvation is by God's grace (unmerited favor; a free gift), not by anything we can do to deserve, earn or take by force or deception (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We can't do anything to change our past, and we have no certainty or control of our future. Today is the day to receive God's grace; today is the day to accept God's salvation. When we die, our eternal destinies will be fixed and unchangeable, and we will be accountable to the Lord for what we have done in this lifetime.

The Lord knows every detail about us; he knows our innermost secrets and what we do when we think no one is looking. He is not deceived by hypocrisy. We cannot save ourselves by religious ritual, or by doing “good deeds.”

God is under no obligation to us to be all that a good, loving, almighty God implies, unless we are willing to be his obedient, trusting people (Jeremiah 7:23; Ezekiel 11:20; Leviticus 26:3; Leviticus 26:12; see also Jeremiah 11:4c-5). God is not obligated to hear and answer our prayers if we are not willing to hear and obey his Word (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

We can take nothing of this world beyond physical death except our immortal souls. We are all eternal souls in physical bodies. What we do in this lifetime determines where we will spend eternity.

Jesus' resurrection was documented in the New Testament by over five-hundred eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:3-10). Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death.

Jesus warns us to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). If we pursue security through material resources we will never achieve it. Security always requires just a little bit more than we have. If we pursue material possessions we will never get around to seeking and finding God's eternal kingdom.

I believe that the meaning and purpose is to seek and find God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). We are all born physically alive but spiritually dead (unborn). This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus gives the gift (“anointing,” “baptism”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The “anointing” of the Holy Spirit is a discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Tuesday

First Posted February 24, 2009

Psalm 51:1-13 -- Penitence;
Joel 2:12-19 -- Call to Repentance;

The superscription of Psalm 51 indicates that it was a Psalm of David, after Nathan rebuked David for his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-14).

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2)!

I acknowledge my sins; I am unable to avoid remembering them. I realize that my sin is really against you; I have done what is evil in your judgment. You are blameless in your judgment and your verdict is just. Remember that I was sinful from my conception and birth.

You desire us to acknowledge truth in our innermost self, so teach me true wisdom within me. “Purge me with hyssop (an herb first mentioned to be used to mark the door and lintel of the Israelites houses with the blood of the Passover Lamb; Exodus 12:22-23) and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me know joy and gladness once again; let my bones which you have broken (in punishment) rejoice again. Don't remember my sins; blot them out of me.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with a willing (magnanimous; generous) Spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12).  

The Psalmist vows to praise and serve the Lord, so that sinners can learn God's ways and be restored to him.

Joel:

“'Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments”' (Joel 2:12-13). The Lord our God is gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and loving beyond measure, who regrets and turns from evil (punishment). Why not turn and repent and give an offering to the Lord our God?

Consecrate a fast; announce a solemn assembly with the sound of the trumpet; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation. Gather the congregation, the elders and the people, even children and nursing infants; even newlyweds should interrupt their “honeymoon.” Let the priests fill the inner court (between the vestibule and the altar) with weeping and beseech the Lord to spare his people because they are his heritage and possession; for God's name's sake let them not become the subject of shame and reproach among the Gentiles.

Then the Lord became zealous for his land and had pity upon his people. The Lord answered his people and declared “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.” (Joel 2:19).

Commentary:

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season: forty days of fasting, self-examination, and penitence in preparation for Easter. This is a call to us to examine ourselves honestly and confess and repent of our sins.

David, the great shepherd-king of Israel, was a man after God's own heart who God declared would do all God's will  (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20; 1 Samuel 13:14). Yet he committed a great sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David's mighty warriors. David committed adultery with Bathsheba while Uriah was defending David's kingdom in battle, and Bathsheba became pregnant. David summoned Uriah and tried to get him to sleep with his wife while he was in Jerusalem, but Uriah was too honorable to enjoy the comforts of home while his men were in the field of battle. So David sent a letter to Joab, the Commander of David's army, instructing him to put Uriah at the front of the army in a place of great danger, and then withdraw so that Uriah would be killed, and that is what happened.

Nathan the prophet confronted David with a parable describing David's conduct in a way that concealed the fact that he was referring to David, and David recognized the injustice and denounced it. Then Nathan revealed that it was David who was the guilty party that he was referring to.

David confessed and repented of his sin, and he was forgiven and restored, but he suffered the consequence of his sin. The child he had conceived with Bathsheba died not long after birth.

We have to live with the consequences of our actions, and we must be willing to endure God's rebuke and discipline; loving fathers discipline their children. It is far better to confess and repent so that we can be forgiven and restored, than to deny our guilt and be eternally condemned to destruction.

We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). If we honestly examine ourselves and confess and repent of our sin (change our ways) the Lord is faithful and generous to forgive us, but if we try to deny that we are sinners we are deceiving ourselves, calling God's Word a lie, and we do not know and acknowledge the truth (1 John 1:8-10).

Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus is the only sacrifice acceptable to God for our forgiveness and salvation. By our faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, his blood shed on the cross marks us to be “passed over” by the destroyer. By faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, God attributes to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the sinless beloved Son of God (Romans 3:21-22; Philippians 3:9).

Jesus is the cleansing fountain which can cleanse us whiter than snow, by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the new and right spirit within us who can cleanse our hearts (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit is the presence of the Lord which we experience within us. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience  the joy of eternal salvation, through whom we are upheld until Christ's return on the Day of Judgment. Only Jesus gives the gift (“baptism;” “anointing”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Our repentance must be sincere, not just a matter of outward appearance or religious ritual. God desires obedient trust, rather than animal or material sacrifices. God is the owner and provider of every material thing in this world. The only thing we can give to God that he doesn't possess is our love, and the only way to give him love is by our trust and obedience (John 14:15, 21, 23-24).

Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn us but to save us (John 3:17). God loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish eternally (John 3:16). If we have experienced God's love, forgiveness and salvation, we can serve the Lord by letting him to guide, empower and use us to carry on the mission of Christ to bring forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation to this spiritually lost and dying world.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Ash Wednesday

First Posted February 18, 2009

Joel 2:12-19;
Psalm 51:1-13;
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2;
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21;

Joel:

“'Yet even now,' says the Lord, 'return to me with all  your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he his gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil'” (punishment; Joel 2:12-13). Who wouldn't repent and praise the Lord and leave an offering for the Lord our God?

Declare a sacred fasting with the sound of the trumpet in Zion (God's Holy hill; the people of God; the Church). Gather the people in a solemn assembly, and consecrate the congregation, the elders, and the children, even nursing babies. Let even the bride and groom leave their marriage celebration.

Fill the entire sanctuary, from vestibule to altar, with the weeping and mourning of the priests, the ministers of the Lord. Let them entreat the Lord to spare his people, and not make his heritage a reproach and the subject of shame and ridicule among the Gentiles. Why should the Gentiles taunt them, asking where their God is?

The Lord became zealous and had pity for his people. The Lord answered their plea and promised to satisfy them with grain, wine and oil, and declared that they would no longer be reproached by the Gentiles.  

Psalm:

The penitential psalm of David, after he had been confronted by Nathan the prophet for David's adultery with Bath-sheba.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” Psalm 51:1-2).

I am constantly aware of my sin and my transgressions. Against you have I sinned and done evil in your judgment. Your verdict is just and your judgment is blameless. Remember that I was conceived and born into sin and wickedness.

I know that you desire truth in our innermost selves, so teach me (divine) wisdom in my heart. “Purge me with hyssop* and I shall be clean;  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). Let me again know joy and gladness; after my punishment, restore me to rejoicing once more. Don't keep remembering my sins; blot them out.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing (generous; magnanimous; sovereign) spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12).

Then I will be able and will try to instruct  sinners and urge them to return to obedient trust in you.

2 Corinthians:

Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are the agents through whom God makes his appeal. In Christ's behalf, we urge other to be reconciled with God. God made his sinless Son bear our sin, so that through him we might attain the righteousness of God.

In cooperation with the Lord, we urge everyone not to waste the grace of God which is offered to us. At the right time the Lord has heard our prayers and seen our need, and has answered us with salvation. Listen! Today is the right time; today is the day of salvation.

Matthew:

Jesus warns us not to adopt the outward appearance of piety, or to participate in religious ritual to impress other people. If we do, that will be our only reward, and we will receive no reward from God our Father in heaven.

We are not to be ostentatious when we make charitable contributions. We are not to be like hypocrites who call attention to their to their acts of charity in church and in the world, in order to be praised by people, because then that is their only reward. When we give for charity we should do so privately, so that our own left hand doesn't know what our right hand is doing. Then God our Father, who knows what is done in secret, will reward us.

Let us not pray like hypocrites who love to pray ostentatiously in Church and on street corners, to be seen and praised by other people. That will be all that they accomplish. When we pray, let us go into our room and close the door, and pray to God our Father privately, and God, who knows what is done in private, will hear and reward us.

When we fast, we should not be ostentatious in our fasting to impress other people like hypocrites do. Instead of an outward show of fasting through clothing or appearance, we should fast inwardly, and outwardly appear as normal, so that only the Lord knows that we are fasting. Then the Lord who knows the inner thoughts and attitudes of our hearts will see and reward us.

Let us not desire and pursue earthly rewards like wealth, power, success, and lusts of the flesh, because they are temporal and transient. They appear substantial, but they can be lost in the blink of an eye. They have no value beyond our physical lifetime. Instead let us desire and pursue heavenly treasure, forgiveness, restoration to fellowship with God, salvation from eternal condemnation, divine, eternal truth,  divine love, and true eternal life;  these things are eternal. If we love the things of this world our hearts will be anchored here; but if we love the things of God's eternal kingdom we will be just travelers passing through this world on our way to our eternal Promised Land in heaven.

Commentary:

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Church season of Lent: forty days (not counting Sundays) of self-examination, confession, and repentance in preparation for Easter. It is appropriate for the Church to call its members and all people to examine ourselves, confess our sin (disobedience of God's Word), turn from pursuing our own will and desires, and turn or return to the Lord in obedient trust.

We are all sinners who fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). We have all been born into sin and wickedness, through our human flesh (Psalm 51:5). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only way to know divine eternal truth, the only to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and the only way to have true, eternal life (John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

God knows all about us and everything we have done, even what we thought we were doing in private. God knows our innermost thoughts and desires. God is offering us forgiveness of all our sins, if we will turn to him with all our hearts. But he is not fooled by outward appearance, by words, or by religious ritual. When we truly return to the Lord, our Creator, he will receive us with zealous love and will bless us, and provide us with all our spiritual needs in abundance (and we will have our material necessities as well (Matthew 6:31-33). Ultimately we will be vindicated over those who reproach and ridicule us.     

God has had mercy on us and steadfast, unwavering love for us. He has provided a way to blot out all our transgressions and cleanse us from all our sin, through  faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. God has provided a way to create a clean heart within each of us and give us a new and right spirit through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally and individually discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2).

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) within us by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. We experience the presence of God and Jesus Christ within us by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience the joy of our Lord's presence and of our salvation by the Lord. The Holy Spirit guides, empowers, and will uphold us until the Day of Christ's return.

Jesus has promised to give his disciples the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we are to seek for and await it within the Church (the New Jerusalem; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Only then are we to go into the world to proclaim the Gospel ("good news") of forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and salvation through Jesus Christ. We are to be ambassadors of God's eternal kingdom.

God has offered his forgiveness and salvation by grace (as a free gift) to be received through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christians (Jesus' “born-again” disciples; John 3:3, 5-8; Acts 11:26c) urge all people everywhere to accept the grace of God which is offered to all. Jesus' disciples are to make born-again disciples of and for Jesus Christ, and to teach them to trust and obey all that Jesus, by word and example, taught (Matthew 28:19-20). The kind of offering the Lord desires, that we can give, in praise and gratitude for our salvation, is to make the effort  to extend the salvation that we have received and experienced to others who are spiritually lost and perishing (Psalm 51:13).

Today is the day of salvation. We have no control over the past, and we have no assurance of tomorrow. Today is the day to receive the grace of God, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. The moment that we die our eternal destiny is fixed and unchangeable.

Note well that salvation is not by church membership, and not by participation in some church ritual, like baptism or the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist). Salvation is not by doing “good deeds.” Singing in the choir, or teaching Sunday School won't save us. Salvation cannot be deserved, earned or purchased, or taken by force or deception (note Matthew 7:21-27).

Salvation is the free gift of God by grace (unmerited favor), to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit will save us only through obedient trust in Jesus.

Remember that those who are humble, who realize and acknowledge that they are spiritually needy, who mourn at the fallen spiritual condition of this world, who long for the righteousness of God, who are merciful, who long for purity of heart, who strive to make peace among all, and who are persecuted now for Jesus and the Gospel are the ones who are and will be blessed (Matthew 5:3-9).  But woe to those who are rich, comfortable, well-fed, satisfied, well-regarded and enjoying life now (Luke 6:24-26).  Those who do not recognize and acknowledge that they are spiritually sick and dying cannot appreciate and receive the healing and salvation which only Jesus can provide (Luke 5:31).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
 
*Hyssop: a herbaceous plant first mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 12:22) to be used to apply the blood of the sacrificial Passover Lamb to the lintel and doorpost of the Israelites' houses in Egypt to distinguish them, so that the destroying angel would “pass over” them when God destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians, in order to gain the Israelites' release from slavery to the Egyptians.

Lent - Thursday

First Posted February 26, 2009

Psalm 6 -- Prayer for Help in Tribulation;

Don't rebuke or punish me in anger, Lord. Be gracious to me, for I am troubled to my very bones; my soul is very troubled. Don't delay in helping me.

Turn and save me, Lord. By your steadfast love, deliver me. The dead have no remembrance of you; they cannot praise you from the grave.

I am worn out with sorrow. My bed is flooded with my tears. My eyes are weary and weak from grief because of my enemies.

Depart from me all workers of wickedness, because the Lord has heard my weeping and my supplication. The Lord has accepted my prayer. My enemies will stop troubling me; it is they who will be  troubled. They will quickly be put to shame.

Commentary:

Those who have taken refuge in the Lord in times of trouble learn that the Lord is the best possible refuge. When trouble comes, friends disappear. They cannot understand and have no desire to listen to our troubles. They are really unable to help.

We will all encounter troubles in life. How we deal with those troubles is important. The world says, “Try, try again.” That can lead to making the same mistake over and over. We may eventually succeed in what we're trying, but worldly success is of no eternal value.

If trials cause us to re-examine our lives and turn to the Lord for help we will find that he is accessible when we need him, he knows and cares about our situation and he can truly help. We will learn from experience that the Lord is faithful, and completely able to bring us through or deliver us  from trouble. He gives us the strength to endure, and the promise of deliverance and vindication.

When we have been “born-again (John 3:3, 5-8), filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have a personal relationship with the Lord. When we pray we can feel and know with certainty that he hears us and knows our situation. The Lord comforts and encourages us. Our faith grows as we experience his faithfulness and power to deliver and restore us.

This lifetime is our opportunity to seek the Lord (Acts 17:26-27), and if we earnestly seek him, he will allow us to find him (1 Chronicles 28:9c). If we trust and obey him, he will reveal himself to us (John 14:21). This lifetime is our opportunity to learn to trust and obey our Lord and to learn by experience that he is faithful and powerful to keep us safe and bring us through.

This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8), and this is only possible through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The “anointing” (“baptism;” gift) is a discernible and ongoing event (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Friday

posted

Genesis 22:1-18 -- Abraham Tested;
Romans 8:31-39 -- Assurance;

Genesis:

God tested Abraham's faith (obedient trust). God called Abraham and told him to take Isaac, Abraham's only heir, through whom God's promise to Abraham was to be fulfilled, and offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain in Moriah which God would show Abraham. So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, cut wood for the fire, took two of his servants and his son Isaac, and went to the land of Moriah.

On the third day they could see the mountain in the distance. Abraham left his donkey with his servants, gave Isaac the wood for the burnt offering, and Abraham carried the fire-making equipment and the knife. So Abraham and Isaac set off for the mountaintop.

On the way, Isaac said to his father that they had everything for the sacrifice except for the sacrificial lamb. Abraham replied that “God would provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).

When they arrived on the mountaintop Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood on it, then bound Isaac and laid him on the wood, and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel (Spirit) of the Lord called to Abraham, and told him not to harm Isaac. God knew that Abraham feared (had appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of) God, since Abraham had been willing to offer his only son of the promise as a sacrifice to God.

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket. Abraham took the ram and offered it as the burnt offering to God instead of Isaac. Abraham named that place “the Lord will provide (or see)” because the Lord had provided (or seen).

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham again, and said that because Abraham had not withheld his only son, God would keep his promise to bless Abraham and multiply his descendants so that they would be as numerous and uncountable as the stars in heaven or the sands of the seashore. By Abraham's descendants all the nations of earth would be blessed, because Abraham had obeyed God's voice.

Romans:

God is working for good for those who love him, to conform us to the image of his Son, so that we can share in the resurrection and the eternal inheritance with Jesus (Romans 8:28-29).

How shall we respond to this? “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him” (Romans 8:31-32)? Who is there to accuse us? It is God who justifies (the opposite of condemning); who will condemn us? Jesus Christ died, was raised from physical death, and is at the right hand of God, interceding for us, so who can separate us from the love of Christ? Nothing in this world, not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword, can separate us from Christ's love.

God's Word declares that his people are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered all day long (Psalm 44:22), but we are more than conquerors because of the love of God in Christ Jesus. We can be certain that nothing in all creation, not life nor death, not angels nor any other supernatural beings, not  circumstances now or in the future, not height nor depth, nothing at all “can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Commentary:

When we respond to God's call, God will test our faith before he gives us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (but note that God will never ask us to do anything contrary to the Bible, or which will harm ourselves or others). He wants to be sure that we will trust and obey his guidance (Isaiah 42:5e; Luke 6:46). The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is an unrepeatable event. Once we have been spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8), if we deliberately, consciously (not just a momentary lapse in obedience) turn away from obedient trust there is no way to restore us again (Hebrews 6:4-6).

God's testing of Abraham was intended to foreshadow God's own sacrifice of his Son “of the promise,” Jesus Christ. Jesus has been designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). God has designed this Creation to allow us the freedom to choose whether to obey God or not, but he will not tolerate rebellion and disobedience forever, or at all in his eternal heavenly kingdom. So God has limited this Creation and ourselves by time. From the fall of mankind because of sin (disobedience of God's Word; Genesis 3:1-7), God has been progressively revealing his provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction, which is the penalty for sin (Genesis 3:3; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right) beginning in Genesis 3:14-15).

Abraham's faith had grown as he began trusting and obeying God's Word, from the time that God told him to leave his home and relatives and go to a new land God promised to show Abraham (Abram; Genesis 12:1-7). As he believed what God promised and did what God asked him to do, he learned that God's Word is absolutely reliable and trustworthy. 

Abraham, had grown spiritually from the time when he thought he had to help God give him an heir by taking his wife's maid as a concubine (Genesis 16:1-4a). Now God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son and heir, and Abraham was willing to trust and obey God's Word. He believed that God could still fulfill his promise, through another son (although Isaac had been conceived by Sarah and Abraham when they were past childbearing age) or by raising Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Isaac's sacrifice was specifically intended by God to  prefigure and illustrate God's sacrifice of his only begotten Son on the cross. God did in effect provide himself as the sacrifice for us, since the whole fullness of God dwelt bodily in Jesus (Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus is God in human form (John 14:8-11; John 20:28). His word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:37-41; Genesis 1:3, 9).

Jesus is God's only plan, the only sacrifice acceptable to God, for forgiveness of our sins and salvation from eternal destruction (Acts 4:12), once for all time and for all people who are willing to accept it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Hebrews 7:26-27). Jesus is the only way to know divine eternal truth, the only way to be restored to fellowship with God, which was broken by sin, and the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus teaches that one must be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) in order to see the kingdom of heaven, which is all around us now, and to see it ultimately and enter it in eternity. Only Jesus gives the gift (“baptism;” “anointing;” “infilling”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The infilling of the Holy Spirit within us is a discernible ongoing event. We don't need to rely on the word of some religious authority as to whether we have been “reborn;” they should be asking us (Acts 19:2).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Saturday

First Posted February 28, 2009

Mark 1:12-15 -- God's Kingdom Come!

After his baptism by John the Baptizer, the Holy Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness, where for forty days he fasted and was tempted by Satan. He was alone with the wild animals, but angels ministered to him.

Then, after John the Baptizer had been imprisoned, Jesus came into Galilee and started proclaiming the Gospel of God, saying that God's perfect timing had been fulfilled, that the kingdom of God was at hand and that people should repent and believe in the Gospel.

Commentary:

This is the Church season of Lent: forty days from Ash Wednesday (not counting Sundays) of fasting and self-examination leading to Easter. It is our time of “testing” by God, as Jesus and Israel were tested in the wilderness.

Jesus' forty days in the wilderness recalls the forty years that Israel wandered in the wilderness, learning to trust and obey God's Word and guidance. Israel could have entered the Promised Land directly, but they didn't trust God's Word.

Moses sent twelve scouts, one from each tribe, to scout the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-24. The scouts returned after forty days, and of them only two, Joshua and Caleb brought back a favorable report (Numbers 13:25-33). The Israelites wanted to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-4). God declared that none of the adults of the people would enter the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb, because the people had refused to trust and obey God's Word to enter and possess it (Numbers 14:20-24).

Then the people tried to enter it on their own and were repelled by the people of the land (Numbers 14:39-45). The adults of the people died in the wilderness during the forty years of wandering, except for Joshua and Caleb.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternal and eternally true; it is fulfilled over and over as the condition for its fulfillment are met. God's Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14), are deliberately intended to be a parable, a metaphor for life in this Creation.

We are all in slavery to sin and death in the “Egypt” of this world. Jesus is the only “Moses” who can lead us out of that bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15), through the wilderness of this lifetime, and the only “Joshua” (“Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, “Joshua” or “Jeshua”) who will lead us through the “river” of physical death and into the eternal Promised Land of God's kingdom in heaven.

Jesus is the only way, the door, into the Promised Land of God's eternal kingdom (John 14:6; 10:7-10). Since his appearing, announced by John the Baptizer, he is the revelation of God's “anointed” (Messiah and Christ each mean “anointed,” in Hebrew and Greek) Savior and eternal King. Jesus is the Gospel of God, the “good news” of forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and salvation from eternal destruction Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus is at hand. Jesus is alive and present in this world. As we hear his Gospel, his word, his invitation to repent and believe in him, we must accept that invitation. Today is the right time; today is day of salvation. Today when we hear his call we must respond in faith (obedient trust). We can't do anything about our past, and we cannot be certain of our future beyond today. Will we trust and obey Jesus to bring us into the eternal promised land, or will we reject Jesus and die eternally in the “wilderness”?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?