Keys

For the last two years I've had a key to the fellowship hall at our church. This building which has a gym on the top floor and a kitchen with a dining room and small classrooms off to the side on the lower level, is separate from the main church building. The only connection is a covered walkway for those rainy days. So for the last two years, I've enjoyed access to anything I needed to get in kitchen area for my classes in the main building.


Yesterday, as I was setting up for our final Bible study class this year, I asked if the back door was unlocked to the main building so I didn't have to walk all the way around with my arms full. As we were walking to unlock it I mentioned that I didn't need the fellowship hall unlocked since I had a key. That's when my friend told me, "It's the same key that unlocks the doors in the main building too."


All this time I had the key to the main building! I can't tell you how many times I walked all the way around, waited for someone with the key, or went in search for someone to unlock one of those doors: And it was in my pocket the whole time! 


Isn't that how we often treat the Spirit within us?


We have full access to God, but we tend to forget that and rely on others to tell us or lead us in Spiritual matters. Books, teachers, and Bible studies are great tools to encourage and challenge us, but we should never rely on them as our main source of hearing from God. We have the Spirit within us! Read His Word and go to Him in prayer- He will guide us. Jesus promised. 


If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever......But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit - the Father will send Him in My name - will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
John 14:15-16, 26

For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Ephesians 2:18

What Do You Make Of That?

Over the last several days I've been slowly reading the book of Job. As I've listened to Job and his three friends argue, I came to realize that as they are speaking I generally agreed with whomever was talking. To me, I can understand each side. Granted, I was never there and so can't really comprehend what it was like having not seen what truly went on. I can only go by what Scripture gives me: And it states that Job was a "...man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil." (Job 1:1)

It's interesting as well, that everything they claimed and/or fussed about was general. It was never a "remember that time when you did ____?" His friends were just throwing blame. Yes, most of what they said rang true, but that wasn't the case here. Their bickering goes on and on... for 28 chapters! Then another, younger man finally speaks up and says his peace for 5 chapters. That's a lot of "OK, what do I make of these?" questions.

That's when God spoke up.

Job 38-41 are some of my absolute favorite chapters in the Bible. God describes Himself and what He has done. It is so beautiful, humbling, and reassuring. This is His point:
There are times when we have many good questions which go unanswered. There are many times when justice seems to not be served and the wicked get away while the just suffer. When someone is enduring much, we "just know" that they are really being punished for something they, or their family, did wrong. When there is suffering, we just don't know how to respond or comfort.
But, God is God.

He is worthy... whether we feel it or not.
He is able... even when we haven't received the answer we want.
He is holy... and well above  our reproach.
He is wise... He has it figured out.
He is faithful... otherwise we would have all returned to dust long ago.
He is love... and has our best eternal interest in mind.
He is merciful... and knows what we can handle.
He is gracious... drawing us near to Him, and allowing us to come into His presence with our prayers.

So, what do we do with all the questions and concerns which don't make sense and never seem to be answered?
We trust in God. That's called FAITH.

For it is by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift--
Ephesians 2:8

Back Up A Verse Or Two

There are so many wonderful verses in the Bible that Christians know and quote. They are great encouragement, reminders, and comfort to us. They only problem is that sometimes, when we haven't read the text around them in a while, we start taking them out of context. The majority don't do it intentionally, but it is still doing it.

While reading today, I came across one of these verses which will help to end that vicious cycle. We all have hear John 8:32 "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." That's a great verse. Christians tend to look at this as a cry of freedom for those who chose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that's true. But - there is an IF right before Jesus says this. Let's back up and start at verse 30. Pay close attention to whom Jesus is speaking to and what the "if" declares:

As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:30-32


Jesus was not talking to the masses in general here. He was speaking directly to those who had declared that He was the Messiah. So why did He feel the need to add, "If you continue in My word, you are really My disciples"? Emphasis Mine Isn't just believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to die for our sins enough? No. It really isn't. How can I say this? Let's look at the book of James. I will use several verses to show you the context, but pay special attention to the verse 19, which I highlighted.


James 2:14-20
 ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can his faith save him?
    ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself.
    ¹⁸ But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.
    ²⁰ Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 
(See also Matthew 8:29 and Luke 4:34)


Even the demons believe and know He is the Son of God, but that does nothing for them. They had made their choice when they sided with Satan, and their works deceived them. I'm not saying that we should base everything on works, for then we try to earn our way into heaven. "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—" Ephesians 2:8


So what do we do with these two seemingly opposing truths? 


1. We believe, by faith, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to pay the price for our sins cleansing us by His blood sacrifice so that we can enter into the presence of our Holy God for eternity.
2. We humble ourselves, knowing there is nothing we can do to earn the gift which is freely given to us by Jesus the Messiah.
3. We prove our faith by submitting ourselves to His will daily and produce much fruit through the studying and living out of His Word. (John 15:8)


The root of where we fall short as Christians is in choosing which few verses of Scripture we will cling on to. 


I'm putting out a challenge for you today: Think of one of your favorite Scriptures which you quote to yourself quite often. Go look it up, and read the entire chapter in which it is placed. If it is one of the very first verses, read the chapter before it as well. If it is one of the last, read the chapter after. 


Now, take some time to ponder whether you have been quoting the context correctly.

Rich

I had a really neat experience the other day. I had gone into my local grocery store to get some forgotten things on the shopping list and decided to get a fancy flavored water I love and a LARABAR which is the only prepackaged bar I can eat. While getting into my "'Check Engine Light' is not on" mini van, chewing on the fruity bar, and popping the freshness seal on my cherry/mint water, I had an overwhelming feeling: I am so rich.

I'll be honest that being able to get those few luxuries doesn't happen very often. We live pay check to paycheck, but are always blessed by God to be able to get everything we need. Yes, there are many times where we do without, but when it gets down to the last clean set of clothing, there is alway enough to get the detergent. And it's usually on sale...

As I sat there feeling so wealthy, I praised God for it: Thank you, thank you, thank you Father that you have taken us so low that we can be appreciative of the little blessings. I never want to take it for granted- no matter the cost.


Shouldn't we feel the same way about salvation? We have to reach the point where we truly realize to the marrow of our soul that we are sinners deserving of eternal punishment and separation from God. (Revelation 3:17-18) We are as poor and wretched as can be. But, by the grace, love, and mercy of God through His Son Jesus Christ we have the option of being completely cleaned up through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Once we accept His rule over our lives we are so very rich...


 ¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins ² in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient. ³ We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also. 
⁴ But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, ⁵ made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! ⁶ He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in [His] kindness  to us in Christ Jesus.
⁸ For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—   Emphasis mine
Ephesians 2:1-8

Yea!......Leviticus?

How often do you read through the book of Leviticus? It's not exactly one of those you turn gingerly to for comfort or are able to reminisce about in lieu of that favorite verse you learned as a child from. Leviticus is a bunch of do's and don'ts: It's a book of laws. Now, I've never asked a lawyer, but I don't even think it gets them excited. Sentimental perhaps, but not giddy.

Why is it so important for us to read today? We live under grace, so why bother with the old laws?

First, we need to realize that we can never appease God with our own abilities. Not only was Leviticus a book to show the Israelites what they must do to reconcile to God for the wrong they do, but it also screamed at them that they were unable to keep even those “appeasements” perfectly. It's a great reminder of how unclean we are in our flesh. Do you realize that the word “unclean” is used 110 times in Leviticus alone? And the word “uncleanness” is used 19 times! No wonder Isaiah fell on his knees before the Lord and cried, “Woe to me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the Ling, the Lord of Hosts.” Isaiah 6:5 We desperately need grace in order to be cleansed. Praise God He made it available to us! “For it is by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8

Another point about Leviticus, which should bring a bit of happiness, is that we don't have to follow those rules! Every time I read them I get tired. Can you imagine trying to follow them? The lack of ulcer medicine alone from stress over keeping them saves me a fortune. This is not to say our actions don't matter, they just don't hinge on it. It's our heart – our motivation – that matters most now, “... because we are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14b) Reading Leviticus should make us want to shout our thanksgiving and praise to Jesus Christ for just part of what He saved us from!

Go read a few chapters today, and every time your mind wanders or gets bogged down praise Him that we live under His marvelous grace!

Ruth

I read the book of Ruth in the Bible last night. It's actually a very short book. There are only two books in the Bible named after women: Ruth and Esther. The special thing about Ruth is she was not born a Jew. She was a Moabite. To the Hebrew people (Israelite, Jew, and Hebrew are all different names for the same people group), there was nothing lower than a Gentile (Non-Jew) woman. She married a Jewish man named Mahlon (4:10) while he and his family had fled to Moab during a famine in Judah. After he, his father and brother die, Ruth is determined to go with Naomi her mother-in-law back to Judah instead of staying in Moab where she might marry again. She says to Naomi, "...your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." (1:16) This took a lot of courage. Being married was your means of livelihood. If widowed you don't just go get a job. You live on charity or die. Ruth was willing to leave the people she knew best, who might provide for her, to go with Naomi and worship her God.

Why do you think this was? Do you think she didn't like her homeland? Perhaps she loved Naomi. But to the point of risking her life? I like to think that she heard about the Lord and was intrigued. The Hebrews were well know throughout that part of the world. Only approximately 350 years had passed since they had left Egypt with great signs from their God and 300 since they had started taking possession of their land. Now, she hears stories of Jehovah from her own husband and his family who are descendants! I think she longed to worship Him.

That is what we are. We are children of wrath who, by the grace of God, have been called out to be made alive with the Messiah! (Ephesians 2:3-5) Ruth was also called to be alive with the Messiah. She is listed in Jesus' lineage. How wonderful!

Are we willing to take the risk Ruth did? We should. I know it is hard, and I often fail at living it to the fullest, but I try.
But, let's try harder.