Category: Jesus Christ

In the Palm of Thy Hand

Sunday, August 25, 2013

“Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:128 KJV).

Join the psalmist in esteeming the “precepts” of God preserved for thee in a Book that thou canst hold in the palm of thy hand….

The concept of our Creator God, Jesus Christ, is quite overwhelming. He is such a BIG God concerned about us, such tiny creatures who do everything we can to push Him and His will aside in favor of a “more intelligent” plan. To think that He would even bother to give His Word that was first preserved in heaven (Psalm 119:89) and form it into a book of human language that we could hold in our hands and study and read for ourselves, knowing full well the textual critics and denominationalists would immediately butcher it with their vain translational and hermeneutical methods, that they would greatly “wrest” (twist, corrupt) His Word. They have set themselves up for the day when they will stand before Him and be held accountable for their foolishness!

In today’s Scripture, the psalmist confessed: “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” A “precept” is “a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.” In the verse previous, he declared: “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (verse 127). Do we “esteem all [God’s] precepts concerning all things to be right,” or just the parts of Scripture that bolster our denominational system? Do we love God’s Word “above gold, above fine gold?”

Dear readers, may we never take our King James Bible for granted. History testifies to the fact that countless souls died to give us those precious and preserved Words of God. They did not die in vain, so let us not relinquish that golden text in favor of the feeble, tarnished hallucinations of seminarians, Bible skeptics, and others who rely on human wisdom to govern their worldview (the “false way” of today’s Scripture). May we “esteem” the Word in the palm of our hand, and value it in our hearts by believing it! 🙂

One Heartbeat Away from Eternity

Saturday, August 24, 2013

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1 KJV).

How true, Job, how true!

Earlier this week, just hours after returning from my mom’s aunt’s out-of-state funeral, my family received news that my dad’s younger brother had had a “minor” heart attack but that CPR saved him. We were relieved. Minutes later, we received a second phone call: we learned it was a massive heart attack and his soul likely slipped away into eternity before help arrived.

I was the one who had to tell the news to his 86-year-old mother, my grandmother. There really was no easy way to tell her, and as I gently spoke those words that no mother ever wants to hear, the poor soul sat speechless. As she wept, she told me she never expected to bury a child. Actually, none of us expected that it would be my 61-year-old uncle to die next in the family, and that he would die without any warning—no one in the family was able to tell him goodbye. My poor dear grandmother never did receive her phone call from him that she had been awaiting.

At the funeral Thursday, the most heart-wrenching sight I had ever seen, I was reminded of today’s Scripture. Dear readers, we never do appreciate the frailty of our lives until death comes. Quite frankly, any one of us may literally be just a heartbeat from eternity. As Job stated, we have been given but “few days” on earth (today’s Scripture). We just do not know how “few” those days “full of trouble” really are. That is why the Bible says to be ready to leave today; death gives little to no warning!

We do not have to go to hell. May we not teeter on the edge of a lost eternity! Jesus Christ died for our sins, His perfect blood paid for those sins, His burial put away those sins, and His resurrection gives us new life and justification in Him (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Trust alone in that Gospel of the Grace of God, and when that final heartbeat comes, you will be prepared!

The Sting of Death

Friday, August 23, 2013

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV).

In Jesus Christ, we endure “the sting of death” but for a moment….

Having attended the funerals of two family members—my maternal great-aunt and my paternal uncle—during the past four days, my family and I have certainly felt “the sting of death.” That second passing away was unexpected and extremely quick, making it very painful for the family.

To view the bodies of loved ones lying lifeless in their caskets, always pricks (“stings”) the inner man: like a knife, death slices through the souls of the bereaved. That feeling is greatly intensified in those who literally “have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) because they are outside of Jesus Christ and lack assurance of seeing their loved ones in heaven.

The verse following today’s Scripture reads: “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56). We all know that sin is a very painful reality, clearly and fully manifested by the Mosaic Law. The Law shows us that presence and particulars of sin while death is the penalty of sin: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

Romans 6:23b provides the solution: “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” While we live in this sin-cursed world and are subject to its effects (including physical death), 1 Corinthians 15:57 offers us Christians consolation: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As people who have trusted alone in the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for our sins, we have hope in Jesus Christ. One day, at the “rapture,” when Jesus Christ will return to gather us the Church that is His Body, He will bodily resurrect our deceased Christian brethren and we will be reunited forever (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). Today’s Scripture reminds us that not only will Jesus Christ rescue us from that “sting” of their loss, but He will give them—and us—“victory” over the power of death.

What a hope we have in Jesus Christ! 🙂

Who Is a Sinner? #7

Thursday, August 22, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

“He that believeth on him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Right from birth, every person is destined for everlasting hellfire. Scripture says that everything we are by nature and everything we do by nature are offensive to God. Just as physical illness has symptoms, our (invisible) sin nature generates sins (the actions). If we are to be made right in God’s sight (justified), there must be a drastic change in our makeup. The illness, the nature—not merely the symptoms—must be treated.

The only way to avoid that penalty of that sin nature is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). When we trust alone in the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the fully-satisfying payment for our sins (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4), we receive the very standing (position) that Jesus Christ has before God the Father. God “makes us the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and we thus have in Jesus Christ the righteousness needed to fellowship with God forever in heaven. We become “a new creature in Christ”—we lose our “old man” identity in Adam and God gives us a new nature in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:6).

We have nothing in which to boast, for that eternal life is a gift, and a gift is only free—we do not deserve it (Ephesians 2:8,9). Jesus Christ paid it all, and we accept His righteousness by faith in Him alone.

Who is a sinner? A sinner is one whose nature does not measure up to God’s standard of rightness. Dear readers, please remember, it is only a sinner that the Saviour Jesus Christ can save. Howbeit, for those sinners who do trust Him alone, He does save them from sin and eternal hellfire, free and forever. 🙂

Who Is a Sinner? #6

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

Returning to our earlier comments, religious people, whether they know it or not, have set themselves up for misery and disappointment (not including that which will come in eternity). The Bible so clearly declares in Galatians 3:10-13: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written [Deuteronomy 27:26], Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]. And the law is not of faith: but [Leviticus 18:5], The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written [Deuteronomy 21:23], Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

By virtue of the Mosaic Law, we are all “guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). No matter how hard we try, we cannot bring God praise by our performance, and we can never measure up to His glory. The Law “was weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3): our flesh (that is, we in our resources and strength) cannot obey every single rule that demonstrates God’s holiness. The Law only condemns; it saves no one!

However, the good news is that Jesus Christ died on our behalf; He suffered God’s wrath against our sin by becoming “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ took God’s curse on us sinners, and He bore its weight on Calvary’s cross! When we trust alone in the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that perfect sacrifice reunites us with God, and we are declared “the righteousness of God” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). As sinners, we qualify for God’s plan of salvation available only to sinners. By God’s abounding grace, we can be saved from the curse that our performance generates….

Who Is a Sinner? #3

Sunday, August 18, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

When I asked a religious person where her soul would go when she died, she insisted her “Law keeping” would merit her heaven. I then reminded her of James 2:10: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” I explained to her that by her breaking one commandment, she was guilty of breaking all of God’s laws. The Law demands absolute perfection. She replied, “I can only do so much.” Exactly—we cannot be perfect!

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written [Deuteronomy 27:26], Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]” (Galatians 3:10,11). God gave the Law so “all the world may become guilty before [him]. Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19,20).

The prophet Habakkuk wrote of the LORD, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity…” (1:13). God is so holy, so “separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26), that He cannot even look upon our sin! Thus, when God the Father “made [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21) on Calvary’s cross, He and God the Holy Spirit literally had to forsake Jesus Christ. Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46).

Law-“keeping” only condemns: it saves no one! If we want God to deal with us on the basis of our performance—and much of the world admits in religion they want Him to do this—the Bible says that we are setting ourselves up for burdens, misery, uncertainty, frustration, and a curse….

Who Is a Sinner? #2

Saturday, August 17, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

I once posed this simple, straightforward inquiry to a priest: “Where would your soul go if you died right now?” He answered, “Heaven, after I am cleansed in purgatory.” I explained to him God’s Word declared we could be “made the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21) by simply trusting in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins. When I thus questioned him regarding the purpose of purgatorial cleansing, he (blasphemously) replied, “Yeah, but now we are not talking about what Jesus did. We are talking about what I am going to do!”

Beloved, billions have allowed religion to burden them which such a weight that they, sinful people, will have to please a holy God before they can get into heaven. They are basing the salvation of their eternal soul on the presumption that they can do what Jesus Christ—God manifest in human flesh—could not do! Exactly what can we weak, mortal men do to measure up to Almighty God? How can we even think about proposing a more perfect sacrifice than what Jesus Christ offered on Calvary’s cross nearly 20 centuries ago? What utter foolishness!

God the Father said to Jesus Christ, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). Jesus declared, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Can God say that about us sinners? Is He really “well pleased” with us all the time? Can you honestly say with Jesus, “I do always those things that please [God the Father]?” Nay! That is what sin is!

We would do well to swallow our pride and confess that we will never measure up to God’s standard of holiness “doing the best we can.” Our character, our sinful nature, produces sinful behavior, only bringing shame to our Creator, Jesus Christ, and gendering nothing but His wrath….

A Greater Prophet and King #4

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:41,42 KJV).

What did our Lord Jesus Christ mean in today’s Scripture?

Through Moses, the LORD foretold of Israel’s Messiah-King Jesus: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:18,19). Israel had better listen to her Messiah when He comes, for God Himself will hold them accountable if they do not.

Did Israel hearken to those words? Nay, they crucified Jesus Christ!

Leaping into the future from Jesus’ time, and even beyond our present-day in this the Dispensation of Grace, we come to the end of this present heavens and earth. When all the lost people of the ages are bodily resurrected to stand before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment, they will give an account for their sins: their entire lives will be brought to memory and judged, right down to “every idle [useless, profitless] word” their lips uttered (Matthew 12:36). It is eternally too late to accept God’s plan of salvation—in fact, they still reject it anyway. Having waited in hell, they now have their “day in court,” are proven guilty, and sentenced to the everlasting lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

Today’s Scripture declares, when the lost people of Christ’s earthly ministry stand before Him in that terrible day of judgment, the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites will arise to declare God’s righteousness in damning those lost people, for they rejected the greater Prophet and King!!!!

A Greater Prophet and King #3

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:41,42 KJV).

What did our Lord Jesus Christ mean in today’s Scripture?

Jesus confirmed “[the Ninevites] repented at the preaching of Jonas” (today’s Scripture; cf. Luke 11:32) and “for [the queen of Sheba] came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (today’s Scripture; cf. Luke 11:31). He thus reminded Israel: “Behold, a greater than Jonas is here” and “behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” He is twice-stressing whom He is to get Israel’s attention. Paraphrasing, “Look, I am the Prophet whom JEHOVAH God has promised you! Look, I am the King whom JEHOVAH God has promised you!”

The Lord Jesus is greater than Solomon because He (Jesus) is God (Hebrews 1:6-12). Unlike Solomon, He will reign over all the world forever (Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 11:15)—Solomon’s reign was limited to 40 years in Israel before he died (1 Kings 11:42,43). Unlike Solomon, Jesus Christ will never die, and His reign will never end! Jesus Christ, being sinless, will be a much wiser King over Israel than Solomon ever was!

The Lord Jesus is greater than Jonas because He (Jesus) is God (John 1:1). Unlike Jonah, He “has the words of eternal life” (John 6:68) meant for all the world, but particularly Israel—Jonah only preached to the city Nineveh (Jonah 1:2; Jonah 3:3), and the message he preached was limited divine revelation, whereas Jesus Christ taught Israel a much fuller explanation of God’s Word. Unlike Jonah, Jesus Christ did not disobey Father God, and His message is the world’s only hope if they are to escape God’s wrath in the lake of fire… far worse than the wrath Nineveh ever saw!

Let us now conclude this devotionals arc….

The King, the Donkey, and the Horse #7

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

“…[T]he sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11 KJV).

The King appeared once, and He shall return….

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Peter comforts Israel’s little flock (believing remnant) enduring the temptation and persecution of the seven-year Tribulation, by reminding them that just as the Old Testament prophets foretold of Jesus Christ’s sufferings, those Scriptures also prophesied of the glorious coming kingdom He will establish on planet earth one day. These Jewish kingdom saints are to “hang in there,” to patiently wait for their King who will ride a horse to their rescue! He will deliver them from Satan’s evil world system, and make them God’s vessel to evangelize the Gentiles in that kingdom.

Zechariah 14:9 foretells: “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” Daniel 2:44 elaborates: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (Although Jesus Christ will reign forever, there is a 1,000-year transition period into eternity future.)

Isaiah 9:6,7 affirm: “[His First Coming] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: [His Second Coming] and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Father God is very zealous about appointing His Son Jesus Christ as King over all creation. Jesus Christ, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

Yea, the King came once on a donkey. Indeed, He shall come again… on a horse! 🙂