Category: Jesus Christ

One Little Nation With a Big God #5

Monday, November 19, 2012

“Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud” (Psalm 94:2 KJV).

Israel’s enemies are persecuting and destroying her, and today’s Scripture is her plea for JEHOVAH to shew Himself!

When Jesus Christ left earth in Acts chapter 1, He ascended to sit at His heavenly Father’s right hand (Acts 2:32-36). “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Today, Christ is still sitting at the Father’s right hand in heaven (Colossians 3:1), albeit temporarily—notice “until.” One day, when it is time to judge earth’s wicked inhabitants, Christ will rise from His sitting position at the Father’s right hand, and return to earth—His Second Coming—to punish His enemies (unbelievers) with His righteous wrath.

“Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God” (Psalm 68:1,2). “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people [Israel]” (Psalm 50:3,4). This vengeance of fire will accompany Christ as His Second Coming, punishing those who “know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10).

The verse preceding today’s Scripture reads: “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself” (Psalm 94:1). “For we know him that hath saith [Deuteronomy 32:35], Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again [Deuteronomy 32:36], The Lord shall judge his people [Israel]” (Hebrews 10:30).

At His Second Coming, Jesus Christ, Israel’s “Prince of Peace,” will militarily defeat her enemies, and then usher her into her kingdom of peace, salvation, and prosperity (Isaiah 11:1-16; Isaiah 59:16-22; Jeremiah 23:5-8; et al.).

Little Israel has a glorious hope. In due time, her BIG God will fulfill it!

One Little Nation With a Big God #4

Sunday, November 18, 2012

“Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud” (Psalm 94:2 KJV).

Israel’s enemies are persecuting and destroying her, and today’s Scripture is her plea for JEHOVAH to shew Himself!

Jesus Christ described the end of the seven-year Tribulation: “And they [Israel] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). Basically, the antichrist and his armies will unite against Israel and persecute Jews (Revelation 16:12-16; Revelation 19:17-19)… but God will retaliate (Psalm 83:1-18)….

Zechariah 14:1-4 explains: “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle [Armageddon]; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley….”

Just when Israel’s fate seems utterly hopeless (refer back to Luke 21:24), Jesus Christ will leave the third heaven and return to earth (His Second Coming). Just as He brought Israel military victories in the past, JEHOVAH—who had been silently waiting in heaven for 2,000 years—will finally “shew [Himself]” and defend Israel. Jesus Christ, riding a white horse as He glides over earth, will speak forth God’s Word, and He will slay and consume in His wrath the antichrist and all the armies gathered against Israel (Revelation 19:11-21; 2 Thessalonians 2:8).

And thus, God will “render a reward to the proud,” eternally punishing Israel’s arrogant enemies with His wrath in the lake of fire.

The Counsel of the LORD Shall Stand

Monday, November 12, 2012

“There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand” (Proverbs 19:21 KJV).

No matter what mankind has done, is doing, or will do, God’s “eternal purpose” will still be accomplished.

Christians disturbed by the results of the recent United States’ presidential election, are voicing their concerns. Some fear God’s impending judgment, while others believe those election results were “God’s decision.” “What saith the scriptures?”

Did God really foreordain the president-elect from eternity past, as claimed? We think not. American voters went to the poll. God gave voters the ability to choose who they wanted, and they did. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest that God chose our leaders today. God has merely “ordained” the offices and authority (“powers”) of government, not the people occupying and exercising them (Romans 13:1,2).

Will God judge America for its wickedness? Of course, according to Romans 2:6-11, but not in this the Dispensation of Grace. Today, God is extending to us through Christ’s finished crosswork His grace, His mercy, His love, and His kindness. God is not imputing the world’s trespasses unto it (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)… yet.

For the last 6,000 years, God has let mankind “do his own thing.” Mankind has devised his own way of life, his own beliefs, and his own rules (just as today’s Scripture declares). But, there is pleasure in sin only for a season (Hebrews 11:25b). This current arrangement of autonomous man ruling earth will persist only until Jesus Christ returns at His Second Coming to restore earth’s governments unto Himself (Revelation 11:15; Revelation 19:11-16).

“The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought [nothing]: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect” (Psalm 33:10).

What has God planned from eternity past, despite what mankind “devises” he will do? God is determined to glorify His Son, Jesus Christ, in two realms, heaven and earth (Ephesians 1:9,10), using two agencies, the Church the Body of Christ, and the nation Israel, respectively (Colossians 1:16-20). When our dispensation closes, God will begin to execute that plan. That is the “counsel of the LORD,” and that shall stand! 🙂

Future Christian Veterans

Sunday, November 11, 2012

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3 KJV).

Let us not grow weary, dear saints, for we are Christian veterans-in-the-making!

As one older Christian and veteran affirmed, the spiritual warfare in which we Christians are engaged is far more intense than any flesh and blood battle. The war between good and evil is worldwide, and has transpired for 6,000 years!

Before we trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we were on Satan’s side of the conflict. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, fighting against God, opposing His will for us (Ephesians 2:1-3)! Now that we have received salvation and become God’s children, we have become Satan’s enemies.

Life is very difficult under the curse of sin and death. What exacerbates that trouble is that we Christians are subject Satan’s attacks. This “present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) is certainly cruel to us, but we should not expect better treatment anyway. After all, the Lord reminded His disciples, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord” (Matthew 10:24). If the world slandered and executed Christ, they will do the same to us Christians without compunction! Remember, we are in a war, and every conflict has casualties.

Howbeit, the Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul encourages Timothy (and us) to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (today’s Scripture). We Christians are not shielded from pain and suffering. Christians worldwide are afflicted for standing firm on God’s Word rightly divided. Hence, we lapse into periods of doubt, wondering if it really is worth it. We grow weary of the suffering, wondering when it will end.

The Holy Ghost reminds us, “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). We are to be strong, not in ourselves, but “in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Everything that God can do for us through Christ (grace) enables us to “bear” all troubles (1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 4:13).

Take comfort, this battle will end, and we Christians will go home to heaven’s glory, becoming Christian veterans! 🙂

Do We All Worship the Same God? #5

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat” (Psalm 115:4-7 KJV).

Two common misconceptions are: (1) everyone worships the same God, and (2) everyone will eventually make it to heaven. Today’s Scripture answers both with a resounding “NO!”

King David extols the LORD for His faithfulness: “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side; now may Israel say; if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us,…. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:1-4a,6,8).

David understood that Israel’s military victories were because faithful JEHOVAH was on their side: “[Israel’s] help [was] in the name of the LORD,” because He “made heaven and earth.” Their Almighty Creator God was unlike the idols of today’s Scripture; those idols could do nothing, for Israel or for the heathen (who lost to Israel militarily because they served helpless idols). Thus, the context of today’s Scripture again exhorts Israel to trust in the all-powerful LORD, who “made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:9-12,15, but especially 15).

Just as Israel was weak without the faithful LORD in physical battles, we have no spiritual victory apart for the faithful Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, our unfaithfulness; in Him alone is there spiritual life. No religion or idol can provide forgiveness of sins or a way to heaven. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Unless we bypass pagan idols and come by faith through the Lord Jesus Christ alone, we are neither worshipping the one true God nor going to heaven.

Yet They Believed Not on Him

Sunday, October 21, 2012

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him” (John 12:37 KJV).

We should not be discouraged when someone rejects our preaching God’s Word, for our Lord Jesus Christ received the same response.

Recently, I spoke with a friend who is a member of a cult. He had Bible questions, and once I began to answer them using the appropriate Scriptures, he became increasingly irritated. Eventually, he expressed his concern to me, “I do not want to have these discussions anymore.” Thereafter, I rose from my chair, shook his hand, and departed.

More lately, when I was distributing gospel tracts, I handed a lady one. Once she read its title—“Do You Want to Go to Heaven?”—she waved her hands, and fittingly replied, “No, I am Catholic.” She refused to accept the tract, so I smiled and backed away.

In today’s Scripture, our Lord Jesus Christ performed not just some, but “many miracles,” and His audience did not believe on Him. They recognized He was of God, and they did not want Him. He was their Messiah-King, but they would not dare submit to Him. They saw His miracles, the validation of the message He preached, but they would not trust on Him. Verse 38 details: “That the saying of Esaias [Isaiah 53:1] the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

Even in Isaiah’s day, 700 B.C., unbelievers refused God’s Word. If someone rejects our preaching the gospel of God’s grace to us in Christ, we should not be discouraged. Most of the world has never been, and will never be, receptive to God’s Word. We are not here to twist arms, nor are we here to force them to believe God’s Word. Even our Lord Jesus Christ gave His audience a free will: accept God’s Word, or reject it.

Let us take comfort. Though many have rejected and will reject our preaching God’s Word, they rejected our Saviour Jesus Christ’s preaching God’s Word, too. Let us continue evangelizing anyway!

What is the Grace Life?

Friday, October 19, 2012

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” (Titus 2:11,12 KJV).

The only life acceptable to God in the Dispensation of Grace is the grace life!

When the Bible speaks of God’s grace to us in Christ (as in today’s Scripture), it refers to “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” The cost to enter heaven is far, far too great for us sons and daughters of Adam to ever pay. But, we have a wealthy relative who paid our sin debt in full. God became one of us: “God sending his own Son [Jesus Christ] in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). Sin separated man from God, so God did for man what he could never do for himself—pay for his sins.

Unquestionably, the greatest life ever lived in a human body was that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is always well pleasing to His heavenly Father (John 8:29). Even in death, as His body beaten beyond recognition hung limply on Calvary’s cruel cross, His sinless blood literally gushing from His veins and falling to the ground, Christ was well pleasing to Father God. The greatest human life ever lived then ceased…. He gave up His life, to take it up again (John 10:17,18)!

On Calvary’s cross, Jesus Christ gave His life for us, allowing us to die to sin with Him (Romans 6:3,4a). But then He was raised again, so He could give that resurrected life to us (Romans 6:4b,5). God accepts us in Christ (Ephesians 1:6). We appropriate (impute) Christ’s perfect sacrifice on Calvary by faith alone in the Gospel of Grace—“Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).

The Gospel of the Grace of God is not only meant to impact our eternal destiny, but our life now (today’s Scripture!). The Christian life is not us keeping rules, but us walking by faith in God’s Word to us, letting Christ live His life and through us (Galatians 2:20). That, dear friends, is the grace life! 🙂

*These past seven devotionals are advanced versions of our “Original 7.” With our blog’s second foundation laid, we now press on to deeper Bible teaching!

Who is Jesus Christ?

Monday, October 15, 2012

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6 KJV).

While many know about Jesus Christ, very few personally know Him and trust in what He did on their behalf.

Cemeteries confirm, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a): death and sin are inseparable. Sin kills not only our outward man (physical body), but also our inward man (spiritual body, soul and spirit). Therefore, Romans 6:23a says there are “wages” (plural) of sin.

Sin separates us from God (spiritual death). We are born “dead in trespasses and sins,” “children of disobedience,” and “children of [God’s] wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). God’s justice demands that we sinners receive the just penalty for those sins by enduring His wrath in everlasting hellfire (Romans 2:6-9). Thankfully, Jesus Christ suffered on Calvary’s cross and endured God’s wrath for us!

Jesus Christ is everything that the triune Godhead is: “In him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Christ is “the brightness of his [Father’s] glory, and the express [exact] image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ is God manifested in human flesh (John 1:1,14), so He can mediate between Father God and us. In today’s Scripture, Jesus Christ explained that He is the “one mediator between God and men” (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5). He later stated, “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 14:7a). The only way to know God the Father is to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:40b).

Jesus Christ’s perfect blood was shed to pay for our sins, to reconcile us back to God. Father God “made [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Will you trust Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection alone as sufficient payment for your sins, and be permanently reconciled to God?

Who is Jesus Christ? Your ONLY way to heaven!

Why Am I Here?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18 KJV).

Although philosophers and religious “scholars” still stumble over the age-old question, “Why am I here?,” God’s Word settled the matter long ago.

Creation is not the result of some random, mindless, cosmic explosion billions of years ago, as scientists often tout. Our universe exists with “divine design in mind”—this is particularly true of Earth. Today’s Scripture explains that, in addition to creating the heavens (outer space), God also created planet earth “not in vain.” God had a special purpose for Earth. It is no accident that mankind lives here, as opposed to other celestial bodies.

We exist because the triune Godhead (God the Father, God the Son [Jesus Christ], and God the Holy Spirit) wanted to share with us the love and fellowship they shared with each other before creation (John 17:5,24). In the person of Jesus Christ, the triune Godhead would manifest itself to mankind, a unique race of creatures whom the Godhead appointed to rule over Earth (Genesis 1:26-28). But, why Earth?

When God placed the first man, Adam, on earth, God was preparing to establish His kingdom on earth (Matthew 25:34), where He Himself would live with mankind: “For the LORD hath chosen Zion [in Jerusalem]; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Psalm 132:13,14). Unfortunately, Adam sinned, postponing that earthly kingdom for 6,000 years now. God formed Earth, not to simply give us a home, but to one day make Himself a home (Christ’s Millennial Reign on earth). “He formed it to be inhabited”… by Himself! Amazing!

Friends, we are not accidents. We exist for God’s glory, not for our own glory. God wants us our faith, our trust, to rest in His Holy Word, the King James Bible, the record of how He paid for our sins, and thus restored His fallen creation unto Himself.

Where is God?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” (Acts 17:24,25 KJV)

Are you searching for God? In today’s Scripture and its subsequent verses, the Apostle Paul identifies where the real God is.

In the context, Paul is in Athens (verse 16). While standing on Mars’ Hill, he speaks to all Athenians, but especially to its Greek philosophers (verses 18ff.). These Greeks are very religious, as evidenced by their altars and devotions, but they do not know the God of the Bible, the Creator of heaven and earth: Paul notes their altar that reads, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” (verse 23).

Paul corrects their thinking. Unlike inanimate idols, the real God “dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands” (today’s Scripture). Contrary to popular belief, a church building is not “God’s house.” The Bible says God does not dwell in manmade structures! We Christians, not buildings, are “an habitation [dwelling place] of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). Furthermore, we worship God, but not by carving statues and not by bowing before altars, as pagans do.

Throughout the world are God’s written Word, the Holy Bible, and His people, Christians, who teach and preach the Holy Bible. Through these two means, God makes Himself known to the world’s lost people. If any person in the world wants to know JEHOVAH, “the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9), he or she can know Him. God is not hiding from anyone. In fact, Paul, in the context of today’s Scripture, says “…all nations of men… that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” (Acts 17:26,27).

As English-speaking people, we can come to know God through the King James Bible. First, we must be willing to listen to what He has to say in it!