Something to think about.
King
5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. Jeremiah 23:5 (ESV)
Jeremiah is referring to Jesus in this passage but what does the word "King" mean context to Christ. The synonyms are ruler, sovereign, monarch, emperor, prince, potentate, Lord and yet in reference to Christ these synonyms are not enough. He is so much more He is the meaning and purpose of our lives He is the reward. He is the final word He is the first word He is our very hope and at the same time the fulfillment of our hope. He is our security our love. In him, we find the reason we live. He is our very life He is our eternity. He is justice. He is King, and He is sovereign. He is worthy of our worship and praise he is God. With all we try to discrbe Him He libves outsdie the wall of our invention. He always has been more than we can fully comprhend. He is our King and we are His willing subjects.
Monday, April 17, 2017
King
Friday, April 14, 2017
By Faith
Something to think about.
By Faith.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3
Why do we believe by faith? Because we can not see that which is invisible, not because it does not exist. What this verse is saying is, there are things in existence that are beyond our ability to understand, register, or manipulate. There are forces outside our box of existence that created our existence. There is a cause, and the cause is God.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Eternal Life
Something to think about.
Eternal Life
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7
The writer of Genesis almost casually inserts this statement about the creation of man. So much so that in my over 30 years as Christian I have never heard a sermon or read an article on this verse. In the story of creation, nothing else is formed by God, nothing. Everything is spoken into existence by the sheer power of God. God forms man from the dust of the ground. He forms mans as it were with His own hands. He actually stopped everything to pay singular attention to Adam. In the rest of the story, we see God commanding the created world into existence by His will, by forces we do not know of or understand. But not here, here, He is the one doing the action He is not commanding He is personally creating. Nowhere else does the Bible suggest such an intimate interaction between God and His creation. Humanity was formed and continues to be formed by God.
Now when He is done forming man from the dust of the earth what is left? A lifeless perfectly formed human. A being that is without blemish, sickness either present or genetically inclined or any dormant disease in his DNA. He is a perfectly formed human being in every way. But He is not alive. In my mind, I see humanity is laying on the dust of the ground from which He was created perfect but lifeless.
What God does next is what separates humanity from the rest of creation. God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." It is not just air that is forced into the lungs of man that brought humanity to life. God breathes the breath of life into man. What is the breath of life? It is the essence of existence that has aways existed, it is the life of God. God infused His life into man to bring him to life. Humanity is eternal because the life of man is the eternity of God. God who is eternal and cannot die has shared with us a part of His existence, and since He is eternal, all that is of Him must by association be eternal which makes us eternal. Righteous or unrighteous we will live throughout eternity.
The only question is will you spend eternity with God, or will you spend eternity permanently separated from God?
Monday, April 10, 2017
Every Knee
Something to think about.
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11
The day has been set, the time will arrive when everyone will acknowledge and recognize that Jesus is the Lord. Some with great joy some with great fear but to the glory of God, it will happen.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
It Is Written
Something to think about.
It Is Written
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1
The temptation of Christ is documented in Matthew 4. In this story, we are told Jesus was tempted three times. To each temptation, Jesus answered with "it is written." Jesus the son of God the one through whom all things exist answers "it is written." Jesus was tried, hungry and physically depleted in what must have been a very vulnerable state. In His physically depleted state, he still has the ability to understand how to deal with this most crucial of moments. He turns to the word of God and finds safety and power in it. Because He had studied it, He hid it in His heart, made it a priority in His life He was able at this great moment of weakness He to rely on His heart to answer the devil in a way in which there was no possible defeat.
Are you there yet? When the temptations and challenges of life come your way are you prepared to answer "it is written?" What is not sufficiently emphasized in this story is that Jesus won. The devil left defeated. He the devil was no match against the word of God "It is written."
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Goodness and Mercy
Something to think about.
Goodness and Mercy
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Psalms 118:1 NKJV
I don't want to take this for granted. For God is the creator of the universe and if He were to require repayment from me for my sins, I would be sorely inadequate to pay. If I tried to earn salvation, an eternity of good works would not suffice. It is only through His goodness and His redemptive plan that I can attain forgiveness and restoration. It is through His mercy that we even have a chance of redemption. Remember He did not have to have mercy on us. However, In His goodness He has.
Monday, April 3, 2017
The Favor of God
Something to think about.
The Favor of God