Christ the Creator

The life and work of Christ is a subject that would be difficult to cover in multiple volumes of work.  It might be able to be condensed into just one single volume, but the task of covering the life and work of Christ in a single or short series of blogs is surely a daunting task.  After all was considered, my version of the life and work of Christ was best represented in a few verses the Apostle Paul spoke, through his letter to the Philippians.  Paul wrote these words in Philippians 2:5-11, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Paul sums up Christ’s life by telling us that he was God, was humbled, was sacrificed and was exalted.  These are the points we will consider in more detail. We will begin today with Jesus Christ the Creator.

            First, Christ was God.  Christ was here from before the beginning of creation and will be here for all of eternity.  Jesus is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).  Jesus was with God in creation, and through Jesus “He made the world” (Hebrews 1:2).  John has this to say about Christ, or the word, in his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3)  So John confirms that Christ is indeed God and that through Him all things came into being.  Paul in His letter to the Colossians also glorifies Christ as God and Creator.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)  Paul also confirms Christ as being before all things.  So Christ is God the Creator.

How Much Do You Owe?

Jesus tells a parable of two debtors in Luke 7.  As a matter of fact Luke is the only one who tells this one.  Jesus tells the actual parable in verses 41-43.  "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."  We can all probably see the simplicity of this parable.  Whoever is forgiven the most would be the most grateful, right?  That’s an open and shut case, a slam dunk we might say, but let’s dig a little deeper. 

First of all, the scene takes place at Simon the Pharisee’s house who had invited Jesus for a meal.  Just a few minutes before Jesus had been blasting the Pharisees again for their hypocrisy.  Why he invited Jesus at all is a mystery, but the way he treated Jesus was inexcusable.  Jesus uses this parable to show him. 

Let’s go back a little and look at what love an unknown woman shows Jesus.  Luke begins the scene in verse 37.  “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.”  She honored Jesus, sensing His importance, if not Deity, even though this would have been improper behavior.  She had the courage to step out, because she knew her life and that she had much to be forgiven.  She washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  Something Simon hadn’t even done with water and a towel.

Simon apparently knew this woman as well; he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."

Now Jesus tells the parable and then explains in verses 44-50.  “Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"  And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

We are like the “certain immoral woman” (NLT) who has been forgiven much.  We have received so much grace; at least I know I have.  Do we show Jesus the same love the woman did?  How much do you owe?  Are we willing to step out in faith to do something we know needs to be done for the Lord?  Do we who have been forgiven so much show Jesus much love?  If not, why not?

God Bless!

Going Off the Deep End

You’re going off the deep end.  Have you ever heard that before?  I have and it is usually in a negative way.  What if we thought about going off the deep end of God’s love?  Listen to Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, “may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”(3:18) 

Have you ever thought about how BIG God’s love for us is?  Frances Chan called it “crazy Love” and even named one of his books with this title.  I am not calling God crazy, nor is Chan, but it is crazy how amazingly big God’s love for us is. Paul tries to put it into words we could understand.  He uses the dimensions we use for ordinary things, width, length, height and depth.  I am not sure we can fully understand it in this way though.  Can you imagine how deep the ocean is?  If you can, then you might get close to understanding the depth of God’s love.  Micah explains that God “will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (7:19).  That must be pretty deep. 

David seeks to explain a little bit about the width of God’s love in Psalm 103:12.  “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”  Since that is a distance that is impossible to measure, that too is a long way. 

When we think about the height of God’s love… how might we explain it?  My daughter and I like to say, “I love you to the stars and back” or “to the sun and back,” but that doesn’t seem to give the love of God justice.  God loves us all the way to Heaven where we have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith.” (1 Peter 1:4)  I have always imagined Heaven as being pretty high, haven’t you?

The depth of God’s love brings us back to “going off the deep end”.  That’s exactly what God did for us through Jesus.  He loved us all the way to this sinful earth.  God was willing to love us all the way up to the cruel cross and back down to the depth of the grave.  God died for you and me.  Paul once again summed this up for us in Philippians 2:5-8.  “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  God loved us that deeply.

God’s love is amazing, crazy and yes, unconditional.  Did you notice something there from Philippians?  We too are to have that same attitude of love.  I think I will keep working on that while I fall off the deep end into the unfailing love of God.

God Bless!

A Little Talk With Jesus

“Now let us have a little talk with Jesus.”  I bet we have all heard this popular song about prayer.  It has been recorded by quite a few popular artists including The Statler Brothers and Elvis.  Anyone who has spent any amount of time in worship has probably sung this tune at least once, but do we really have that talk we sing about?

Prayer is not an obscure subject in God’s Word or other spiritual books.  We mentioned meditation in the last devotion.  Prayer is another spiritual discipline that some of us may have let lose its luster and significance.  We can scarcely cover the tip of the subject in these few minutes, but it deserves at least that. 

Have we let prayer become routine?  We say “blessing” before meals and maybe say our bedtime prayers, but what if we made prayer a way of life?  What kind of revolution might we, as Christians, have on the world?  Jesus gives us a glimpse at the impact of prayer in John 15:7.  “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  That’s pretty bold.  No ifs, ands or buts there, simply abide in Christ, ask and it will be done.  We must remember that we each are Priests now and may approach the throne of God with boldness.  To dispel any doubt, let’s remember our High Priest is none other than the Messiah and Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ. “We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” (Hebrews 8:1)  And if that’s not enough we also have an interpreter that speaks God’s language, none other than the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)  Knowing who we have on our prayer team should already make us amazingly confident in prayer, but knowing that the Almighty God cares enough about you and me to listen should seal the deal.  “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Let us tell Him all about our troubles.  He will hear our faintest cry and He will answer by and by.  Now when you feel a prayer wheel turning, then you'll know a little fire is burning.  You will find a little talk with Jesus make it right.”

God Bless!

Listening for God

Do you listen for God?  I know I am guilty of doing too much talking and not enough listening.  I always have my list ready for God and jump right into prayer telling God what I want Him to do for me.  I wonder what kind of difference it might make in our lives if we would listen more.  I wonder what important things God might be waiting to tell us if we would just listen. 

Listening is a lost art in our world.  We seem to want to tell people all we have to say and move on.  How many times do we ask how someone is…without even stopping?  God let the Israelites know the importance of listening in Exodus 15:26.  "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that, which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."  God wanted them to listen to Him, but even more than that to act upon what He said.  We must listen to be able to act. 

Listen to these words from Ecclesiastes, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools… Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” (5:1-2)   I am not here to say that God is going to give us any new revelation on matters of doctrine.  He has given us His Word and has declared that to be all we need for our salvation.  I am not so sure that Jesus doesn’t quietly whisper to us as our intercessor with our Father, God.  God also told us to listen to Jesus after His transfiguration in Matthew 17:5.  "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." 

So where does this leave us in listening for the soft still voice of God?  I am working on meditation.  Spending some quiet time with God could never be a bad thing, could it?  God will not scream.  He will not push into your crowded life.  You must make room for Him and listen.  “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7).  That’s my goal in meditation, to wait for the Lord patiently.  Listening is a lost art.  We must revive this art as a part of our spirituality.  “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night that I may meditate on your promise.” (Psalm 119:148)  Let’s wake up and listen for the Lord.  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)  Let’s listen carefully for the knock and open the door.  Don’t you want to commune with Jesus?

God Bless!

Rock of Ages

Foundations, we all have one of some sort.  Some run deeper than others and some may be new, but we all have some sort of spiritual foundation.  How deep is your foundation?  Strengthening that and following Jesus and His commands is the topic of His fourth parable.  We have already discussed the first two parables about the wineskin and the cloth with our Burst the Mold discussion in an earlier blog.  We also talked about letting our lights shine, Jesus’ third parable, in This Little Light of Mine.  Check those out if you haven’t already.

 But we will begin here with Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:24-27.  "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."  Jesus is teaching us some very important lessons here.  We will notice at least two of many applications of this rich parable that is full of lessons for us as Christians.

First, I notice that we seem to only have two choices.  It appears to me that we either build our foundation on Jesus or we don’t.  There is no middle ground… we are either with Him on firm footing, or we are not and seem to be on sinking sand.  We are wise, or we are foolish.  I am not here to say that we can’t shore up a foundation that might not be as strong as it should be, but once we decide to put our trust in anything or anyone other than Jesus we are building on the spiritual sand and are headed for a “great fall”.  In Luke’s account of this same parable he describes the firm foundation as one “dug deep” and” laid on the rock”.  That house is “well built”. (Luke 6:48)  So we need to dig deep into the Word of God and build our foundation on that.

The second thing I noticed only recently.  I have heard this parable from vacation bible school all the way through to my present studies at Heritage Christian University.  The rains come on both houses!  I had realized that bad things happen to good people and knew Matthew 5:45.  “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”   I had never thought about Jesus teaching us that lesson again here, but He most obviously does.  Not only does the rain come, but floods and winds.  Sounds like a storm to me, what about you?  Luke mentions the storm being so great that a flood comes and the stream breaks out of its banks (6:48-49).  Maybe it is even a thunderstorm that we must withstand at times, but the difference is not in the house, but the foundation.  We must dig deep and build our spiritual foundation on the Rock of ages, Jesus.  How deep is your foundation?  Are you ready for the storm?  Jesus will be there to help us weather the storms of life.  We just have to dig deep.

God Bless.

Blessed Day

O.K., I will be the first to confess… I thought people who would say that they “were blessed” when asked how they were doing were a little overboard.  People who say have a “blessed day” were just going through the motions, like the Pharisee Jesus talked about praying for show. (Luke 18:9-14)  I don’t think I am the only one who probably has felt that way either.  Have you? 

Then I came across Paul’s words to the Philippians I have known for a long time, but apparently had forgotten.  “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” (1:20) Am I ashamed of Jesus?  God forbid!  I am truly not ashamed of Jesus or afraid to express my love for Him.  So why am I not like those people who profess their blessedness. 

When the early followers of Jesus showed up, everyone knew.  What’s happened to His followers of our day?  In the book of Acts,- Jesus’ followers were said to have “turned the world upside down”.  Most times we aren’t even accused of turning over our hands, but even more disturbing is that we don’t even talk about our Savior.  At least we should be willing to give God the glory for our blessings in our day, right?

In First Corinthians 6:20,  we are reminded that we “were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”  Do we do this, even in our everyday conversation?  I am sure we talk the talk on Sunday, but what happens when Monday comes?  We would never be accused of being Sunday Christians… would we?  I know that knowing how my Savior and Lord suffered and died for me I would want Him to be proud of me.  Don’t you?

Jesus had something to say to us about this in Matthew 12:33-34, “The tree is known by its fruit…. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”   What kind of fruit are we producing, any at all?  Marshall Keeble once said, “Maybe we can’t judge people, but we can be fruit inspectors.”  If we were being looked at by others, which we are, by the way, what would they say about our fruit?

Do people know we have been with Jesus?  Do we speak the name of Jesus after Sunday? I realize we haven’t been with Jesus in a physical sense, but those of us who follow Jesus have His very Spirit living inside us.  That’s about as close as we can get.  In Acts 4:13, the Great Sanhedrin, when examining Peter and John were “astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”  Can anyone we see that we even know who Jesus is?

Let us no longer hide Jesus inside our hearts, but let us glorify him on Monday the same way we do on Sunday.  Have a blessed day!

God Bless!