 Family
Most of us would say that family is central to our celebration and experience of the holiday season. For some of us, our family may also be key to the strain and the stress of the holidays. Whatever your relationship looks like, my point is that most of our traditions and experiences, especially regarding Christmas, deal with our families. While most of us as Christians are probably quick to remind everyone that the Christmas celebration is about Jesus and the importance of the gospel, it is important to note that family ties are an important part of the Christmas story. So let us reflect on a couple of the key familial factors in the Christmas narrative. The Priestly Line It is fairly common knowledge that Jesus is descended from David so that he can fulfill the promises made to the Davidic line of the true King who would reign forever. But Jesus is also the great High Priest who came to make the necessary atonement for us before the throne of God (Hebrews 4:14-16). So how can Jesus be both King and Priest. The tribe of Judah is the royal line and the Messiah was promised to be from David’s line. In both of the genealogies in Matthew and Luke the lineage goes back through David. But, the priestly lineage was from the tribe of Levi and through Aaron’s descendants. So again we must ask how Jesus is descended from Aaron? In Luke 1, we are told that John the Baptist’s parents are a priest named Zechariah and Elizabeth, who was from the daughters of Aaron. This means that both Zechariah and Elizabeth are of the priestly lineage. Luke also tells us later in verse 36 that Elizabeth is Mary’s relative, so Mary must have been related to Elizabeth on her maternal side making Jesus a descendant of Aaron and still descended from David on Mary’s paternal side. The Royal Line It seems that the genealogical information given in Luke is about Mary’s family. The first reason to think this is that it says that Jesus was the son of Joseph so it is supposed. Joseph was not really in that lineage mentioned in Luke 3. The second reason is that Luke records a lot of information about Jesus' birth that is from Mary’s point of view. It is possible, even probable, that Luke got this information by interviewing Mary herself and so it would be likely that his genealogy would be of her side of the family. Also, Matthew records the account from Joseph’s perspective so it would make sense that Matthew’s genealogy would be from Joseph’s line. Finally, regardless of which genealogy we align with Joseph or Mary, both records record that Jesus is the descendant of David either through Nathan in Luke’s gospel or Solomon in Matthew’s. So Jesus qualified to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6-7. The Divine Line But most important of all was that the One who would be the champion to defeat sin, throw off the curse, and destroy the power of the ancient serpent (Hebrews 2:14-15), would not be Adam’s son, but rather God’s son. Back in Genesis 3:15 the promise was that the singular seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The seed of the woman is also the heir promised to Abraham. But Paul explains to us that the heir promised to Abraham was the singular Christ (Galatians 3:16-18). Even when the angel came to tell Mary that she would be the mother of the Lord Jesus, she asked how because she was a virgin (Luke 1:34-35). But it was essential that Christ was not going to be the son of a natural union, but rather the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit brought about the conception of the holy child. And this One who is truly the Son of God is able to live for us, die for us, and rise for us so that we can have life only by trusting fully in Him!
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 It’s Here
It’s finally here! Even those timid souls who wag their finger saying that Christmas festivities should not start until after Thanksgiving or until December, have to admit that it’s here now. The most wonderful time of the year! I love this time of year for so many reasons. Let me tell you just a few. First, I love winter! I know all of you summer lovers can’t wait for the heat and humidity to return, but I just love the cool brisk air of winter. Second, this is the time of my favorite sporting event of the year. The National Finals Rodeo will start December 7th continuing through the 16th. But most of all, I love celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that there are many debates and controversies surrounding the dating of the birth of Christ, but I just love to sing about, and read about, and meditate on, and celebrate the precious and powerful coming of Jesus Christ! Wonder Full As we think about what it really means that God came into His creation, it is hard to fully grasp the weight and glory of such an act of condescension and kindness. Jesus was born in a human form, but His birth was not like any other. Remember, Jesus is not the product of the seed of any man, but rather He is conceived in the virgin's womb by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30-35). He has not inherited the guilt and shame of Adam’s fall even though He is coming to remedy that very curse (Genesis 3). We often refer to Jesus as the second person of the trinity, but we must be careful not to think of Jesus or the Holy Spirit as any less God than the Father. The three divine persons share fully and completely the one divine being of God. So when Jesus came in human form, it was God in human form (Philippians 2:5-11). This is why it is right for Jesus to also be referred to with the name “Immanuel” for He is God with us (Matthew 1:18-25)! The word “wonderful” is usually used to refer to something being really great or excellent. But think about the words that are combined. Wonder Full. I think that perfectly describes the effect that the incarnation of Christ should have on us. And it just happens to be that our holiday festivities are pointing us in the direction of that ecstatic response. Just imagine riding through a Christmas light display with a toddler who is mesmerized by the brilliance and beauty of all the colors and creations. That is the kind of fullness of wonder that ought to be ours perpetually as we think about the glorious gospel reality of Christmas. Jesus came to save us from our sin and shame by sharing our human condition so that we could, by the free gift of His grace, share in His eternal inheritance. That is the most wonderful news that we could ever hear. The Prophet Isaiah also tells us that one of His names is Wonderful Counselor. Jesus came near to us in His flesh so that we could be near to Him in the Spirit (Isaiah 9:6-7). And He retains His glorified body so that we in our glorified flesh can live in eternal fellowship with Him. So let’s enjoy and celebrate this wonderful time as we look forward to our wonderful timeless eternity with Christ!  Black Friday
Yesterday was the Thanksgiving holiday. A day marked in our culture with feasting and fellowship. Usually, the abundance of food leaves us with additional portions of various dishes stored away in tupperware, or, if you are genuinely cultured in country ways, you use old butter and cool whip bowls. But this day is also known for its abundance in another kind of overflow. This is the day known as Black Friday. To the best of my knowledge, this term comes from the fact that many retail businesses move into the profitable category for the year based on the sales that take place on this day each year or at least the sales over this extended weekend. An active shopping weekend as folks get a jump on their Christmas shopping, ends up being a bountiful reason for Thanksgiving for the stores and retailers. Blessings Abound But dollars and cents are not really what we should be most thankful for as we enter the holiday season. Many of us probably overlook the lavish blessing that our affluent abundance affords us. Take for example the leftover sample of the holiday feast mentioned above. Those are not just some tasty morsels tempting us to indulge, but rather they are reminders of the overflowing supply that God has graciously given us. Besides, we all know that the best part of the Thanksgiving food is the turkey sandwich the next day. The real blessing of the feast is the fellowship shared with those that we love, both blood related and blood bought! Our leftovers (memories) are meant to be for us a lingering blessing of love and grace from God. They also serve to call us back to the table for faithful and fruitful fellowship. Sometimes we get tempted to neglect the old traditions for shiny new trends or we become overwhelmed by busyness, cutting the margin out from our blessings. In any case, we ought to recognize the sweetness of the simple but substantial bounty from the Lord. Baskets Jesus wasn’t afraid to have a few leftovers around either. Remember when Jesus fed the multitudes on those couple of occasions. Have you ever wondered why the portions were not exact? I mean, Jesus had the ability to feed thousands of hungry bellies from the measly rations of five loaves and two fish on one occasion (John 6:3-13) and seven loaves and a few fish in the other situation (Matthew 15:32-39). With this kind of sovereign omnipotence surely He could have made the perfect amount to meet the need. But that’s exactly the point, His calculations were perfect! The Lord Jesus did not make more than He intended, but exactly what He intended to show His abundant grace. He poured out more than the people needed. There are so many important points that could be drawn from what the Lord was doing, but I would like to deal with just one in the remainder of this post. In the passage in John 6, Jesus is showing that He is greater than Moses and greater than the gift of manna from heaven. He is the true bread that comes down from heaven that fully and completely satisfies. Remember in the wilderness the children of Israel were not allowed to collect any extra. This meant that they had to trust God to provide each day. But now in Jesus’ provision, we also continue in faith but that is seen in the abundance of baskets that the disciples gathered after the feast. Let me encourage you to enjoy both the assurance and the rest that you have as a believer in Christ. Jesus is more than enough! Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas, Saints!  Pals
With Thanksgiving coming up next week this is a time when we tend to think about what we are most grateful for in our lives. It doesn’t usually take too long to realize that the most important elements of our lives are the people and not the things. Pleasures, possessions, and properties are empty without the connection and value found in genuine companionship. The holidays are traditionally a time when many people gather with and focus on family. This is certainly appropriate. However, our physical relatives are not the only relationships with which we are blessed. God has given us connections with other image bearers in deep and abiding friendships. These people, while not our close flesh and blood, are still knit close to hearts by God’s grace. It may have been because we happened to grow up in the same town, go to the same school, work at the same job, play on the same team, share the same hobby, or serve the same military but God uses these kinds of experience to mold us and shape our relationships. Count your many Blessings As we prepare for the joyous festivities of the Thanksgiving holiday, we must remember to express our great appreciation to God for every good and perfect gift that we have received (James 1:17). While we should praise God for everything including the provisions, possessions, and positions with which He has graced our lives, we also must put the preeminence and priority on the people that God has kindly placed in our circle of influence and friendship. May we let this accounting begin with those in our own household. Let us praise God for our families, those who are our own flesh and blood. In both our immediate and extended families let us praise God for these people who God has sovereign placed us with and plead for their true blessing. But let us also give great glory to God for our faithful friends who have stood by us in both good and bad times. Whether they be childhood companions, college buddies, or new pals; these people are a blessing. I especially want to point out that while friendships mediated by distance and technology are still wonderful, we all need real flesh and blood companionship and fellowship. Let us praise God for these people with which we can laugh, weep, and reminisce about kindness to us. However, we must also remember to be thankful for those people with whom God has brought us into the covenant relationship of the local church. I know we live in an age where we celebrate our autonomy. But we must realize that behind every creaturely decision that we have made God has been guiding and directing us to bring us to the place where we are. Since this is the case, it is not an accident that those people down the row or pew from you are there. God has brought you both into this covenant relationship. We ought to be thankful for the blessing of a faithful church. With these covenant relationships come many wonderful responsibilities and privileges, in these things we ought to recognize God’s blessing flowing to us through these other Spirit filled Saints. What a Friend But the friend we ought to be most thankful for is the Lord Jesus Christ! As the old song goes, “what a friend we have in Jesus”. Remember when Jesus was hours away from His wrongful arrest, trumped up trial, and horrific execution, He reminded the eleven disciples that He had chosen them to be more than mere servants but actual close and valued friends (John 15:12-17). Jesus is the best friend anyone could ever or will ever have. He is truly the friend that is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Ultimately, it is through our faith in the friendship and Lordship of Jesus that brings us into a relationship of peace with God (Romans 5:1). Remember that Abraham believed God and based on the relationship of righteousness based on faith, Abraham was also called the friend of God (James 2:23). The reality is that no one is in a place of neutrality when it comes to God. Everyone is either a friend of God through repentant faith placed in the one and only Lord Jesus Christ, or an enemy of God, in rebellion against His justice and fallen in sin and iniquity. So what about you? Are you a friend or an enemy? Let me give some friendly advice. Turn to Christ in faith and draw near to God the greatest friend you will ever know!  Conflicts
This post is going to end up being somewhat dated in that I am dealing with the state of current affairs in our world. The world news that I am referring to is the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. However, in this post I am not so much concerned about the eschatological importance or lack thereof of these events, but rather the practical parable that this real war gives us with our ongoing struggle against sin. Problems and conflicts have plagued the Middle East not simply since the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948 but since the days of Abraham in Genesis. This land has almost always been embroiled in battles, occupations, and conquests. These problems only got worse when the dangerous ideology of militant Islam entered the equation. To this day, faithful Muslims must strive to see the world, but especially the “Holy Land,” brought into submission to the law of Islam. Truce Many people are calling on Israel and the terrorists of Hamas to agree to a temporary combat pause. Sometimes these efforts are called a “cease fire” or groups can even enter into formal peace treaties. The problem with this from a practical perspective is that Hamas will never stop desiring to destroy the Israeli state. Remember, they must bring everyone into submission to Islam. This submission need not be willing or devout. This means that force and coercion is fine in the Islamic worldview. To state it bluntly, Hamas wants to destroy Israel and kill every single Israeli person. This is such a good analogy of the war that we are involved in with our pesky and prevalent sin. Sin is our enemy and our enemy will not cease or stop until we are destroyed and defeated. Much like Hamas, our sin wants to completely defeat us. If Israel stops fighting against Hamas at that moment Hamas will begin to destroy Israel because they will not permanently stop trying to eradicate Israel from the land. Israel has no choice but to win this war by destroying Hamas for their own survival. In the same way we must put our sin to death everyday for our own survival. Too many Christians are trying to negotiate a ceasefire with our sin. But the peace that we need cannot be found in diplomacy or negotiation but on at the cross. The peace that we are seeking as believers is not peace with our sin or with the pleasures of this world or with Satan who hates God and all those who bear His image. Rather the peace that we need is with God Himself (Romans 5:1) and that peace is only available when our sin receives that death penalty (Colossians 2:13-14) and we are then free citizens of Christ’s Kingdom and members of God’s household. Daily Battle Jesus instructed His disciples that following Him would mean a daily discipline of denying themselves the carnal and worldly pleasures of sin to instead bear their own cross (Luke 9:22-23). But what is the purpose of daily bearing this cross? The point is that the cross is where we put our sin to death daily. In our battle with sin we must be continually putting it to death. Our indwelling sin is a doomed opponent, but the settled state of its final fate does not stop its continued attack. So sin and Satan continue to oppose us. We must resolve, based upon the victory of Christ and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to turn from sin and trust in Jesus.  Providence
The Almighty God revealed in the Bible is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. He is over all things and His will cannot be stopped or thwarted. Nothing can stop or hinder God from accomplishing all His will. It is also true that God cannot lie. He is the truth! Since truth is essential to His character, we can say that God does not lie, will not lie, and cannot lie. This is not a contradiction because the reason that God cannot lie is not because of a lack of ability, but rather because of God's perfection. God is perfectly truthful. Since both of these things are true, we can conclude that God always keeps His promises. He never binds Himself to an oath or a covenant in which He does not entirely fulfill His responsibility. However, oftentimes we overlook the gracious fulfillment of both prophecy and promises. In doing so, we end up holding onto future hopes of fulfillment about things that should instead fill us with confidence concerning the promises that God has made. Sworn When God says something, that thing will happen. When He gives us a promise we can be sure that it will come true. For example, God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would surely give them the land of Canaan. The piece of real estate is even called the promised land. Many believers look at the embattled history of the people of Israel and conclude that those promises have not been fulfilled. However, since these folks genuinely trust the Lord, they are sure that this must be a future prophecy for Israel in the end times. But what if the Scripture clearly and emphatically told us that God had kept those promises? What if the Bible said that God had given the land to Israel just as He had promised? What if the Bible said that Israel had taken possession of the land and settled there? What if the Bible said that God had given Israel rest from all their enemies? What if the Bible said that not one word of all the good promises of God had failed to come to pass? Joshua 21:43-45 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Now read that passage again! Notice that God has kept every promise that He has made for His people. Not one of them was unfulfilled. Shouldn’t we believe God not only when He makes a promise, but also when He tells us that He kept it! Warnings We also should believe God when He gives warnings about the judgment and destruction that will come on those who continue in unbelief and disobedience. In Luke 21, the Lord Jesus Christ clearly tells about the destruction that will happen to that temple, that city and that generation. Again people often conclude that this hasn’t happened yet even though that temple, that city, and those people of that generation were judged and destroyed in 70 A.D. God doesn’t make threats, He makes promises. Promises to bless and promises to destroy. And He keeps those promises, EVERY TIME! Salvation But let us not forget that God also promises to save His people. And He always keeps this promise also. Consider the promise of Christ in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” In this text, Jesus is making a promise to save all those who come to Him. He goes on to explain in verse 38-39 that He will not lose any of those who have been given to Him and that He will raise them up on the last day! Jesus gave us His sure word and promise. Will you trust Him to save you? To give you everlasting life? To keep you and not lose you? To ultimately raise you up on the last day?  Comprehension
Reading is more than simply being able to identify letters and sound out words in your native language. Reading is about comprehending the message that the words, sentences, and paragraphs are intending to communicate. This is not only true when reading. It is necessary to all forms of communication that the message is accurately comprehended. Many if not most of the relational issues that we have in our world stem from issues of miscommunication. Most marriage counselors will acknowledge that marital problems, stemming from all kinds of issues such as financial fights, infidelity, extended family drama and more, start with poor communication. When we hear about communication problems, I think that most of us usually assume that the problem is with the delivery of the message. Therefore, we believe that to fix the problem we need to communicate more clearly, directly, and succinctly. Obviously, many communication problems do derive from the message being delivered poorly. However, it is also possible that many misunderstandings take place because the message was not received and understood rightly. Anachronism Anachronism means “something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time” or “an error in chronology in which a person, object, event, etc., is assigned a date or period other than the correct one.” A couple of examples should help us to grasp the concept. Imagine that you were watching a documentary about the Civil War and one of the soldiers was wearing a cell phone on their belt. This would be an anachronism because cell phones didn’t exist in the period of the Civil War. Or what if you were watching a documentary about World War 2, but the soldier on the screen was armed for a first century battle with a sword and shield. These are examples of chronological inaccuracies. One of the ways that many people misinterpret historical texts, especially the Bible, is by reading a current understanding of a word or concept back into the time when it was written. One example would be if we read every use of the word “preach” in our Bible and assume that it is referring to a preacher standing behind a pulpit delivering a monologue lecture. Or if we always interpret the word “baptize” as referring to immersion in water, or if we interpret the word “church” as referring to a building where the followers of Christ would meet for worship (which it never means in the Bible). We are interpreting the text anachronistically. Context The only way for us to correctly interpret what the Bible means is to understand the historical context of both the author and the intended audience. We must remember the principle that the Bible can never mean what it never meant. This means that the meaning and interpretation of a given text of Scripture is fixed in its original context. However, that meaning can then be applied to our modern context in many different ways. This means that we must understand the historical, grammatical, and redemptive context surrounding any particular passage of Scripture so that we interpret THE meaning of that text. Once we understand the correct meaning then we can apply that truth to our specific situation. It is my position that most cults and even many Christian denominations have doctrines and beliefs that stem from anachronistic understandings of certain words, phrases, or verses. This not only happens when we attempt to bring the text forward into our day but also when we try to place ourselves into the text without understanding the historical realities. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul is encouraging Timothy to accurately handle the word of truth. The Bible can, and often has been, misinterpreted and misapplied, even doing damage to misinformed souls. Therefore, we must seek to understand the Scriptures correctly for the good of human souls and the ultimate glory of our great God!  Take it Easy
It seems as though everyone is chasing the easy street. Everyone is looking for a smooth path to a comfortable life. But in life we often deal with circumstances and obstacles that challenge our pursuit of ease and comfort. This is called frustration. Frustration is defined as “a feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.” I think that we can add that the common way the word is used is to refer to when we are finding some task hard to do or problem difficult to solve. Since frustration has its root in dissatisfaction, the more that we are focused on our own comfort or our own expectations the more likely we are to be upset and frustrated. My Way This means that the harder you try to please yourself through pleasure, comfort, achievement, discipline, hard work, sacrifice, or selfishness, the more you are going to be dissatisfied. If you are seeking to create happiness by finally getting the degree, the house, the job, the spouse, the kids, or anything else, you need to know that it will not work! All of those things are fine things that God may choose to give to you as good gifts (James 1:17) and they are worth your faithful effort while living a God glorifying life, but they cannot deliver the soul satisfying joy that every image bearer of God is truly longing for. The more we prioritize our own happiness the more we will ultimately sink into despair, depression, and destruction. This is because we were not created to serve ourselves and seek our own comfort and glory. That notion that we should judge according to what we think will be best for our satisfaction is as old as the serpent’s temptation of Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-8) and as sophisticated as the fiction that everything can be accounted for in terms of evolutionary advancement. Whether it’s satanism, darwinism, or selfism, the lie is always to focus on ourselves and take our eyes off of Jesus! (Hebrews 12:1-3) The Hard Way When Jesus was instructing the multitudes in the famous sermon on the mount, He compared the two paths that lie before all of humanity (Matthew 7:13-14). One path is a ten lane highway, straight, smooth, flat, and easy. The other road is hard, narrow, and unattractive. Jesus' point is that the easy road will be the road that most people seem to take. It will be the road that seems to make the most sense and have the most benefits. But its destination is destruction. To add to the misery, the further down that road one gets, the closer they are to destruction and the further they are from salvation. As hope fades, all that is left is the anxiety and depression in our definition of frustration. The Only Way The Lord Jesus has said that He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life (John 14:6). The point is that only in Jesus will we find true happiness. It is also important to point out that if we conclude that any of the good things that I have listed above are necessary for us to be happy, then Jesus would have to share glory with those things. Our God does not share his glory with any idol (Isaiah 42:8). So if those things are idols, then either God will let us have them to show us that they can’t make us happy or He will keep them from us because He knows that we will be consumed by our idolatry. Jesus is also the truth. This means that He protects and delivers us from the lies that would tempt us to idolatry and selfishness. Finally, Jesus is the life. Only Jesus can and will save His people from destruction. The only way to truly escape eternal frustration is to turn to Christ who can fully and eternally satisfy our needs and resolve our great problem which is our own sin. Since Jesus is the exclusive and only way, the only correct response is to turn from our own way to Him (repentance) and trust in Him fully (faith).  Sola Scriptura
This is October. While this month may first cause you to think of autumn, pumpkins, and costumes, this is also Reformation month. The Protestant Reformation is a period of history marked by profound changes in religious belief in Europe and ultimately throughout the known world. Our modern world was made possible, in many ways, by the reformation. The reformation was a movement, so it is far broader than any one specific event. But, historically, the start of the reformation has been linked with when the German monk, Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses (questions for discussion and debate) to the church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. During the Reformation the main point of distinction between the established church and the reformers was about justification. Are sinners justified by faith alone? Or are sinners justified by faith and merit? But this question originated from an even more fundamental principle. That principle is that spiritual truth is contained solely in divine revelation and that revelation has finally and infallibly been given to us in the Scripture alone. So, today, I want to think about one of the arguments for the veracity of the Scripture. How do we know that the Bible is true? First, the Bible is self attesting because it is the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23). In addition, the Bible is both historically and prophetically accurate. However, today, I want to consider the criterion of embarrassment as strong evidence to the reliability of the Scripture. Criterion of Embarrassment Simply put, the criterion of Embarrassment means that the authors of the Scriptura would not have fabricated stories that made the primary figures, their families or themselves look silly, stupid, or faithless. One objection to this criterion might be that the authors knew that to make the fables convincing the audiences would need to see some flaws and foibles. These flaws also give the occasion of the main character in all the Scripture, God, to shine all the brighter. Such things as when Abraham (Genesis 20) and later Isaac (Genesis 26) lie about their wives being their sisters to save their own skin. In these cases maybe some people would argue that the embarrassing details about Abraham and Isaac are needed to show God’s mercy. But notice that argument does not mean that the Bible is inaccurate, but rather only explains why God may have had it recorded. But I would like to give us two examples from the Bible of embarrassing details that lend validity to the reliability of the sacred text. The first example is taken from the books written by Moses. In Genesis 34:30, Moses records that Simeon and Levi are chastised by the patriarch Jacob because of their revenge on the city of Shechem (Genesis 34). I won’t recount the story here but it is important to understand that Moses is himself a descendant of Levi. It is not in Moses' interest to record a failure by his ancestor. Remember that in their culture so much honor was ascribed to being a part of their tribe. Moses would not have included such a condemnable offense if it were not true. The second example that I want to appeal to is that of the unbelief of even the disciples even after the resurrection. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives the disciples the instructions that we commonly call “The Great Commission” but in the immediately preceding verse (17) the text states that they worshiped Him, but some doubted. Usually when stories are retold the sense of surety among the characters grows stronger not weaker. However, the Apostles themselves recorded the embarrassing truth because it was the truth. The point is simply this, the Reformers got the gospel right because they had settled in their hearts the matter of revelation. Have you settled in your heart to trust God? Trusting God means trusting what He has revealed in the Bible, His holy word. If you are struggling to understand God’s holy character, harsh judgment against sin, gracious forgiveness in Christ and amazing hope filled promises it all starts with trusting His Word!  Request
There is an important distinction between asking and demanding. Sometimes this difference is seen not just in the words but in the tone that is being used. Many different dynamics come into the equation when a question is being asked. If it is an information gathering question then the variables are usually limited to does the person being asked have the information and do they want to divulge the information. Of course all kinds of moral questions can arise at this point dealing with the responsibility of different people to answer questions and even when it is ok to not answer or even purposely mislead the questioner. But in this post I want to consider the types of requests that are for help of some kind. This could include asking for some commodity, service, or time commitment. In any of these cases how should we think of both being asked and asking? Does the Bible give us clear instructions about these practical matters? Help In James 2, we are told that it is a basic reality that people who truly trust in Christ and have the new heart of life from the new covenant in Christ will not neglect the needs of those around them. Real faith necessarily produces good works! Saving faith is always active faith compelling the believer to mercy, grace, and compassion because they have been the recipient of so much mercy, grace, and compassion. Our actions do not make our faith a reality but they do demonstrate that our faith is a reality. Also in Luke 10, the Lord Jesus uses the story of a Samaritan man coming to the aid of a man who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead. The point of the story was to show that regardless of class, status, race, or any other mark of distinction those who truly love God will love people. All people! The Samaritan didn’t belong to the people group usually associated with genuine faith, but his faith was proved through what it produced in his life and actions. Please When the Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray in Luke 11, not long after the parable of the Samaritan, He gave them a lesson in how we as believers should come to God asking for good gifts. In the passages that we have discussed above we have been thinking about how our faith should affect the way we respond to needs and requests. But now we need to understand how real faith causes us to ask God for things. God does not desire for us to come to Him expecting to be rejected. He wants us to come boldly to His gracious throne (Hebrews 4:16), because He is eager to give us good gifts. All good gifts come from Him and He loves to give them (James 1:17). Because it is in the heart and nature of God’s character to give us these good gifts, we should come happily to ask for the right things. However, this does not mean that God is going to just hand over every gluttonous request because He only gives us good gifts and so He will not do anything that is going to ultimately not be a good and righteous gift. In the text mentioned above in Luke 11, Jesus encourages us to ask and keep asking because the one who asks receives. Since it is a truth taught by Jesus and a promise given by our Lord, what is it that you have been asking for? Is it possible that the vitality and hope and life and revival that we all say we want is only being held back by the fact that we aren’t asking for it? The point that Jesus is making in the text is that faithfully asking for these good gifts in the person of the Holy Spirit is persistent asking. This means that we ask and keep asking because we know our Father and we know He answers our prayers! |