Freedom is Good News Part 186

In December of last year (six articles ago) I proposed that we who are interested in good news (i.e. the Gospel) might consider that this Gospel can be understood within a four-fold purpose of God.  I hope that all of you are with me on this topic, for we are to begin looking into the fourth phase.

The final purpose of the Gospel is not the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is not the receiving of the Holy Spirit as a gift to those who accept the blood of Jesus, who repent of their sins and who undergo the waters of Baptism.

The real goal of the gospel, as Paul states it is, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (1Corinthians 15:51-54)

The implications of this scripture, if completely understood, should bring forth immense joy to all who will believe.  God, our God, our Father in heaven desires to impart to us an imperishable and immortal body!! 

Paul says a very similar thing in his first letter to the Thessalonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words”

Paul tells us that these words are for those of us who have a hope.  This is not a hope such as “I hope it doesn’t rain” or “I hope I’ll catch some fish”.  Those uses of the word hope are actually a wish based on nothing real.  The hope that God intends for us is an assurance of what He has promised based on His word of truth.  And God’s words are pure, holy and true.  Some of us believe this and some of us do not. 

First, to those who do not believe I must ask, what do you place your hope in?  Is it in this life that only ends in death?  That seems to me to be quite short sighted and actually very sad.  The world today seems to be spinning helplessly out of control (to borrow a lyric from Willie Nelson). 

But wait… let us rather look at the Good News.

Freedom is Good News Part 185

It seems as though I left our previous article with two separate thoughts that didn’t have an obvious connection.  I began by talking about water and its spiritual application to the gospel.  I mentioned how this water represented the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit upon the believer.  But then I ended with a Greek lesson on the word “zoe”; the word used in the Greek scriptures to introduce us to the spiritual life we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Let’s see how these two ideas are connected.

First of all, you need to answer a couple of questions.  Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit?  Do you understand the ramifications of being indwelt by God’s Spirit?  God sent His Son to prepare His disciples for a life of Godliness; but He did not leave the disciples (or any of us) all alone to face the problems and trials of this world – He poured out His Spirit into those who would believe in His Son, who would repent of the life they had been leading (as Paul put it, ‘slaves to sin’) and who would make that public declaration of being immersed in the waters of baptism.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)  This is one of the most amazing statements concerning the new life of a Christian. 

It is with this statement that we can begin to see the connection between water and life!  In Acts 2:38, Peter told the crowd that had gathered to “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  It is here that we see the progression of water in baptism to the water that is symbolic of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. 

It is the river of John 7:38 that reveals to us the gift of the Spirit that flows from the inner most part of a new believer.  “Whoever believes in Me” Jesus said, “Rivers of living water shall flow from within him”.  And now we may connect the differing thoughts from our previous article, ‘water’ and ‘life’!!

Paul tells us that if we have never taken this most precious step of repentance and baptism, we are, “Dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.” (Eph. 2:1)

But now hear this, “He said to me, ‘It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who overcomes will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev. 21:6-7)  This is the remarkable part of the third phase of the gospel – we can have the life of our God dwelling in us!! And it is absolutely free.

Stay tuned for phase four of this “Good News of God”.

Freedom is Good News Part 183

In our previous articles we have been considering, what I’ve been calling, the four phases of the Gospel.  The first phase was creation, some 6000 years ago, when the Father ordained that man would need a Savior; “The precious blood of the Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect was chosen before the creation of the world” (1 Peter 1:19).

The second phase is the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ upon this earth; “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you. …For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

We began looking at the third phase in our previous article.  It started with Christ’s ascension to the “Right hand of the Majesty on High” as it is stated in Hebrews 1:3.  We also saw, as a direct result of His resurrection into the heavenly realm, that we might become recipients of the Holy Spirit!

This is an awesome piece of information.  You and I, whom-ever we may be, have the incredible opportunity to have a part of the Godhead residing within us.  Does that understanding affect you in any way?  It should!

This understanding is taught throughout the scriptures.  In the book of Ezekiel 36:26-27 it says this, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my laws.”  The prophet Isaiah says this, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessings on your descendants.”  And Joel has this, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit”.

Our God is a holy God.  The Spirit of God is a holy Spirit.  And this Holy Spirit of God is that which is to be poured out upon the children of God!!  Wow!

In the Gospel of John chapter 7 verse 37, Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.”  The next sentence reveals what Jesus meant, “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.”

And by these words we have come full circle in these articles going all the way back about 6 articles.  So what is this living water and what does it mean to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Freedom is Good News Part 182

Who in the world said that there were four phases to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  OH!  I believe that I said that in our previous article.  So let me just say that this is an opinion of mine; but it is an opinion based on the scriptures.

Today we are to consider the third phase – let us do just that. 

In approximately 33 AD our Savior, having finished His ministry, gave up His life for you and me.  Thus the second phase was over, i.e. He shed His blood on the cross in order to redeem us from our slavery to sin.  After three days in the grave we know that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb.  (We read this in Matthew 28.)  As they approached, they felt the earth quake and an angel of the LORD rolled away the stone.  The tomb was empty.  The angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and that He would meet them in Galilee.

In Acts 1:3 we find that He appeared to the disciples for 40 days.  After these 40 days, we read in verse 9 that He was taken up before their eyes into heaven.  We now turn to Hebrew 1:3 and read that, “After He had provided purification for sins; He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High”.  And yes, the news of His sacrifice was good news but this turn of events is ‘really, really GOOD NEWS!!

In John’s first epistle, 2:1, we find that “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, sits as a counselor to the Father on our behalf”.  We also read this statement by Jesus in John’s gospel chapter 16:7, “Unless I go away, the Counselor (that is the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you”.  The coming of the Holy Spirit was contingent upon Jesus resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Phase three had begun!!

In Acts chapter 2:37, when the crowd asked Peter what they were to do with his message to them, he replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

This repentance and baptism would be the beginning of a new life for those who would believe.  The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans 6:1, says it like this, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  Paul says that we are not to continue in sin, for we have had to repent of our sins and repentance is not just feeling sorry for sins, but a turning from that kind of life and toward a new life abiding in the Savior.

Wow!! We’ve said a mouthful (or at least Paul did) and there is a lot to digest here; so until our next issue let me remind you that we do have good news.

Freedom is Good News Part 181

For God so loved His creation that He gave His only begotten Son; you and I are a part of that creation.  It was for us that Jesus died.  And so begins the story of the Gospel.  But that story did not begin some 2000 years ago with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth – that story began from the creation of the world.

Our God had known from the beginning of time that mankind would need a Savior and so His plan was set in motion.  In his first letter Peter makes this statement, “The precious blood of the Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect was chosen before the creation of the world” (1 Peter 1:19).  People like to ask the question as to what would have happened if Adam and Eve had not sinned.  But this is not a profitable question.  The reality is that they did sin and so for about 6000 years mankind has had to suffer the consequences.

God knew their frame and their abilities.  He knew the adversary, Satan, would be a more than formidable opponent.

But what about this gospel, this good news that began before the world began.  I suppose we might understand that the good news we are considering started with creation: for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and on the seventh day He rested. 

Approximately 4000 years later the Savior, the Son of God, was born of a virgin into some very humble beginnings.  At the age of about 30 Jesus began His ministry with His baptism by John and then went to Galilee.  Luke puts it this way:  “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole countryside.  He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised Him.  He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom.  He stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.  Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.’”

Yes, this section of scripture from Isaiah 61:1 was His mission statement.  What happened next is best told by Mathew, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matt.4:23)  These things He continued to do for three and a half years.  We know that His life was taken at the time of Passover and if we back up those three and a half years we come to the fall of approximately 27 A.D.  This was the second phase of God’s good news.  Many people heard the gospel and news of Him spread quickly.

We shall visit about the third and fourth phase of this gospel in the future, God willing.

Freedom is Good News Part 168

As we finish this six week study let me summarize by saying that salvation comes by faith and the reward that our Savior is bringing with Him is based upon our obedience in doing His word and His will – as our father Abraham did.

In Matthew we find a very curious scripture that talks about these two aspects of doing God’s word and His will, it is found in 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Here we find “many” who, after prophesying, casting out demons and doing mighty works in the Lord’s name, have Jesus say unto them that He never knew them and He tells them to depart!  Why?  Evidently they did not do the will of the Father and they were workers of lawlessness.

Let’s consider this for a few minutes.  First of all, what is the will of God?  This sounds quite serious because we do want to be able to enter the kingdom of God!!  We could possibly fill a book seeking to answer this but let’s look for our answer in a different area of this scripture in Matthew.  Jesus declares that ‘I never knew you’.  This word ‘knew’, in the Greek language, is “ginosko”.  Vines dictionary of biblical Greek tells us that the word frequently indicates a relationship, often between God and man or between a husband and wife.  This is a word that shows intimacy and so Jesus is intimating a lack of relationship.  If one does not have a relationship with Him then He does not know them.  Hence, it is God’s will that we seek Him with all our heart so as to form a relationship of love with Him!

But what about this statement, “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  What is a worker of lawlessness?  Again, we can go to the Greek to understand this word – it is used of one who “acts contrary to law”.  Paul tells us that God’s law is holy, righteous and good and Jesus wants us to be a “worker of the law” or, one who is “obedient in doing His word” as I mentioned in the first paragraph.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 14:23, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my word.  My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”  Wow!!  The Father and Son will choose to live in me – now that is a heavy statement.  A couple of verses before that, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.  He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Friends and brethren, this is the relationship Abraham had with God.  It is as intimate as it gets.  There is no greater reward for us to receive than to have this intimacy with the Father and His Son.  And this is what we should strive for.  Salvation?  Yes!  Access to God through Jesus’ blood?  Of course!  But what a reward He has set before us!!!  Think about these things.

Freedom is Good News Part 165

In the book of Genesis we meet a man by the name of Abram (which literally means – father of height).  We know this man as Abraham (God changed his name in chapter 17 to mean father of nations).  In Genesis 12, God chooses Abram to be the father of His chosen people and God promises to bless him greatly if, in his obedience, he leaves the home of his family and comes to the land God will show him; and not only show him but also give to his descendants.  God states the blessing in Genesis 12:2&3, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

In chapter 15 God tells Abram that He has a great reward coming, but Abram reminds God that he has no heirs to leave it to, only a faithful servant.  God tells him, “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”  And he took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’.  And he believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”  This is where we were a couple of weeks ago, when we talked of Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 4:3. “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  God promised him many, many offspring!

Who is this son that God says will be Abram’s heir.  Well, if we keep reading in Genesis we come to find out that his heir is named Isaac.  Isaac has a son named Jacob; whose name is later changed to Israel and he has 12 sons who become the nation of Israel.  But wait!  There is a curious scripture in Galatians 3:7 “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.  And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’”

Paul says that God preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham and what is the gospel?  That Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham would die for the sins of mankind and that through His resurrection would bring life to all who believed!!  What might we deduce from these statements?  We should see that all nations have now been blessed through Abraham because his offspring, through time, became the Savior of all mankind, i.e. all nations. 

Remember, we have been talking these past few weeks, about receiving the reward that our Savior will have with Him when He returns to earth, Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to his works.”  This reward consists of both blessing and cursing depending on our works.  Jesus tells us in John 8:39, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the works that Abraham did.”  I believe in that previous article, we were attempting to see what works Abraham accomplished.  And now after laying this ground work, we shall.  Sooooo …. Let’s stay tuned because father Abraham has much to teach us.

Freedom is Good News Part 152

Romans 2:4:  “Do you show contempt for the riches of His goodness, tolerance and patience, not knowing that God’s goodness leads you to repentance?”  In our previous article, I made a bold statement: I said we might be showing contempt for God by not understanding our need for repentance when compared to the goodness of God. 

Just how do we see our repentance?  Some 40 years ago I was brought face to face with the law of God.  A good friend and co-worker tried to show me a few things from the word of God.  I had never read the bible and knew nothing of what he was trying to tell me.  He asked me if I knew that there was something called the Ten Commandments and of course I knew about these ten.

He then asked me if I had ever read them.  Well I suppose that in my earlier life as a student in a parochial school for 12 years, I had seen them and well, yes, maybe I had read them.  He then proceeded to ask me if I had a bible in my home and if so would I turn to Exodus 20 and read them.  Well it turned out that I did have a bible and after finding Exodus 20 I read the Ten Commandments.

I had been taught, in that parochial school, about the commandments of God but when I read them for myself I realized that I had to turn my life around and begin to walk toward the great God and creator of all things.  Yes, my life began to change.  However, it took me an additional 2 years, almost to the day, to understand the concept of repentance.  Two years of talking to God.  Two years of arguing with God.  Two years of pushing God away from me.  But God was gentle.  He was patient.  He was kind.  He showed His love.  And yet I had never realized the concern that God had for me a sinner.

Somehow He wanted me to be one of His children.  I had never been one to join a group.  I tried boy scouts but left after a short time.  I was asked to visit several service organizations but couldn’t get myself to feel comfortable in joining.  But this was different.  This was God, the one who ruled the universe, wanting me to be a part of His family – how could I continue to refuse?  This was larger than anything I had ever encountered.

I talked to my friend and co-worker and told him of my thoughts.  I asked him to tell me what I should do with this new revelation of mine.  He went to the scriptures and showed me Acts chapter 2.  You see, there was a group of “religious” people who had gathered to hear the Apostle Peter deliver a message and that message “cut them to the heart”.  Peter spoke of the prophet Joel and how he had prophesied that God was going to pour out His Spirit on all people.  He told them of this Jesus of Nazareth who performed many miracles.  He told them that this Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.  And then he said this, “Therefore let all the house of Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  Their response?  “Brothers, what shall we do?”  Peter was quick with the reply, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)  Pretty simple?  Maybe; but quite amazing.

I needed to hear that and so I responded!!

Freedom is Good News Part 148

Our Savior, our King, the Anointed one of God is the one who will take to Himself a bride at the conclusion of this age.  We have been looking at Psalm 45 in regards to this topic and have covered the verses that apply to “the groom”.  Let us now consider His bride.

I said last week that we do not know whom the Psalmist was writing about – the bride and groom of his day has not been revealed to us; although we do know that the groom is a king!  We have seen indications that these verses have implications concerning the ultimate wedding of the future and have in view the wedding of Jesus Christ and the church.

What does this Psalm have to say about the bride – the bride of Christ!!

Verse 10 says this, “Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: forget your people and your father’s house.”  There is a threefold admonition given to the bride: listen, consider and give ear.  The psalmist is serious about what he is going to say.  The first word is from a Hebrew term which means “to give undivided attention”.  The second word means “to observe or perceive” and the third literally means “to stretch forth the ear”.  I guess we’d better take notice of what comes next!

On the heels of this threefold admonition the bride is told to “forget your people and your father’s house.”  Strong words for a new bride.  But this is no ordinary bride; this bride is the church.  Everyone alive today has a lineage that goes back to Adam.  We have what may be called an “Adamic nature” and it is this family line and this father that we would do well to forget.  The Apostle Paul uses the words “the old man”, for the Adamic nature and he tells us in Romans 6:6 that “the old man has been crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be done away with”.  In Ephesians 4:22 Paul tells us to, “Put off the old man which is being corrupted by deceitful desires, … and put on the new man, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”  And again in Colossians 3:9, “…. You have taken off the old man with its practices, and have put on the new man, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”  So forget your family.

This is reminiscent of one in the lineage of Christ.  Her name is Ruth.  You would do yourself well to read this very short 4-chapter book.  It is filled with faith, hope and love.  It has suspense, relationship and romance.  And so much more!!  Ruth is a Moabitess whose Israelite husband has died and her widowed mother-in-law urges her to return to her family.  Ruth’s reply is beautiful, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go and where you lodge I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.  May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death separates me from you.”  Wow!!  There is no need to guess about this young lady’s faith. 

More on this next time.  Good news to you all!

Freedom is Good News Part 146

I will assume that everyone reading these articles has attended a wedding at some time or the other.  They are joyful occasions.  Indeed they are probably near the top of the list of joyful occurrences for which a man and woman make plans.

What is your favorite part?  The music starts, the crowd stands and the bride walks down the aisle; or how about when the two exchange vows, the pastor asks the question, “do you take this man/woman….”, and the bride and groom answer “I do!”.  Maybe your favorite part is when the two are pronounced “husband and wife”; they kiss and then turn to walk down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife.  And then there is the reception – always a lot of fun filled joy.

Yes, weddings are a special event.  But have you ever stopped to wonder why weddings are such a big deal?  They are planned for months and if the couple is not careful, they may end up costing thousands of dollars.  So what’s the big deal?

The institution of marriage was ordained by God Almighty.  It was He who said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  (Gen. 2:24)  I have a friend who would probably answer the above question stating, “It’s a God thing”.  I often find it curious when a couple who are professing atheists make sure that they plan for a wedding and make it a big deal.  They do not believe in God and yet they are portraying; or should I say, “acting out” a very symbolic aspect of the Gospel of the kingdom of God.

In the Old Testament, God intimated through many of the prophets that He had taken Israel for a wife and then chastised the Israelites for not remaining faithful. (See especially Hosea 1 & 2; Ezekiel 16)  This also is an interesting symbolism – it is a “template” placed upon the reality of what God will do with His Son, Jesus,  and the Church.

The Apostle John alludes to this in his gospel when he quotes John the Baptist saying, “You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’  The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.  The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.  He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John the Baptist understood the reality of the wedding that will take place in the heavenly realm.  In some ways, one might say that this future marriage is the fulfillment of the Gospel, i.e. the Good News.  Let’s consider this future event in a future article.

Freedom is Good News Part 145

Yes indeed, the word of God is filled with good news!  From beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation we find that God, our God, not only desires good things for His creation but continues to let us know that He has blessings for us. 

Sometimes we look at our lives and  think, that, because things have gone awry, God doesn’t care about us.  We cannot see beyond the clouds and rain and storm; sometimes our prayer is just a cry out to God, “Why?  Why is this happening to me?”  Have you ever consider that He may be trying to get our attention and so teach us something?

Oft times we human beings will only consider our situation when things go wrong!  When we have all that we need and our lives seem to be moving along quite nicely we have a tendency to forget about the one who cares about us more than we could ever comprehend. 

Some time ago a wise friend posed a question to myself and some others, “Why is it” he asked, “that we only seek God in earnest when we are in trouble or having problems?  What if we would learn to seek Him when things are going well in our lives and then we might watch the blessings of grace and mercy flow from the one we call our Father?”

I have striven to break that old habit.  I try to remain mindful of the reality that God is always near and I can and should talk with Him often, praising Him and telling Him of my love for Him.  There is an old hymn from the late 1800s titled, “Take Time to be Holy”.  I truly enjoy singing it.  The opening line goes like this, “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.  Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.”

King David put it this way in the 34th Psalm, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be on my lips.  My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

David first tells us what he is going to do “at all times” and “continually”.  And then he invites us to join him in “magnifying the LORD” and “exalting His name”.  I do not believe there ever was a person, from this earth, who desired to please God more than David!!  He wrote a little later, in this same Psalm, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” 

You know, I really like ice cream and when I find a flavor that tastes wonderful, I want to taste more!!  My friends, God is more than wonderful.  He is better than anything this world has to offer.  In 1 Peter 2:2, the apostle Peter writes this, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  If indeed!!  I know of nothing that tastes better.

Freedom is Good News Part 135

How powerful are words?  Concerning His own “words”, God said this, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.”  Wow!  That is a long time. 

In our previous article I mentioned that God spoke and the heavens and the earth were created.  God’s words are powerful!!

Here is how the apostle John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  We may wonder what John is saying here but he goes on to explain, “(this Word) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came unto His own but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God; born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”  I think it is especially interesting that John is inspired, by the Spirit of God, to call the one who would become the Savior, by the term “the Word”. (John 1:1-14)

Yes, God’s word is the ultimate in power and authority.  It is by His words that we truly have life, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  That everyone of us can have access to this word of His is truly a gift from God.  We have access to the written word of God because down through the ages men have given their lives to ensure its availability.  For a very modest amount of money, we may have this treasure to hold in our hands! 

But we have access to the true and living Word of God, Jesus Christ.  It is interesting how the bible describes this access to the Living Word.  In John 6:44 Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  Earlier in this same chapter we read, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37)  And then once more in verse 65, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has given it to him.” 

Access to this Living Word – Jesus Christ – is limited to the will of the Father.  I feel compelled to say, “Thank you, Father, for drawing me to your Son.” 

If you run across a new word that you have never used before, it is easy to get a dictionary and find its meaning.  (Oh, I know, nobody uses the dictionary anymore; you just ask your smart phone for the definition and bingo, you have it.)  But what if you want to come to know the true and living Word?  That is where the written word comes in.  Are you a curious person?  Are you one who wants to add to your knowledge?  The written word of God is a true treasure, filled with knowledge and understanding.  What?  It’s not easy, you say?  All things of value take hard work to attain.  But God is always there to help.  It may not be immediate, for God wants us to seek Him with all our heart.

Freedom is Good News Part 132

How much are you worth?  No, I am not interested in your monetary value, but I am interested in the intrinsic value of your life!  We could start off with a very familiar scripture and realize that we are “worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31); but that is not telling us very much.

So, how much is your life worth?  “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”  We have been looking at Isaiah 53 in our previous articles and this quote is a continuation of that piece of scripture; it is found in verse 5.

I had mentioned that Isaiah 53 is arguably the greatest prophecy of the crucifixion of our Savior in the entirety of the bible.  It fits so closely that many Rabbinical Jews do not know what to do with it – for they reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah and yet…..it fits!!

So, I ask again, how much is your life worth?  This “suffering Servant” of the LORD God, this Savior of all mankind, was nailed to a wooden cross for us; “He was pierced for our transgressions”.  This Son of God was beaten, spit upon and mocked; “He was crushed for our iniquities”.  This Redeemer died for you and for me; “Upon him was the punishment that brought us peace”.  “And with his stripes we are healed”, healed from the disease of unrighteousness, healed from the sins that lead to death! 

Do you begin to see just how much your life is worth?  God desires our redemption!  God desires that we accept His free gift of grace!  God, our Father, sent His only begotten Son as a ransom for our lives!  The bible tells us that God is “unwilling that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)  The love of God is not just good news, it is the greatest news that the ears of mankind could hear.

Isaiah continues in verse 6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the LORD had laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  God showed His love for us even when we were yet sinners; even when we turned away from Him; even when we desired nothing but our own ways to walk in!

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”  Have you ever wanted your own way?  Have you ever argued your own opinion to the point where you almost lost a friend?  By our human standards, Jesus had every reason to “open His mouth” and state His case – but He didn’t.  He submitted to the will of His father and, “He humbled Himself becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:8)  Hallelujah, what a Savior! 

And so I ask you, what is your life worth in God’s eyes?

Freedom is Good News Part 131

In Isaiah 53:1 the prophet begins by asking the question, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”  Have you ever come face to face with a question straight from the word of God and realized that you had to have an answer for it?  If we are serious about the word of God then our answer must be yes!

In the four gospels, for instance, Jesus asks some 300 questions.  The use of questions was a rabbinical way of teaching and Jesus was a master at it.  He had all the answers to every question posed to Him, after all He is the Son of God!  But in these four Gospels, Jesus was asked approximately 180 questions and directly answered very few of them.  His answers to these queries sometimes came with a question of His own as He attempted to get people to think for themselves.  Sometimes He answered with a scripture.

I opened this article with a quote form Isaiah and he would have us answer his questions; 1) have you believed his message?  And 2) has the arm of the LORD been revealed to you?  Maybe we should take the time and ponder these questions!!

In the original Hebrew there were no chapter breaks (these were added somewhat recently as an aid for us) and so we may look back a few verses to 52:10, “The LORD will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.”  I believe this is perhaps the answer to both questions.  The arm of the LORD has been revealed to all the nations and the message of Isaiah has to do with God’s salvation.

So let’s read on in Isaiah 53,  “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground;  he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”  Who is this of whom Isaiah speaks?  Do we know this one?

Let’s read on, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”  Logically speaking, there is only one who fulfills all of these statements – Jesus Christ!

In our previous article I made reference to a song, “Hallelujah, what a Savior”.  The first verse of that song is, “Man of Sorrows, what a name, for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim!  Hallelujah, what a Savior.” 

There is more to this 53rd chapter of Isaiah that we shall take a look at.  It, along with the final few verses of chapter 52, is arguably the greatest prophecy of the crucifixion of our Savior in the entirety of the bible and it was written about 730 years before the birth of Jesus. 

Do you believe the message?  Has the arm of the LORD been revealed to you?

Freedom is Good News Part 124

I mentioned in our previous article that, “the grace of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Remember the short definition of grace we used last week?  “Grace is getting something that you do not deserve.”  Do any of us deserve eternal life?  Well, actually – NO, we do not.  Does that come as a surprise to you?  It should not be surprising if you are familiar with the word of God.  Because through the scriptures we are brought into a knowledge of God – who He is and what His will is for us, His children.  We come to see just what it is that God requires of us and just what God will do for us.

I have mentioned many times before that God desires a relationship with us, but that there is no way for us to enter into that relationship while we are dead in our sins.  Yes, it is axiomatic that we needed a Savior, a Redeemer, someone who would be willing to bear the burden of our sins – and that someone is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.  This redemption from God fits within our short definition of mercy, “mercy is not getting what you deserve.”

Our God is a Holy God, this we know.  But do we truly realize that our Holy God cannot dwell with that which is unclean (unholy)?  We accept the blood of Jesus, we believe He cleanses us from our sin and we obey His holy and righteous commands so as to begin to form a relationship with Him.  And God promises eternal life.  If we will accept it, He gives us a “helper” to guide us in this path of righteousness.  Why do I say, ‘if we will accept it’?  Because many of us do not utilize this gift – this grace – of our Father. 

I know that some of this can be quite deep.  But it really only brushes the surface of the depth of the goodness and love that God has for us, His children. 

At His last Passover (sometimes called the last supper) Jesus says this, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to abide with you forever – the Holy Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-17).   Some translations of the bible say He will give us a ‘Comforter’ and the Greek word that Jesus uses actually has the meaning of ‘one who come to the aid, comfort or consolation of another’.  God in His goodness and His grace is willing to give to us repentant sinners, a piece of His very self to aid, comfort and console us.

In other words, God is rooting for us all the way.  He wants – yea even desires – that we successfully navigate this world around us, to keep our hearts, our minds and our eyes fixed upon Him. 

He has given us His only begotten Son.  He has given us His written instructions in the bible.  He has given to us the counselor; a part of His very being.  These are things that a hundred generations before us never were privileged to understand.

Yes, He loves us more that we could ever know.  Would you meditate upon these things?  Would you get on your knees today and visit with Him?  Would you thank Him for His GOOD NEWS?

Freedom is Good News Part 122

In our previous article we considered the statement ‘God is good’.  And I asked the question as to whether you might know someone who believes that the God of the Old Testament is mean, angry and harsh.  How would you answer them?

I might start off by quoting the verse from James 1:17 (the verse I ended with last week) “(God) does not change like shifting shadows”; or perhaps the verse in Malachi 3:6, ‘I the LORD do not change’; or maybe Hebrews 13:8, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever’.  These three scriptures are quite persuasive in letting us know that God did not change His ways from the front of our bibles to the back of them! 

It was Jesus Himself who told us that ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’.  And in the letter of 1 John 4:8 & 16 we find out that ‘God is love’!  Peter chimes in with his second letter 3:9, ‘The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you; He is  not willing that anyone should perish, but that  everyone should come to repentance.’

Wow!!  This God we are called to serve really does love His creation – He loves us and desires that we abide with Him and His Son for all eternity. 

One thing we must know about God; He is a God of justice.  He told our first parents, Adam and Eve, what not to do.  They paid no attention and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then they denied culpability for the sin, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”  Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”  The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen. 3:11-21)  This was the world’s first example of passing the buck. 

Again, God is a God of justice and so punishment needed to be meted out.  God went back up this ladder of blame and cursed the serpent first, then punished the woman and finally pronounced punishment upon the man.  Then God, in His mercy and love for His children, provided garments of protection and modesty.

Do you remember how God worded His one and only commandment to Adam?  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

In a manner of speaking, they did die that day.  The special fellowship they had enjoyed with God in the garden ended and any promise of eternal life for them ended that day.  But on the other hand, the God of mercy and grace, bestowed upon them His forgiveness. 

Freedom is Good News Part 115

In the past couple of articles, we have seen that although the good news of the Gospel consists of the life, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it does not end there.  In fact, the resurrection of Christ begins for us (upon whom the ends of the age have come) the realization of the good news that was prophesied in the Old Testament.  But this good news, in all actuality, never ends!  For it finds its fulfillment in the eternal life that is promised to God’s called, chosen and faithful followers.

Are you there yet?  Have you been called by God?  If called, then have you been chosen?  And so, if called and chosen, are you faithful?

These three categories, called, chosen and faithful, are found in the book of Revelation 17:14:  “And they will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.”

To be with our Lord and King at that time, is news of such great joy that it is really inexpressible!  But you must be called, chosen and faithful!!

In Matthew 22:14, just after Jesus telling of the parable of the wedding supper, we read, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Does that concern you?  Do you wonder, sometimes; perhaps you have been called of God but for some reason haven’t been chosen of God?  I mean, why would God call someone and not chose him?

There are many ways in which God may call an individual.  Paul addresses this when he says in 1Cor. 3:6, “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but it is only God who makes it grow.”  I must figure that everyone who is reading these articles are familiar with their bibles.  Perhaps many of you attend a worship service, at least from time to time.  Within the pages of the bible are many potential seeds that may be planted in the heart of the reader.  Within the words of a sermon or bible study are also many potential seeds.  And so it is within these articles, potential seeds abound. 

I mention that they are “potential seeds” because although they enter your brain through your reading or your hearing, those who are chosen of God are the ones that allow them to be planted within their hearts.  Remember the parable in Matthew 13 concerning the “Sower and the Seed”.  Some seed fell on the path to be eaten by the passing birds; some fell on rocky places but because of shallow soil the new shoots quickly withered; some fell  among the thorns and were choked out and died; but some fell on good fertile soil and grew, producing a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

So, receiving the seeds means you have been called.  But what kind of soil are you?  I believe God makes it clear that we must be good soil if we are to be found chosen.  God does the calling and the choosing but we must prepare the soil!!

Perhaps we should look at this some more next time.

Freedom is Good News Part 114

Well of course there is “good news”.  It is all around us.  There is joy and there is happiness and there is a merry heart for all who will believe!!  God tells us through Moses, “The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”  Jesus Christ died for you and for me that we might be reconciled to the Heavenly Father; that is good news.  We had been reckoned as sinners as the result of being descendants of our first father and mother; Adam and Eve.  But thanks be to God for the life we are offered through the Son of God!

May we level with each other through the confines of these words – without this sacrifice of the Son of God, we have no hope!!  As I mentioned in our previous article, we will have perhaps 70, 80 or 90 years to enjoy physical life (the only thing we, as human beings, know), and then we die.  Or as the scripture in John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  If we do not believe, we perish!

This is quite interesting because our God (the one and only God) is offering to us, free of charge, an extension of this life we have been experiencing and yet this extension is in no way to be compared to some overtime period in a field of sports – this is life eternal!!  It is interesting because most people on this earth do not accept this idea.  Let us bring that closer to home – most people in this country of ours do not accept this idea.  What about in the state of Iowa, the county of Shelby or even this local community of ours?  How about those of you reading this newspaper – do you accept this idea?

In our previous article, we paid a short visit (through a vision of the Apostle John) to the throne room of God.  We were in Revelation chapter 4.  John was permitted to see things that he, frankly, had no words to describe.  Throughout the book of Revelation, John uses metaphors, similes and analogies to try and get across the idea of what he saw.  The Apostle Paul had a similar experience that he mentions in 2 Corinthians 12:1, “I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—  and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.”  Paul, one of the foremost servants of God in the New Testament, was not permitted to tell of his experiences when in the “third heaven” that is, the place where God dwells.

Then we find Moses, one of the foremost servants of God in the Old Testament, spending time in the presence of God.  Moses was not permitted to see God’s face but was allowed to experience that presence.  When God came down in the cloud on Mount Sinai, Moses bowed his face to the ground and worshiped.  And when Moses came down from the mount into the camp of Israel, his face had a radiant glow.  The scriptures say that the people were afraid to come near him!! (Ex. 34:8 & 29-30)  My friends, think upon these things and until next time, remember, we have good news all around us.

Freedom is Good News Part 113

What is it that you expect to be doing one thousand years from now?  To tell you the truth, it is hard to see that far into the future isn’t it?  On this earth, the bible tells us, we might expect to have 70 years of physical life.  This is what it says in Psalm 90:10, “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty if we have the strength.”

There are many people in our little community that must have great strength for they have reached into their eighties and even into their nineties!!  At some point though, we must die – as the old saying goes, “there are no survivors on this planet”.  But then what?  If our names are written in the book of life, we wait for the resurrection from the dead.  But then what?  Whoa, let’s not go too fast here.  What do I mean by no survivors?

In the book of Hebrews 9:27 it is written, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement….”  Yes, all of us are given just this one opportunity to live a fleshly existence.  And even though Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51), those that do not “sleep” must shed this flesh and be clothed with a new body.  Paul goes on to say, “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed,  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:52-53)

OK, so what do you expect to be doing one thousand years from now? Is your name written in God’s book of life?

The most famous scripture in the bible is arguably John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  It we are looking for good news, this is a very good place to start.  (OK, if we are true to God’s word, we should start at Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” But that is a topic for another time!)

God gave us His only begotten Son that through His death, we may receive life.  And that life is the life we are talking about – eternal life!  That life is beyond our understanding, beyond our comprehension and beyond anything we might imagine!!  It is a life spent with our Heavenly Father and with His Son.  It is a life that will be filled with joy and peace.  It is a life that will be spent experiencing the true glory of God – a glory that today is not available to us.  “Then Moses said, ‘show me your glory’.  And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you and I will proclaim my name, Yahovah, …. But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’” (Ex. 33:18-20)  In that day we will be allowed to see what the Apostle John saw when he was “in the Spirit”, “At once I was in the Spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.  A rainbow resembling an emerald, encircled the throne …. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder ….”

What an awesome experience!!  And truly Good News.  Stay tuned for more.

Freedom is Good News Part 99

“Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’”  This is from the sixth verse of Psalm 4 and it seems quite appropriate for us today!  In fact, if I go back to where these articles began, I realize this is the reason for writing these articles.  Where do we find any good?

Would you mind if we take a look at this Psalm in its entirety?  Perhaps there is a lesson in it for us all.

This particular Psalm is a Psalm of King David (not all Psalms were written by him).  If we know anything about David, we understand that his life, although filled with a desire for God’s presence, was never really a “bed of roses”.  In Psalm 3:1 he writes, “O LORD, how many are my foes!”  This was written when he was fleeing from his son Absalom (the tale is told in 2 Samuel 15.)  As is true of most of God’s true servants, David had a hard life.

Psalm 4 may be broken down into 3 separate sections: first - verse 1, an urgent plea; second - verses 2–5, a protest against his enemies; and third - verses 6–8, an expression of security in God.  Verse 1 is actually 4 separate pleas to God: “Answer me when I call”, “Give me relief”, “Be merciful to me” and “Hear my prayer”.  These 4 pleas, made in rapid succession, emphasize the urgency of David’s plight.

Verse 2: “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?  How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?”  David knew that he had enemies but he also knew – as it is said in the next verse – “The LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him.”  At this point, David turns toward you and me, the readers, and admonishes us in verses 4 & 5, “In your anger do not sin … search your hearts and be silent … and trust in the LORD.” 

David gives us a snapshot of his trials.  He lets us know that the things in life aren’t always fair and pleasant, but we can always turn to our Heavenly Father for help.

And so we come to where we started, “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’”  David goes on from here to answer this question, “Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.  You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  I will lie down and sleep in peace for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

Perhaps the lesson for us is that even though David found himself in difficult situations in this physical life, he knew that it was only in the presence of God that true joy might be found!  So then, who alone can show us any good?  I believe you know the answer – God alone!!  And that is good news.