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 98

Is there good news in examining a poem closely?  If it is in God’s word there is! 

I mentioned in a previous article that Solomon wrote this book of Ecclesiastes, which I believe is his book of repentance.  And in the 12th chapter Solomon has an admonition for all of us.  “Remember your creator” before it’s too late.  “Remember Him before the silver cord is severed or the golden bowl is broken.  Before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the breath returns to God who gave it.”  What a beautiful ending to a remarkable poem. 

We have, here in these first 7 verses of Ecclesiastes 12, a short yet vivid picture of the aging process.  So why have we come to study this poem in our article about “good news”?

We began four weeks ago considering the question “Do you find satisfaction through the things you accomplish in your life day to day?  And as an aid in answering this important question, I suggested we take a look at the book of Ecclesiastes.  In it we saw Solomon suggesting that the things done in this life, for purely secular and selfish reasons are a chasing after the wind and are utterly meaningless.  The truth of the matter is, anything we strive for in this world (i.e. “under the sun”), has little or no value if we have no hope of achieving entrance into the kingdom of God. 

Let’s look again at an entry from that previous article: “There is a book in the bible that, in my opinion, addresses this subject.  It is a book that I enjoy reading when the things of this life have gotten me down.  It has the tendency to help me center myself in the true meaning and reason that God has placed us here on earth.  The book of Ecclesiastes is a part of the bible called The Wisdom Literature”. 

As I read this book and slowly ponder its words, I consider the joy I get from serving a true and living and mighty and wonderful God!!!  I begin to forget my failures and frustrations and begin to let God erase them from my heart.  I ponder the joy of the blessing He has given to me.  I can once again “stand in awe of the works of His hands” and see and feel the beauty of His creation.  When read in this fashion, the book of Ecclesiastes can truly refresh.

The reality in all of this?  It becomes clear to me that it is all about God and not about me.  And so I come to the conclusion of the matter:  chapter 12 verse 10, “The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.  The word of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails – given by one Shepherd. …  Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Freedom is Good News Part 73

“Shout with joy to God, all the earth!  Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious!”  Psalm 66:1-2.

We continue to look at the Psalm we began in last article.  Let’s consider that last phrase, “make His praise glorious!”  Have you ever wondered how we might make our praise of God, glorious?  Well the secret is in the word “glorious”.  The Hebrew for this word is “Kabod” and it literally means “a great quantity or weight of a thing”.  Many times in scripture we find it written that God has glory or that He is glorious.  In Psalm 19:1 we read, “The heavens declare the glory of God”.  Have you ever looked up at the stars on a clear dark night?  I cannot take my eyes off of them.  If it’s summertime I just want to lie under the canopy of stars and experience the awesomeness of God’s creation.

The “great quantity” of stars gives us an inkling of the glory of God!  I can praise God from my innermost being – yes, I can make His praise glorious.

Verse 3 & 4:  “Say to God, ‘how awesome are your deeds!’  So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.  All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.”  Here we are at the beginning of February, and if you are like me you can’t wait for the first daffodil to poke its head out of the ground; then come the tulips and the lilacs; then the clematis, and on and on the flowers continue.  They give beauty to our eyes and precious scent to our noses.  Oh the wonders of God’s creation – it’s no surprise that David desires all the earth to bow down before Him.

David continues in this Psalm by asking us to “Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man’s behalf!  He reflects upon some of the awesome deeds that God did for David’s ancestors – the parting of the Red Sea for one, and he even praises God for some of the trials they and he went though.  He says, “We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance”.  It is not during good times that God teaches us the deep lessons of life.  No, it is more often in the trials and problems of life that God teaches us the profound lessons and then brings us to that “place of abundance”. 

These are the lessons that stay with us.  These are the lessons that we must cherish.  James tells us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

This Psalm 66 ends with the words, “Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!” 

More good news to come – stay tuned!!

Freedom is Good News Part 56

In the previous several articles we have considered the statement that Peter made to the crowd gathered during the Feast of Pentecost:  “Peter replied, “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.”  We have said that this short statement contains several concepts and have now made our way to the phrase, “for the forgiveness of sins”. 

First, I must say that we cannot draw close to God while in a sinful state.  In the book of Isaiah 59:1-2 we read this: “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”  Throughout the entirety of the bible, there are many scriptures that I would categorize as “scary”, and this is one of them!  My sins have caused a separation from my God; the one who has given me life itself, the one who provides for me in every way, the one who protects me in my every step of this life and the one who loves me more that I could ever grasp.  Yes, we all need our sins forgiven.

I am sure that some of you reading this have followed Peter’s admonition and have repented, been baptized into Christ Jesus and have had your sins forgiven.  Yet we live in a fallen world and we sin.  John in his first letter says this, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)  It has been rightly claimed that “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven”.  And so the good news is that we can and must repent of our sins and so be forgiven.  And the great news is that we may then fellowship with our Father and His Son. 

But some of you have not followed Peter’s admonition.  I wish you would.  A life of fellowship with our heavenly Father and His Son cannot compare with anything in this life.  The reality of this is found in that final statement of Peter, “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Notice I used the word “reality”.  This is not some “pie in the sky” dream we are looking at but the reality of the promise of our God.

God willing we will close up this series of articles by considering the “gift of the Holy Spirit”.  And so, the good news just keeps on coming!!

Until next time, rejoice in the “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Freedom is Good News Part 50

“I will say it again: Rejoice!”  In the last article we were considering the Apostle Paul’s remedy for finding ourselves living in sorrow and grief.  In Philippians 4:4-7 we find him telling us twice to rejoice.  But he tells us to rejoice “in the Lord” and he tells us to put on the attitude of gentleness.  This is interesting advice so far but he then goes on to tell us that the Lord we are calling on for joy is near.

In the book of 2 Chronicles 15:2 the prophet Azariah gives Asa, king of Judah a most precious message, he says, “The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you …”  This is a great promise that is echoed throughout the bible.  Moses understood that God would never leave him not forsake him and the same thing was echoed in the book of Hebrews 13:5.  When we call out to God and truly draw near to Him, He will be there with us.  Earlier in the book of Hebrews in 4:16 we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find help in our time of need.”  Yes, Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord for He is near.

In this quote from Paul’s letter we are next told not to be anxious about anything!  And isn’t this why we sometimes find ourselves in sorrow and grief – because we are anxious about the future?  We have had a loss and what will the future hold?  So, what is Paul’s remedy for this anxiousness?  “But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Did you notice there is a threefold expression of how we are to approach God?  Let’s look at the first two:  Prayer and petition.  Sometimes we think that when we might need something from God, we go to Him in prayer. But prayer is not a request.  It is actually defined in Greek as a word of sacred character.  It is devotion before our God.  The word “petition” is better defined as, “requesting a particular need or benefit”.  Paul uses both words as we: 1) Pray, i.e. Approach God with the worship, honor and praise due to the Supreme and Almighty Creator of the universe.  And 2) Petition, i.e. we present our request to be separated from our anxieties, and the turmoils we face and so enter into the rest that our Savior promised us in Matthew 11:28.

What about that third expression in the above quote?  What about “thanksgiving”?  There is a line in a song that may help us here, “I thank God for the storms He’s brought me through.  For if I never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.”  Sometimes we wonder why God brings trials upon us.  They hurt.  We feel alone.  They cause us anxiety.  There was a time in my life, some 38 years ago when I found myself all alone.  I won’t go into details but suffice it to say, I’d never experienced anything like it before.  At that time I realized there was only one place to turn.  I turned to God, in praise, with petition and with thanksgiving.  And as I look back on that day, I realize it was one of the happiest experiences of my life.  I found out just how close God was to me.

Yes, there is still more good news to come – God willing!

Freedom is Good News Part 49

It is true that there is good news today!  But do we sometimes lose sight of that fact?  I believe we are all prone to being overwhelmed by the cares and worries of this life and sometimes it feels that joy has not been abiding with us.  The loss of a loved one is perhaps the greatest cause of grief in one’s life.  I suppose one may find a list of the top ten reasons for the loss of joy and I would surmise that they would all contain the word “loss”.  Loss of job, home, self esteem, health etc., I am sure you could fill in the blanks from your life. 

The truth is, God is not a God of sorrow, nor has He called us to a life of sorrow.  So how do we get over the feeling that the walls are closing in on us?  How do we survive when we feel that tomorrow will only bring us more of the tears of today?

The short and easy answer here is to say that we must pray and read the word of God.  But what should we pray about and where in God’s word should we begin reading?  May I humbly suggest that we begin with the letter of Paul to the Philippians?  In chapter 4 verse 4 we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Let’s take a closer look at this statement.  “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  The word “rejoice” is the direct antithesis to the words “sorrow” or “grief”.  Paul is here telling us to turn our focus completely around.  He understands that it is fully within our capacity to accomplish this but he doesn’t just leave us wondering how to do it; He lets us know that we are to do this “in the Lord”.  In other words, we are to do this with God’s help.  God knows our hearts.  He knows our deepest needs.  He understands that sometimes we just hurt!  Think of it this way:  When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, we are told He was filled with inner grief and sorrow.  He said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”  The heavenly Father looked down and saw His Son, His only Son, whom He loved and we are told in the book of Luke 22:43 that He sent an angel, “An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him”.  Yes, God will strengthen us in our time of need also.  And yet that is not all; Paul tells us to rejoice “always”. 

“I will say it again: Rejoice!”  Paul wants us to know the truth of his statement and so repeats it.  And then Paul lets us know that if we need God’s help in our striving to rejoice, we should not show any harshness but we should “let our gentleness be evident to all.”  This is an important ingredient to the answer.

And so we shall, God willing, talk more on this subject next time!

Freedom is Good News Part 13

We finished the previous article by stating that the things in this life that are valuable and worthwhile are the things we must work for. My friends and brothers, the word of God is valuable, the word of God is worthwhile. There is nothing more beautiful than the things our creator wants to speak to us about. I can think of nothing more exciting than to be reading the scriptures and have my Father in heaven reveal a nugget of truth to me.

Sometimes that piece of truth is pure joy in my innermost being but sometimes I am hurt or cut to the heart by it. But just as a loving father must correct his children in ways that seem to hurt, so the Heavenly Father correct those that are His.

Our God is a faithful God. The scriptures tell us that all His ways are perfect. He alone knows that “big picture” and all His intentions for us are nothing but good. A beautiful description of this is found in the book of Hebrews 12:10, “Our (earthly) fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.” Yes, God wants us to share in His holiness. Wow!! I believe we would all accept His discipline in order to have His holiness imparted to us.

But where does this “pure joy” or this “correction” come from? Well, as has been said, it comes from our Heavenly Father. And how does He speak to us about these things? Well, in His word. For us, His word is found in the bible. In Paul’s comments to his beloved friend Timothy, he states this, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of … how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Paul wrote this letter (2 Timothy) around 65 A.D., sometime before he was martyred. At this point in time the only scriptures that Paul could have had in mind were what we call the Old Testament; for none of the New Testament had been written as of yet. But look at what Paul says about these scriptures, they are able to make you wise for salvation. They are useful for teaching, etc. You and I, today, have the amazing ability to purchase a bible with both of these testaments for a very small price. Perhaps you have a couple of copies in your home now. This access to the Word of God today is abundantly easy and inexpensive. This has not always been so. Several centuries ago, many people had to suffered torture and martyrdom so as to insure that future generations (like ours) might have access to the bible. And we don’t take the time to read it??? Shame on us!

There is so much more to be said.