Freedom is Good News Part 10

In my last article we saw that there are “types” in the scriptures. Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son “his only son whom he loves”. God uses the same words for Isaac that He would later use in describing Jesus – God’s only Son. Some people think that this was a terrible thing for God to do to His servant Abraham. But the reality is that God, who is love itself, was having Abraham set up a type; a symbol of the reality of what was to come some 2080 years in the future. God knew that when Abraham raised the knife to sacrifice Isaac, He would send an angel to stop the action.

I mentioned that this is played out in Genesis 22 and if you have read the chapter this past week (because I piqued your curiosity in the last article) then you know how Isaac asked his father as they walked up the mount “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham’s response is very telling, “God will Himself provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” This answer from a father to his son is “the gospel”, for God our Father did indeed provide the lamb for a sacrifice. It is in the book of John wherein John the Baptist says to his disciples, “behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29 & 36) as he pointed to Jesus.

Now if you’ve been following along you can see how both Matthew and John work hand in hand to reveal information. Matthew said that his book concerned, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”. We’ve looked at the son of Abraham and correlated the account in Genesis with John calling Jesus “the Lamb of God”. (I told you this was getting good!!) And if you are paying close attention, you’ve noticed that the opening statement in Matthew says that Jesus was the Son of David.

David’s son was Solomon and he became the king when David died. The name Solomon is derived from the Hebrew word for peace, “shalom”. And we know from Isaiah 9:6 that Jesus is called “Prince of Peace”. This is one of His titles! But more than that, Solomon was to be the one who would build God’s house – God’s temple. This is also a type for us to learn from in the Old Testament because in the book of Hebrews Jesus is referred to as the builder of God’s house (see Heb. 3:1-6).

If we consider these two “types” from the Old Testament, we can see that God wishes to teach us that Jesus, as the Son of Abraham, was sacrificed for us as the Lamb of God and, as the Son of David, He would become the King of kings and reign as king over the house of God. This is pretty special, isn’t it?

Why are these types used in the Old Testament? Because God wants mankind to understand that all of His works have been known from the beginning. When God told Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”, He was proclaiming the Gospel to His servant Abraham.

Until next time….

Freedom is Good News Part 9

The first four books of the New Testament are called “the Gospels”. These books are the written words of four eye witnesses of the ministry of Jesus Christ. I think it is interesting to call them “eye witness accounts” because in many ways that is indeed what they are. In the Old Testament, God told the children of Israel that “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”. (Deuteronomy 19:15) Jesus even quotes this passage in Matt. 18:16! But in having the witnesses of God’s Son and His ministry be four, it is almost like God saying “make no mistake about this matter!”

There are many historical events that we take as fact even when there are no more than one or two witnesses having written about them. And yet today there are more and more people who discount the validity of the bible or want to change it to suit their own thoughts and ideas which contradict the four witnesses of the events surrounding Jesus’ life and ministry.

Have you read through these four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? The first three of these are called the synoptic gospels. The word “synoptic” coming from two Greek words meaning “similar view” (literally: same eye). Matthew, Mark and Luke wrote about very similar things but basically were writing to different audiences. John on the other hand writes of very different episodes in the life of Jesus and only quite rarely touches on the things that the other three take up.

Within these four books of the bible, which are called “the Gospels” (the good news) are tremendous amounts of uplifting stories. The overall theme is of course the story of a very loving God who is willing to sacrifice His Son - “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matt.3:17) – in order that we, His creation who are sinners, may obtain eternal life through His death.

The book of Matthew begins in 1:1 by stating, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”. This statement lays the foundation of all that follows in the gospels and all that is yet to come!! Jesus is indeed the son (or descendant) of Abraham. But the literal son of Abraham is to be a type of the Messiah showing all who would have eyes to see that a savior would come through the lineage of Abraham. The story is found in Genesis. God has already told Abraham that he would have a son in his old age - a miracle birth (Gen. 18:10-15) - and that all peoples on the earth would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:2-3). And then in Gen. 22:2 God says this to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love (sound familiar – a type of God the Father and His Son) … sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. It just so happens that this mountain, Mount Moriah, is the same mountain in Jerusalem where, some 2080 years later, Jesus would undergo a sacrifice for our sins.

This is getting good isn’t it? Stay tuned!!

Freedom is Good News Part 8

Usually on the first Sunday of each month, I have the blessing of conducting worship services at the Salem Lutheran Home Chapel located here in Elk Horn. As I sit to write this article I can’t help but sit here and think of the message I recently gave. It was an important message and one filled with hope, joy and good news. Let me try to express it here in writing.

After singing the hymn, “Near to the Heart of God” with the residents, I mentioned that the author, Cleland McAfee penned this beautiful song after hearing the news that his two nieces had just died from diphtheria in 1901. Mr. McAfee, with a deeply grieving heart, retreated to the comforting words of scripture and to God. He said that he felt the words and music flow from his grieving heart and that on the day of the double funeral, he stood outside the quarantined home of his brother and sang the words as he choked back tears.

“There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God…” Have you ever desired to truly draw near to the heart of God? Have you ever needed a place of quiet rest in your life when things seem to be in turmoil all around you? Does the world ever bring heartaches, trials and troubles to your door? In John 16:33 Jesus says, “…take heart, I have overcome the world.” Jesus promises us peace. In the third stanza of the song it says, “There is a place of joy and peace, near to the heart of God.”

And what about that quiet rest? In Matthew 11:28 we read, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The chorus of that song says this, “O Jesus, blessed Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, hold us who wait before thee, near to the heart of God.”

We have talked about the word “heart” in previous articles and so we cay apply the definition of the word to the “heart of God”. His heart is who He is!! Scripture tells us that God is love - this is His heart. It tells us He is compassionate – this is His heart. It tells us He is kind – this is His heart.

But we also know that God will not force us to draw near to Him. In Isaiah 40:11 we read, “Behold … God tends His flock like a Shepherd. He gathers His lambs in His arms. He carries them close to His heart and He gently leads those with young.” He leads and we must follow!! Again, in the gospel of John 10:14, Jesus says, “I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me … My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” What a beautiful statement from our Savior!

The heart of God is a beautiful place to be; it is a comforting place to be. And as the hymn says, “… a place where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God.” May we learn to follow?

Until next time.

Freedom is Good News Part 7

In the previous article I mentioned Proverbs 3:5-6 and talked about it in relation to trusting in the LORD and so having our “paths” made smooth, pleasant and straight. But there was one phrase I never dealt with. Verse 5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” So what is this phrase about not leaning upon one’s own understanding?

I think there are many who believe that they do have a trust in God. If we believe in God and understand that He is the creator and sustainer of the universe, then we have to put our trust in Him. We would be crazy not to! But where do we draw the line in trusting Him and trusting our own understanding? This is a matter of introspection for all of us who desire a deeper relationship with God.

Last time I mentioned that it is with all of our heart that we trust Him. And what did I say the definition of the word “heart” was? In Hebrew, “it includes our motives, feelings, affections, desires, aims, principles and our thoughts”. It encompasses the entirety of our personality. So let me ask again, where do we draw the line in our trust? Then the scripture goes on to say, “lean not on your own understanding”.

We humans will certainly have a problem with this statement. But let me ask you; did you create yourself? Did you somehow understand (before birth) how your DNA was to be configured? Did your parents? Can you bring forth from one seed, the sprout, the stem, the leaves and then the fruit? This reminds me of the questions that God asked Job in chapter 38 of the book with that title, verse 4, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth. Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!” Job had no answer for these and the other questions God asked him.

And what about our Savior Jesus, surely He leaned upon His own understanding didn’t He? In the book of John 5:19 Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” In the same book, chapter 7:16, Jesus said, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me.” In the next chapter verse 28, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am! And that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” John 12:49, “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and so to speak.” John 14:10, “…the words I say to you are not just my own. Rather it is the Father abiding in me who is doing His works.” And lastly in 14:24, “He who does not love me will not obey my words. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

Might I state that the Son of God, on six separate occasions, said that He “leaned not on His own understanding”? So, where should we draw the line?

Until next time, may you trust in the LORD.

Freedom is Good News Part 6

In the last article I mentioned how valuable the book of Proverbs is. In this book wisdom and riches are found beyond measure. One of my favorite scriptures is found in the book of Proverbs, in chapter 3 verse 5 and 6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

It goes on from there with some beautiful instruction but let’s start with just these two verses. “Trust” comes from a Hebrew word that means “to be reliant, to trust, to hasten toward refuge”. And the word for “heart” literally means “the center of something”. To go a little further with this word, we can see that the organ that pumps blood is somewhat at the center of our bodies. But this word also includes the center of who we are. By definition in Hebrew “it includes our motives, feelings, affections, desires, aims, principles and our thoughts”. This is really a huge word. It encompasses the entirety of our personality.

This suggestion that we “trust the LORD with all our heart” looms large in our devotion to the Creator. At what point do we leave His understanding out of our lives? At what point do we not accept His instruction or wisdom? Does He not know all things? Does He not see all things? In Psalm 139:4 it says, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD”. If we desire to have a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all things and He tells us to “trust in Him with all that we are”, I believe we shall find this to be a good thing. Oh, and by the way, if you find this to be news to you, then lets just call it “good news”.

This is a very powerful statement, my friends and neighbors. Let me say that it takes guts and determination to put all of our trust in God.

So what does the second part of this statement in Proverbs say? “In all your ways acknowledge Him…” The words “all your ways”, is another way of saying “with all your heart”. Once we have put our trust in Him and asked for His advice or guidance, as we come out the other side of that situation, I do believe we must acknowledge His leading and help.

And then what happens? The next part of this scripture states, “and He will make your paths straight.” This word “straight” has the sense of being smooth, pleasant or prosperous.

Doesn’t it seem obvious that we would want our paths to be pleasant or prosperous? Why would we want it any other way? Our God desires good things for those that trust and acknowledge Him. And that is of course “good news”.

There is still more to come.

Freedom is Good News Part 5

Some time ago I began an article by stating that today “I strive to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read it and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.” Why? I suppose this is one of those curious cases where the answer to the question is sort of stated within the question.

If you were the winner of some $100 million lottery, wouldn’t you want to share it at least with the ones you love? Well, I have something worth more than a paltry monetary figure and, of course, I would like to share it with those I love. The second great commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself”. I find more than “comfort, edification and instruction” in these words of life in the bible; I find joy and I find “the fear of the Lord”. You are my neighbor and I desire to share the fear of the Lord (which is great treasure) with you. How do I do that?

Well let’s piece some things together – Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. OK, so what does the bible say about wisdom? Proverbs 8:11 says, “Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” So if I put 2 and 2 together I find that this $100 million jackpot cannot compare with the wisdom I may obtain from fearing the Lord!! And where do I find this wisdom? The scriptures are replete with wisdom. From one end to the other wisdom may be reaped.

Let us take a look at one chapter in the book of Proverbs – chapter 8. Here we find Solomon personifying the idea of Wisdom. Verse 6: ‘…listen for I (Wisdom) have worthy things to say … Council and sound judgment are mine; … I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than gold and what I yield surpasses silver.’”

I could go on and on, but would you please read this chapter and while you are at it please read chapter one. Chapter one gives us the whole reason for Solomon penning this book of wisdom.

I think that we are all intrigued with the idea of winning the lottery. What could we do with multiple millions of dollars? Yet we all know what the odds are of winning. And we have all read the stories about those who have won and have in some way destroyed their lives. Earthly riches never bring true happiness. Yet God says that we can have great gain! It is more than riches and wealth. We can have a close relationship with the One who created the universe, the One who is life itself and who gives this life to us His creatures. And yet, this physical world is not all He wants to give us. He has more!! And just as any engineer includes a set of instructions with the product he created, God gives us an instruction manual for life – the bible.

Till we meet again, seek wisdom and true riches.

Freedom is Good News Part 4

I guess when I began writing these articles, some time ago, I really had only one goal, one desire, and that was to help you, the reader, to come to a closer relationship with our heavenly Father and with His Son.  I wanted to highlight the joy and the good things that I have felt as I strive to draw near to my God.

I am excited about knowing my God.  I am excited about seeking Him with my whole heart and my whole life and so I wish that others can taste of the good things that God has brought to my life.  It is good sometimes to just speak from the heart, to pour out for all to see, the wonders of His love.  I hope and I pray that my words here on this page will help all to long for a deeper understanding of just how much God wants to be a part of your life.  God’s desire to have you seek Him, to have you come to Him in prayer, to have you spend time with Him in thought and meditation and to have you open up and read His book of love, the bible, really is beyond our comprehension.

A line from a song I enjoy says this, “you’re wanted, you’re precious, you’re the love of His heart and the old rugged cross was for you…”.  I believe that says a lot!  Oh how He wants us to know Him so that He may shower His love upon us whom He has made.  My friends and brethren, do you really know how precious you are in His sight?

And so to pick up on last week’s theme, let me say that our God has desired to give us true freedom.  It is the world, society and Satan that wants to put us in chains of bondage.  The bondage that comes from sin can seem so enticing.  Satan tries to turn things upside down and deceive us into thinking that God’s ways are somehow chains of bondage.  “God doesn’t want us to have any fun” is the broadcast that Satan promotes.  But the truth, that is the truth that sets us free, allows us to experience the depth of joy that only god can provide.  In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.”  His peace is true peace and His joy is true joy and His love is true love..

I speak here from firsthand experience.  I have known that peace, joy and love.  It is real and it is beyond our measuring by human means.  It is I that slip and fall - not God.  It is I that err and fail - not God.  His ways are perfect.  He is a Father, a parent if you will, like none other.  His love is perfect.  His instruction is perfect.  He is an awesome God.  And He offers us true freedom.

More on this next time.

Freedom is Good News Part 3

Who knew the topic of freedom could be this big?  The answer; I guess God did!!  There are many “threads” that run through the bible weaving a multi-colored tapestry and one of those threads is the concept of freedom.  Last week I mentioned freedom from “the law of sin and death” as Paul stated it in Romans 8:2.  This freedom only comes through choosing Jesus Christ as ones personal Savior.  Oh really! Just what does it mean to have a personal Savior? 

Let me begin to answer by stating that, “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.”  This is probably the most oft quoted scripture.  And many people misread it.  Yes, He gave His Son for the world, but in order to not perish and to have life and thereby to have this freedom we have been talking about, one must do something.  One must believe in this “sacrificial Son of God”.  (A little side note is that this word “perish” comes from a Greek word that means “to destroy fully”.)

You want a personal Savior?  You must believe!  You say you believe in God, good, even the demons believe that and shudder (see James 2:19).  Do we really think we can just pay lip service to the creator of the universe and all will be well with us?  Can we just give a nod and wink of the eye to Him who gives us life itself, who has written the entire DNA code for our bodies and expect life eternal with Him?

No, “belief” as we read it in the bible is much more than that.  The Greek word for belief is “pisteuo” and by definition means, “to be persuaded of; and hence, to place confidence in, to trust; and it signifies reliance upon, not just belief.  It may be translated as ‘commit unto’, or ‘commit unto ones trust’”.

In Romans 4:3 Paul quotes from Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”.  Father Abraham did much more than just believe God existed.  We read in Genesis 22:1 – 19 the most amazing story of how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son as a sign of his commitment of trust in God.  And James writes about this episode in Genesis with these words, “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did.”  This episode about Abraham’s faith is so much more than just an “Old Testament” story.  This is actually a “forerunner” or a “type” of the Heavenly Father giving His Son as a sacrifice for us. 

So, do you have faith in a personal Savior?  Have you really accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?  Are you “persuaded of” Him?  Have you “placed your confidence in” Him?  Have you found “reliance upon” Him?  Have you committed yourself so as to place your trust in Him?  He gave His life for you, have you given back that life to Him for safekeeping?  A lot of questions here to answer in order to get to the good news of that freedom!!

More on this next time.                                           

Freedom is Good News Part 2

Last time we met, we were discussing the topic of freedom.  We swung from our national freedoms won for us 240 years ago to the freedoms won for us almost 2000 years ago by our Redeemer Jesus Christ.  And those freedoms, the latter ones, are immeasurably more important than the former.

The Good News is that if we have personally come to our Savior and have accepted His blood as a sacrifice for our life, then we have a freedom that is far beyond anything any government could ever promise.  The things of this world, this society, this physical life are subject to certain laws of physics that cannot be changed.  Not wanting to get too deep into the natural laws of science, let me just say that all physical things are subject to the concept of entropy.  In the book of Romans 8:21 the Apostle Paul tells us that the creation itself is in bondage to decay and decay is the result of entropy.  There is no way out, we will all die.  The plants and animals die and new growth takes place and then it too grows old and dies.  The scriptures tell us that it is given to all mankind to die.

So what am I saying?  No manmade government has or will last forever.  All of the world’s empires have crumbled.  But there is one government and only one government that is eternal.  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

And this is why the freedom given to us through and by the Son of God is immeasurably more important than the transitory freedoms granted through the constitution.

In the Gospel of John chapter 8, Jesus said two things concerning this freedom; “If you hold to my word you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” and “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”.  But what is it that we will be set free from?  “Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)  You see, Jesus did not set us free from keeping the law, for Paul has already said in Romans 7:12 that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”  We still find that stealing and coveting etc. are sin.  John in his first letter confirms this when he defines sin for us by stating, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin is the transgression of the law.”  (1Jn 3:4)  So again, what is this “law of sin and death” that we have been set free from? 

Simply stated, scripture tells us that the penalty for sin is death; we sin, we deserve to die!  But our freedom from this law is that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and went to the cross for us.  This is a big subject!!

More on this next time.

Freedom is Good News

I do hope that everyone will have a very insightful 4th of July.  Leading up to this day I began to think about the thousands of men and women who shed their blood on the battlefield of the American Revolution some 240 years ago. 

We, today, get caught up in all the celebrations and can forget that this day is a memorial of what our forefathers accomplished in winning freedom from the tyranny of the king of England.  Oh, it is a day to celebrate all right, parades, picnics, cookouts, family reunions and of course the day’s end fireworks celebration.  The victory, of the somewhat rag-tag colonists over the world’s best equipped fighting force, set in motion one of the greatest political experiments on this planet. 

Our nation became a worldwide symbol of freedom and we, today, still stand in the afterglow that made this nation the greatest ever in the history of the world.

I do not believe this to be a circumstantial coincident that somehow just fell into the “laps” of men like, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc.  I believe (as did they) that the hand of God was involved.  Excuse me while I quote from the book, “The Thousand Year Leap” by W. Cleon Skousen, “…they (the framers of the constitution) declared that the formation and adoption of our new system of federal government represented a political achievement unprecedented in human history.  They looked upon it, more over, as an event that was actually ‘influenced, guided and governed’ by the hand of God”.  In my words, “it was a blessing of extreme importance.”

Are you with me on this?  What happened 240 years ago was indeed “Good News”.

But you, like I, have seen the sometimes gradual, sometimes precipitous slide this nation has taken.  We have fallen away from these freedoms that were won for us.

So as I pondered these freedoms won for us through the shedding of blood, my mind swung around to another event that took place almost 2000 years ago to grant to all men freedoms that will never fade, never grow old and can never be taken away.  These freedoms were also won by the shedding of blood, not on a physical battlefield, but on a spiritual one.  They were won by the Son of God as He hung on a cross.  Jesus Christ came to earth to set men free.  He came to redeem us from our sins.  He came and died to set us at liberty.

More on this next time.

Yes, There is Good News! Part 14

I would like to continue with the topic of last week concerning the words found in Zechariah 3:10, “In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the LORD Almighty.”  I see this expression as one that bears much “fruit for good news”. 

We will find this same statement (albeit quite expanded) in the writings of the prophet Micah chapter 4, “In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s house will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and peoples will stream to it.  Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’  The law will go out from Zion the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  He will Judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.  Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.”

This is a very important piece of scripture for many reasons, but for us reading these articles, the importance is the overwhelming “good news” that it contains.  This is not a picture of the world today.  It is the picture of the ultimate “good news” that God has planned and promised for His children.  It is the expression from the mouth of God of the joy He has for the future.

Are you awaiting that day; a day when God’s dwelling is exalted as the best there ever could be, a day when people from many nations will want to worship God, a day when the One perfect in righteousness is the merciful judge, a day when peace and joy will be the ruling factors in His kingdom?  It will be on such a day as this that fears and terror will be banished.  (Terror banished!!  Wow!!  Ask our brothers and sister in the Middle East how they feel about that statement.)

Every man, (let me emphasize that) EVERY MAN, will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree.  And you know what?  No one will make them afraid – why?  “For the LORD Almighty has spoken.”

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!  See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.  He will proclaim peace to the nations.  His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 

It was Jesus who came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey (see Matthew 21:4) He is the Prince of Peace.  Wow!!  There is some really good news in these scriptures.

Till we meet again, Peace and joy to you all.

Yes, There is Good News! Part 13

I was raised in a church organization that discouraged the lay people from reading the bible.  Having left that church some 46 years ago, I find it somewhat ironic that today I am striving to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read it and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.

From Genesis to Revelation there is abundant joy and amazing wisdom to be found.  Would you please pick up God’s word and read it?  And as you commit yourself to do this may I suggest that we look at one particular scripture together.

Zechariah 3:10:  “’In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree’, declares the LORD Almighty.”  Let me invite you, my neighbor, to sit under my vine and fig tree with me!  For perhaps we are in “that day” today – that day of “invitation”.

“But I don’t have a vine or a fig tree” you say. OH!  Let us see if we can locate them for you.

This symbol of the vine and fig tree can be reckoned as an idiomatic expression.  In other words, these things stand as a type of something else – something the Israelites would have recognized and understood right away.  Let’s ponder the question, “what was of utmost importance to these people who lived several thousand years ago?”

The answer is simple; food and water!  One only has to look at the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years – what did they worry and grumble about?  “Where will we get water to drink and food to eat?”  (See Exodus 16:1-3 and 17:1-3)  These people were not so concerned about cable TV or internet reception back then.  Physical life itself was bound up in their concern for food and water.

God promised Moses that He would rescue the Israelites from their bondage to the Egyptians and take them to “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”  “Milk and honey” was another expression to say that they would have an abundance of fertile land for the cattle and plenty of flowering fruit trees for the bees to make honey.  Food was important. 

OK!  So let’s get back to the “vine and fig tree” of Zechariah.  This expression is used to indicate what kind of life the people would have under the rule of King Solomon.  “During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba (i.e. from the northern border to the southern) lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.”  Ah!  So we have safety and everyone eating grapes and figs.  Sounds like good news for the people under Solomon’s rule. 

Don’t go away folks, there’s still more to come!

Yes, There is Good News! Part 12

And so we have given some thought to the three aspects of how we are to love God.  Someone may say, “Now I know something about loving God, how is that good news?” 

I believe that is a fair question.  But in asking the question one must assume that good news comes only from receiving something and not in giving something.  And from a purely human standpoint I must disagree with this assessment.  True joy comes to us when we can give of ourselves to another.  It is only a child that believes joy comes from receiving.  The anticipation of a gift on the part of a youth can be delightful to watch.  Why?  Because we can understand the maturity level held by a child.

When an infant is born the maturity level stands at a flat zero.  There is only room for growth.  How much love does the baby have for others?  The answer is also zero.  A new-born has needs, many needs and one of the greatest needs it has is for love.  The love a mother and father have for the infant is inherently great enough to make up for the lack of love in the child.  One might say that the “love” that a human has is directly proportional to the level of maturity that exists in the human.  Allow me to make another formulaic statement:  the level of maturity that exists in a human is directly proportional to the joy he or she receives in giving of self to another.  Maturity and love for others travel hand in hand!

OK so let’s not get too out of hand.  We are talking about love for God and how that can be the good news we are looking for.  But we also made the analogy of an infant’s love for a parent.  The love of a parent will teach the infant how to love.  And so it is with our Father in Heaven.  The scripture leads us to this same conclusion.  The epistle of 1 John is said to be the “love book” in the bible.  And the topic of love comes to an apex in the fourth chapter.  As we make our way down this chapter and its many comments on love, we come to the 19th verse wherein we read, “We love because He first loved us”.

Can we just stop here and ponder the fact that even before we understood that there was a God, even before we knew who that God was, even before the atheist will admit that there is a God, He loved us!  Yes, He even loved that atheist.

In the preceding chapter of 1 John, chapter 3, we read in verse one, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are.”  Now don’t get me wrong, I can not as of yet place everyone on this earth as being called children of God.  But you….you are reading this column and I pray that you are being lead to see God’s love for you and so are coming to see what manner of love you are to have for this Father of ours.

To be continued ……. Stay tuned!!!                                                       

Yes, There is Good News! Part 11

And so we come to that third aspect of the love for God that was given to us in the book of Deuteronomy and was quoted by the Son of God in Matthew 23:37, you must love the Lord your God with all of your mind.

Have you ever thought of loving someone with your mind?  How could we go about doing this?

We often think of the mind as the center of the intellect.  This is where all thought processes take place.  We perform calculations in the mind; we memorize dates and numbers and we store all of the information that we gather during our lives.  How then do we love with our minds?

Let us take a few minutes and consider this complicated device.  Have you ever ridden a bicycle?  The coordination that takes place between the eyes that see where we are going, the hands that steer, the legs and feet that pump the pedals, the inner ear that keeps body and bicycle in an upright position and the lungs that pump air through a correctly formed mouth so as to whistle a sweet melody, are all controlled by what we call the mind.  And while all this is going on, you are thinking about what you will have for lunch, not at all paying attention to this complicated coordination process.

Wow!  Are you able to contemplate what your mind can do and thereby praise the One who created the mind?  Your brain has trillions of connections that operate without your having to do anything.  Dr. Paul Brand, in his book In His Image, says this about the brain:  “During each second of life, the brain performs about five trillion chemical operations.  When we are awake, only a few reach our level of consciousness and those so quickly we are hardly aware of the process.”  Five trillion connections every second – receiving input and sending messages that regulate every aspect of the human body.  What a marvelous piece of creation we are!  I think we can label that as good news.

What is there around you in the world that does not fill you with awe when you consider it deeply?  If we are to consider loving God with all of our mind, the process starts when we consider His creation and thereby give honor, glory and praise to Him.  So much of what God has done for us is just taken for granted.  We see a beautiful flower garden and perhaps remark about the one that planted and cares for it but do we ever “love God with our whole mind” by thanking Him for the diversity of color, scent and patterns that are His design and creation?  

We take granted that every spring the leaves on the trees will appear and turn the landscape into a verdant expanse of peaceful joy.  We all have a sense of awe and wonder when this happens, but as we come to know and love God in His creation, we come close to loving Him with our whole mind.

To be continued ……. Stay tuned!!!

Yes, There is Good News! Part 10

It might seem, according to the previous entry, loving God with one’s whole heart is a big enough task to accomplish.  But this scripture we have been looking at tells us that there are two more prerequisites in coming to this love that our God would have from us.

In Matthew 22:37 we find the second item mentioned is to love God with our all our “soul”.  Many people believe this word “soul” has some mystical, ethereal, or spiritual quality that separates it from our bodies.  But this is not the case.  A simple study of the word from the Bible will show that the soul can and will die.  This word “soul” is not limited to humans, in fact the first time the word appears in the bible it is applied to animals (it is found in Genesis 1:20, “…let the waters teem with living creatures”.  The word translated “creatures” from Hebrew is the same word that is translated “soul” elsewhere in the bible.)  The Hebrew word here is “nephesh” and its basic meaning is “breath of life”.  Ezekiel 18:4 says, “The soul who sins will die”.  In the New Testament, the Greek word for soul “psuche” has much the same meaning – “the breath of life”.

OK so what are we learning here?  This second aspect of loving God, to love Him with all of our soul, actually means we are to love Him with all of our life.  God is the author of life.  The life we have in us is a gift from Him and we are capable of doing many things.  We may take a walk on a beautiful summer morning with the sun shining on our faces.  Because we have life we can smell the fresh scent of flowers and behold the array of colors that surround us.

Yes, the life we live is a gift from God.  We can show Him our love when we enjoy that gift and give Him the glory for all we have and all we do.  The key here is to give Him all the glory.  To love God with your whole life is to appreciate each day you have and to give the credit to God for all you are able to do, no matter how great or how small it may be.

God’s love for us is unconditional – our love for God must be with all of our heart and also with all of our life.  In other words, with a whole hearted love that encompasses all our lives.  And yet there is a third aspect.

Stay tuned!

Yes, There is Good News! Part 9

In the previous entry, I ended by asking the question, “Do you know how to love your heavenly Father?”  Now that you have had some time to think about that question let’s consider an answer.

We began this topic of loving God by considering the scripture, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:4)  And we noted that this was Jesus’ answer to the question of “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Let us note that Jesus did not stop there, He went on to mention the second great commandment also, “love your neighbor as yourself”.  This second great commandment is also very good news!  But before we get into that we must understand the first.  How do we apply it and why is it good news.

This type of love is an act of the will.  We have the free will to love God or not to love Him.  It is within our will power to bring ourselves to love Him, and to love Him first and foremost; to love Him with all our hearts, all our life (the word “soul” means life) and all our minds.  When I look at this scripture and contemplate its implications, I become awed.  This commandment is not at all like, “Do not steal, do not lie, or do not commit murder.”  This is in a category by itself.  To utilize all my heart, all my life and all my mind in forming a loving relationship with my Heavenly Father is pretty heavy stuff.  Perhaps we must take a closer look at this.

Let us start with the first item in this list, “the heart”.  What does it mean for you to put your whole heart into something?  When you start a project, are you a “wholehearted” person?  We use this word “heart” to mean many things.  We say things like, “I had my heart broken” or “he stole her heart”, and it is used as a symbol of romantic love.  We also say “let’s get to the heart of the matter”, and so desire to get to the core meaning.  We say that an athlete “played their heart out”.  And I guess we get the point.

So if we could put our whole heart into loving the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the one who gave us life itself, how would we be blessed by Him?  Do you believe that God is our provider and protector?  Do you believe it when the bible says that every good and perfect gift is from our Father above?  And this whole “hearted” love is only the first of three prerequisites.  Let’s look at the other two in upcoming articles.

Don’t go away folks, there’s still more to come.

Yes, There is Good News! Part 8

In the previous entry I suggested that we go back to the beginning to see with what gentleness God instructs us to love Him.  So let’s go there.  In Genesis 1 and 2 we find the story of creation.  I believe we all know something of Adam and Eve.  In those days God saw that there was no real need for a lot of commandments.  There was no one else to steal from, no other wives to covet, etc.  You get the point.  He did tell them that He provided many trees to eat from but when they came into the midst of the garden there would be two trees; one of which they were forbidden to eat.  So, one commandment was given to our first parents; do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

As they say, the rest is history.  The serpent deceived Eve and she ate.  She tossed the proverbial apple to Adam and he ate and now they are banished from the garden.  In eating what was forbidden, did they express their love for God?  I think that we can agree that they did not.  Lesson number one; when God tells us to do something or to not do something, we show our love to Him by obedience!

In the Gospel of John, just before Jesus was to be crucified, He sat at the Passover meal and taught the disciples many things.  One thing He taught that is pertinent to our interest is found in chapter 14, verse 21, “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.”  In keeping with the topic of these articles, let me just say, “That is good news!!”  But wait a minute, you mean to say we have to obey Him?

OK, let’s go back to the beginning.  Only this time it’s not in the book of Genesis.  Let’s go back to when you were born.  The doctor, midwife or perhaps your father was there to help deliver you, your cord was cut, you were cleaned up and handed to your joy filled waiting mother.  Were you so filled with love at that time you couldn’t wait to learn to talk and let your parents know?  No, that’s not really how you reacted.  You were attracted to mom because you recognized her smell but you knew nothing else.  In short, you were a blank slate and you had to learn not only how to love but what love was all about.

When Adam and Eve were created, what did they know?  Well they didn’t even know that love for God was wrapped up in their obedience.  It was something they had to learn and it was not an easy lesson.  Sometimes I wonder about all the bad news we hear today.  Could it be because our society has moved so far away from God and have forgotten that we must be taught to love our heavenly Father through obedience?

Do you know how to love your heavenly Father?

Don’t go away folks, there’s still more to come.                                 

Yes, There is Good News! Part 7

One time when Jesus was being tested by those pesky Pharisees one of them asked Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  This episode is found in Matthew 22:36-38.  “Jesus replied, ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”  This was not just something that Jesus came up with off the top of His head.  No, He was quoting from the book of Deuteronomy, one of the first five books of the bible sometimes known, from the Hebrew word for law, Torah.  “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:4)

In the previous article I mentioned that God “wants us to come to know Him and visit with Him and so to learn to love Him.”  What does it take to “learn to love” someone?  Unfortunately in our society we have somehow been taught that love is as easy as “falling off a log”.  Two young adults are attracted to each other and they falsely assume that they are in love.  We mistake the feeling of attraction for the reality of love.  Love is so much more.  And that is not to say that two young adults will not grow into a true love.

Have you ever realized that when Jesus was asked “which is the greatest commandment” and He answered, “To love ….” He was establishing the love we must have for God as a requirement.  Can you command anyone to love you?  Can you command an emotional response from another human being?  God is the creator.  He knows our make up.  He knows that we have an emotional side and an intellectual side.  And yet He commands us to love Him!  In fact He tells us that this is the greatest commandment.
 

A couple of entries ago I mentioned that we are capable of loving on several different levels.  One of those levels is that of a parent to a child.  This is one level of love that does not have to be taught.  When Mother gives birth and first holds the child in her arms, there is a tremendous outpouring of love for the baby.  That is a natural occurrence.  It is that type of love that God has for us.  His love is as that for a child.  In fact we are sometimes called, “the children of God”.

But we, the babes that He loves, must learn to love Him with all our heart, strength and life (or soul).  God is so far above us that we really cannot understand all that the nature of God entails.  Our 5 senses - those things that God has given us to interact with and learn from the world around us – will never begin to allow us to comprehend how to love an infinite being.  So He teaches us to love Him.  Jesus tells us we are to call God “Father”.  This allows us to begin to grasp the relationship we are to have – we have all had a father.

But perhaps I get ahead of myself.  Perhaps we should go back to the beginning and see with what gentleness He instructs us to love Him.

Yes, There is Good News! Part 6

In my previous entry, I made the statement that because God’s entire being is love; He wanted to have somewhere to express that love.  So, He created a universe, then a solar system within, a planet – perfectly placed from the sun so as to sustain life – and finally He created life; first plants then animals and at last mankind.  We look around and marvel at the awesome beauty that God has placed us in.  From a small and dainty flower in the spring, to the majesty of a snow capped mountain that can bring forth gasps of wonder.  Wow!!  That’s a lot of love!  I could go on for a long time about the beauty of creation and perhaps sometime in the future I may. 

What is the greatest joy you find in the love that you have for another?  I suppose we might list many joys but perhaps the greatest is having that love returned from the object of your love.  There are many sayings concerning unrequited love but the true happiness of being able to share a love with another human being is quite exceptional.  It indeed brings fulfillment, not to mention excitement to our lives.  A love shared is a love fulfilled.

We are created in the image of God!  Do you not think there is excitement for our heavenly Father when His love is returned to Him by one of His children?  In the Gospel of Luke 15:10 Jesus says, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  And why do the angels rejoice?  I think it is fair to say that when God is happy, the entire heavenly realm is happy!

Yes, God wanted to share His love, His great love, His infinite love and so we were created.  Remember a couple of entries ago I asked the question, “What does God expect of us?  Perhaps we have come upon the answer.  I mentioned that He desires a relationship with us and enables us to enter that relationship because He has provided redemption for us through the righteous life of His Son.  Righteousness has been imputed to us because of the death and resurrection of His Son.

Not only has God created a universe, a planet, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the beauty to see, hear, taste, touch and smell, but He has created a pathway for us to fellowship with Him.  He wants us to come to know Him and visit with Him and so to learn to love Him.

Wait – did I say, “Learn to love Him”?  What is there about love that we have to learn? Well, much in every way.  Let’s talk about that in the next entry.

Yes, There is Good News! Part 5

So, either Jesus was who He said He was or He was insane.  You and I are going to go with the reality that He was who He said he was – our Savior, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  Incidentally there were some who thought that Jesus was insane.  In Mark 3:21 it says, “When His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind’”.  And later in that same episode in Mark, the scribes said He was demon possessed. 

Let me state again; I believe He was who He said He was.  Near the end of the fourth Gospel, John tells us the reason for his writing the book: John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”  Yes!  That is my position and I know that it is good news!!

OK, so we have this as good news but is that the entirety of the good news that we are looking for?  If you are like me, you like to ask questions.  (Might I suggest that God, our Father, will never mind us asking Him questions.  It is how we are to learn.)  So, my question at this point might be, “why did God Almighty create a universe wherein is a planet that is populated by beings that have the free moral agency to reject Him and go after all manner of evil?

I have a friend who likes to joke and say that God just didn’t have enough problems in His life.  But I believe that we know there is much more to it than that silly idea!!

The reality, as I see it, is that when the bible says that “God is love” it implies that His whole being filled with this love needed a place to express it.  It is in the first letter of John that it says, “God is love” and that is an interesting statement.  Note that he does not say God shows love, or that God produces love, or that God gives us love.  It is quite specific, “God is love”.  You and I have the ability to love on several different levels.  The love we have for a spouse is different than the love we have for our children and that love is different than the love we might have for a friend.  And all of these loves come in differing degrees.  The love a married couple of fifty years have is a much deeper love than they had for each other when they were first married, etc.  But we are not “love”.  Our love grows, deepens and blossoms.

God alone may be called love.  That is most difficult to get one’s mind around.  Another example to consider concerning God’s love is from the book of Exodus.  In chapters 33 and 34 Moses asked to see God’s glory.  God told Moses that He would pass by and proclaim His name but that no one could see the face of God and live.  Exodus 34:5 says, “The LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name … ‘Yahovah, Yahovah the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands …’”  Out God is abounding in love and that is good news!!