Freedom is Good News Part 144

In writing these articles I have gone far and wide in considering and studying the word of God.  We have looked at many subjects and have looked into many of the books of the bible.  But I do not want to lose track of the purpose that was established several years ago, and that purpose is that even though we see, in the world around us, things that are quite problematic, the word of God promises good news. 

Having recognized this “good news” of the Kingdom of God some 45 years ago, I do ponder and wonder why so many of the people I meet will have nothing to do with the word of God.  Most of the time, I see that the reason has much to do with a lack of education.  I hope these articles will have some remedial effect on that. 

Others do not seem to have the time to put forth the effort to read and study just how God loves them in their lives today.  I speak the truth when I say that this love of God is the true driving force and creative activity of the good news we seek! 

Many people think that God (if they believe in God) is somewhere afar off and unconcerned about them.  But this could not be farther from the truth.  Ah, truth; isn’t this what we really need in the age in which we live?  Friends, I state unequivocally, the only real, honest and full truth is found in the pages of the bible.  God’s love is real!!

Still others have received incorrect instruction concerning the scriptures and wonder how a good God could allow such problems and to evil exist in this world.  Let me state right here that the bad things that happen on this earth grieve God and fill His heart with pain.  His hand is not here to stop the inebriated person’s car from starting and eventually killing an innocent bystander.  And I believe His heart grieves.  I can answer this seeming dilemma in one word; freedom!  Adam and Eve chose a certain path and it was not a path of freedom but slavery.  And yet God (who “changes not”) still allows us the freedom to go out and get drunk and try to drive home. 

God has now, once again, given us the choice between freedom and slavery.  There are so many instances of God reaching out to His creation with a choice.  And let me lay out my heart right here and state my wish, hope and prayer, “May you, who read these pages, ponder His invitation to freedom.  His true freedom is through His Son Jesus Christ.  In Him we are free.  Free to not sin.  Free to love Him.  Free to walk before Him in true righteousness and holiness.  We all know that freedom is not free and Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.  He paid the ultimate penalty for us so that we may once again be truly free.

So, how devoted to freedom are you?  Moses posed the question this way, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life that you and your children may live, and that you may love the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life.” (Deut. 30:19)  You are free to choose; choose life.  My love to you all!

Freedom is Good News Part 143

Picking up where we left off last week; Solomon, in 1 Kings 8:29, asks that God’s eyes would always be opened toward His temple night and day.  The temple Solomon built existed 3000 years ago; the temple God dwells in today is within His chosen ones.  Solomon’s words were prophetic.  He spoke of the physical temple that was a type of the spiritual temple today.

We can see this connection in the book of Hebrews 3:1-6: “Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus; who was faithful to him who appointed him, as also was Moses in all his house.  For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house. …. But Christ is faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we are.”

In view of this, let us consider this prayer of King Solomon; he asks God to listen to the prayers of His servants and to “hear from heaven, your dwelling place and when you hear, forgive.” (8:29-30) Again and again, Solomon beseeches God to hear the prayers of His servants for their several sins: “When a man wrongs his neighbor …” (Verse 31).  “When God’s people have been defeated by an enemy (Satan?) …” (Verse 33).  “When there is no rain - because of sin (the spiritual rain of blessing?) ….” (Verse 35).  When famine, plague or blight come (a famine of the Word?) … (Verse 37). … Etcetera. 

Solomon finishes this prayer with these words, “And if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul … and pray … toward this temple I have built for your name, then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, your dwelling place, and maintain their cause; and forgive your people who have sinned against you.” 1Kings 8:48-50)

A couple of weeks ago we tied this prayer of Solomon to the topic we were considering, namely, “walking humbly with our God”.  And we led into this topic with this quote, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.”

Walking in the presence of God with all of our heart – what an awesome responsibility this is.  It is the answer to the question we asked several weeks ago, “How do we walk worthy of the calling we have received?” 

If we are serious in our desire to honor God; if we really want to understand what it is like to be in God’s presence; then we must learn to “walk humbly with our God”.

Oh, how I wish that all of us who are reading these articles could get together and discuss this “Christian adventure” we have been embarking on.  I find that nothing on earth has delighted me more and I hope you will feel the same!!

Until next time, may your reading of the word of God bring you good news!

Freedom is Good News Part 142

When Solomon, the son of David, took over the kingship, he immediately began to do the work of building a temple to “the name of YHVH (the LORD)”.  Some might ask, why should we take time to consider this temple that existed some 3000 years ago?  The answer: because it was the place where God dwelt with His people!  And so I might ask, where does God dwell with His people today?

Dear friends and brethren, the scriptures tell us that “if we repent of our sins and are baptized, we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).  So, where does the Spirit of God dwell?  “Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1Cor. 3:16)  But Paul doesn’t stop there.  Later in that same letter, he tells the Corinthians, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body.” (1 Cor.6:19)

In King David’s day, he wanted to honor and glorify God by building a temple for Him.  God told him that it would be for his son Solomon to build that temple and as we saw last week, when the temple was completed, “A cloud filled the Temple of the LORD … for the glory of the LORD filled His temple.” (1 Kings 8:10&11)  God came to His temple and Solomon knew it!!  Solomon was filled with awe and rejoiced that the God of the entire universe had come to dwell with His chosen ones – the nation of Israel.

Solomon’s prayer of dedication is found in 1 Kings 8:22-53.  Let’s break into the middle of this prayer and consider some of what King Solomon had to say to God, “But will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and even the highest heaven can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!  Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you this day; that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.”

Are you a child of the living God?  Do you consider yourself to be a “temple of God”?  If you answered yes, then are you filled with awe at the presence of God within?  Does this cause you to rejoice?  Solomon prays that God’s “eyes may be opened toward this house night and day.”  These words of Solomon are not just for the physical building he had built.  These words are prophetic for the ages to come when God would see fit to dwell within His children.  He sent His Son to cleanse and purify those whom He would call.  Remember what we read above, “For you were bought with a price”.  The price that was paid for you and me was the precious life’s blood of His Son. 

“May your eyes be opened toward this house night and day.”  God takes care of His own and watches over them!  He loves His dwellings and desires to fill them with His glory.

Freedom is Good News Part 141

We have been considering, in these articles, the topic of walking worthy of the calling we have received.  We have seen that it is a very important topic, one which Paul “urges” us to do.  We have seen that the Apostle tells us to “be completely humble and gentle”.  He tells us to be patient and to bear with one another in love.  This is the kind of “worthy walk” we are to take.  Most times the things that are of greatest value, take the greatest effort.

I want to walk with my Heavenly Father!  Do you have that desire?  I want to know what it is like to be in His presence. 

I suppose we all have to decide what our priorities are in this life.  It does not take too much wisdom to look around and see that the world, in general, has tossed aside the ways and things of God.  We find ourselves surrounded by a secular society that, more and more each day, looks toward itself to solve the problems it has created!!

God really does have all the answers.  This should be the starting point for all Christians.  We are told in the scriptures that Solomon was the wisest man on earth.  Very early on in his book of Proverbs, we read, “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.” (Pro. 3:5&6) 

I want to walk with my Heavenly Father!  Do you have that desire?  I want to know what it is like to be in His presence. 

Early in his reign as King of Israel, Solomon took upon himself, the commission of building a temple for God.  When it was finished and he set about to dedicate it to “the name of the LORD”, we read that “a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD so that the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled His temple.” (1 Kings 8:10&11)

And then he asked a prayer over the temple.  This prayer, in its entirety, is found in 1 Kings 8:22-53.  Solomon knew that every answer to every problem resided with this God who created all things, this God who rules over all the universe, this God who would indeed, dwell with His creation!!

Shall we look at this prayer?  “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, ‘O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart’” 

Solomon wanted to walk with his Heavenly Father for he knew what it was like to be in His presence.  Let us consider this prayer in future articles.

Freedom is Good News Part 140

“I urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle.”  Last week we took a short detour from our topic of walking with God, but now let’s get back to this statement from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 4:1-3.

Humility is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the human personality to deal with.  We humans delight in having our own way, of getting the glory for some of the non-essential things we do and in patting ourselves on the back because we think we are so smart.  No wonder Paul lists it first as he teaches us to walk worthy.  It is interesting to note that he doesn’t just say “be humble”, he says “be completely humble”, and then he couples it with being gentle!  I believe that Paul is really trying to open our eyes to this calling we are to receive. 

So let’s not forget that Micah told us to “walk humbly with our God”.  This calling we are to receive must be seen as a walk with the Almighty God and we cannot take that lightly.

Would you mind if we considered the outlook of a pagan king who encountered the true God?  Nebuchadnezzar was the great king of Babylon and was pretty stuck on himself.  When Daniel interpreted one of his dreams and told him that he was the “head of gold” on the statue in his dream; that wasn’t enough for him.  Nebuchadnezzar decided to have a 90 foot statue completely of gold.  Daniel had told him that the God of Heaven was revealing the future for him but Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t too impressed.  This episode of history is told in the book of Daniel chapters 2 & 3.

Later on in the book God got this pagan king’s attention when he humbled him by having him live like a wild animal for seven years until “he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms”.  Nebuchadnezzar finally “raised his eyes toward heaven and praised the Most High.”  Listen to what he had to say, “Now I, Nebuch- adnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Dan. 4:37)

As a side note, did you know that this mighty pagan king of Babylon is the only pagan that God would call “My servant”!!

It wasn’t as though Nebuchadnezzar wanted to have a worthy walk of humility and gentleness with God but God wanted to teach both him and us a great lesson: humility and gentleness are necessary in a worthy walk with God.

What other attributes does Paul urge us to have in a walk with God?  “Be patient, bearing with one another in love.”  It seems to me that patience is in short supply in our society today.  “I want what I want and I want it now!!!”  I suppose we have some serious self-examination to consider if we are truly desirous of this walking with our God.  But, friends and brethren, we are called to walk with the one who created all things.  He is awesome and believe me, He calls the shots!!  Until next time, remember, we have good news in Him. 

Freedom is Good News Part 139

Breaking news!!  We interrupt this series of articles concerning the “worthy walk with God” to bring you an important message.  Wow!  That sounded pretty interesting, didn’t it?  But I do have a couple of comments to make about this up-coming weekend.  Do you know that there is a very special Sunday coming?  One that is a very special and unique day in the year.  And all of us who are striving to understand the “good news” of God’s word should pay close attention to it.

There are many groups, churches and organizations that may mention this day but the bible would say, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)  Let us get our hearts into God’s truth!

What is this special day?  Most of us will know the day as Pentecost and in the bible we will find this day to be of extreme importance as we consider God’s “good news”. 

The word Pentecost, in our English, is taken from a Greek word that means “fiftieth”.  That in itself should cause a series of questions in many minds, “fiftieth what”; or “fiftieth from when”?  So let’s take this from the beginning.  We are introduced to this particular day in the book of Leviticus 23:15-22, “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.” 

There is much to say concerning God’s festival day, but today we have only one column to look at, so we will move a little quickly.  But remember this; God the Father is always painting pictures of His Son, through symbols and types in the Old Testament.

If you were to consider the gifts that God has given to His people, what would you say was the greatest?  I am going to imagine your answer might be, “God gave His only begotten Son to be the Savior of mankind.”  And I cannot argue with that.  But concerning fifty days after the resurrection of our Savior, we read this in the book of Acts 2:1-4, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The crowd that gathered to see this sight wondered greatly.  Peter stood up and spoke (See Acts 2:13-36).  As he finished his message the crowd asked, “What shall we do?”  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.”

This day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, for everything else that it signifies, stands out as the day the Church received this great gift of God’s Holy Spirit.  Many have called it the birthday of the Church.  God promises a gift in the Old Testament (see Joel 2:28) and then provides it in the New!  Oh yes, this is good news.

Freedom is Good News Part 138

We have been on the subject of “walking with God” and we have seen that God desires those who would walk humbly with Him – this being a quote from the Prophet Micah.  It is interesting that we find a very similar statement from the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. 

In this letter, Paul goes much further in his admonition to the Church.  Let’s take a look!  Ephesians 4:1 reads, “Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.”  So far so good; we are to have a walk with God.  But it is interesting how Paul introduces us to the concept; Paul tells us that he is a prisoner of the Lord.  This is no throwaway line of fake humility on Paul’s part.  Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Rome!  Some translators use the word “for” in this line.  Paul considered himself to be in prison “for the Lord” – he was incarcerated because of his belief in Jesus Christ.  I have never been in prison “for the Lord” but I can only imagine, it must have been a humbling experience for Paul.

The next thing we see is that he is “urging” us to walk worthy.  This is a strong word; Paul is imploring or exhorting us to walk worthy, not just suggesting.  But what does it mean to “walk worthy”?  What is this worthy walk we are urged to take?  What does it consist of?

Let’s read on:  Verse 2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  This is what Paul means by the words “worthy walk”!

First let’s notice the word “humble”.  Since Paul and Micah are together in this, it must be an important concept.  But they are not alone.  Peter and James use it also.  In James 4:6 we read, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  And in 1 Peter 5:5 we see, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.”

God desires His children to walk humbly.  This is but one of God’s many great attributes and if we walk with a humble God, we too must be humble.  To quote the author, Jerry Bridges, “Humility is the soil in which all of the other traits of the fruit of the Spirit grow.”  The problem with humility is that when we claim to be humble, we lose the humility!!  Our ego and our vanity get the best of us in that case. 

One great tool that God has given us so as to attain to humility is fasting.  Ezra 8:1 tells us this, “I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God.”  King David tells us in Psalm 69:10, “I wept and humbled my soul with fasting.”  This is not an easy tool but the bible tells us that it is effective. 

Oh, there is so much more to this “worthy walk” with God.  Shall we consider it next time?

Freedom is Good News Part 137

“To walk humbly with your God”; these are the words of Micah the prophet that we were looking at in our previous article.  Perhaps as we ponder this thought, our minds must come to the realization that God is awesome, powerful, majestic and wonderful – and we are not!  He is God of all the universe – and we are not!  He is the creator and sustainer of all that exists – and we are not!

Okay, point made, we must walk humbly with our God.  We reach back approximately 2700 years to grab this quote from the prophet Micah.  He was sent to the two capital cities of God’s people: Samaria, the capital of the northern tribes of Israel; and Jerusalem, the capital of the southern tribe of Judah. (Micah 1:1)  The news he was to deliver was not good.  His chastisements were deep and severe.  God’s people were not walking with Him.  On the contrary they were walking in rebellion to Him.

By the time we get to chapter 6 (where our above quote comes from) we read that God is, through Micah, setting up a “court of judgement”.  God says, “Stand up, plead your case before the mountains, let the hills hear what you have to say” (6:1).  In verse two, Micah speaks so as to announce the trial, “Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; …. For the LORD has a case against His people; He is arbitrating a charge against Israel.”

In verses 3 – 5, God’s case begins by asking a rhetorical question, “…What have I done to you?  How have I burdened you?”  He then goes on to refresh their memories, “I brought you up out of Egypt, and redeemed you from slavery …. Remember your journey through the wilderness that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD”.

But the people respond with a very arrogant defense, “So, with what shall I come before the LORD?  ….  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my sin?”  Essentially, they were saying, “Hey we’ve been offering sacrifice to you, what more do you want?  How can we buy you off and get you off our backs.”  These people had been offering sacrifices to Yahovah, the God of Israel, but they were also offering their sacrifices to the pagan gods, Dagon, Molech and Baal.

And so this is God’s reply through Micah, “He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the LORD (Yahovah) require of you?  To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 

Many times, you and I are just like the ancient Israelites.  We spend some time each week (maybe) coming before God.  We may even call Him Father and His Son, Jesus.  We know the names to use and for one or two hours a week we even sing a song or two to Him.  But do we then go and sit at the altar of this world’s gods?  Oh, we have other names for them but “a rose by any other name ….”

Will you act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God all the hours of the week?  We will look more closely at this walk next time.

Freedom is Good News Part 136

Do you like to go for walks?  Many who live in the town of Elk Horn (where I live) know that Sally and I enjoy a good early morning walk.  Sometimes (not often) one of us may be ill or out of town and the other has to walk alone.  Let me state right here, it is not as enjoyable!!  To see the new flowers of spring and yet have no one to share with; well, it’s just not as enjoyable.  To witness a bright, full, early morning moon, knowing that the sun rise is just minutes away is a lot more fun when a loved one is there to share it with.  Or what about the star filled sky on a moonless night – let us stand in awe together.

Did you know that God feels the same way?  He desires to have His children walk with Him through this life here on earth.  You will notice that I said, “His children have to walk with Him,” and not “He must walk with His children.”  There is a big difference here!  One must realize that God knows where He is going and that we do not.  God’s wisdom and knowledge is perfect; but we are of a fallen race.  That race began with our first parents, Adam and Eve.  They were given instruction on how to have an abundant life in the Garden of Eden.  I think we know how this story progresses and it didn’t go well for God’s first children.  They were given only one commandment and still made the wrong choice.  They were told to walk in one direction but they chose to walk in the other.  Satan deceived them into thinking that they could make their own decisions.

If my wife, Sally, decides to walk north on Main Street and I choose to walk south, we obviously cannot walk together.  In Micah 3:3 the prophet asks the question, “Can two walk together unless they have agreed to?”  If we are to walk with another, we must agree to where we are going.

There is a well-known hymn called, “Trust and Obey”.  It begins with the words, “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way.”  The author, John Sammis, gives us the same instruction as I did earlier; we must walk with our God.  And when we do, He sheds glory upon our way!  And why not?  It is the joy of every parent to walk hand in hand with their little toddlers.  How much more shall God feel blessed to have us desire to walk with Him?

How shall we walk with our God?  That’s a very good question – I’m glad you asked!  The same prophet Micah gives us a huge clue on the method we must employ; Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Yes you must walk humbly with your God!! 

The prophet uses the words “your God”.  And why does he?  Why not say “my God” or “our God”?  We must understand that this is a very personal admonition.  We must first and foremost realize, it is our acceptance of God as our own that allows us to even walk with Him!!  And then…..we must do so in a humble manner.  More on this the next time.

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 134

The words we speak are important!  We say many things in the course of the day; some of them are off the cuff and some of them are deliberately formed to try and get across a point.  I would go on to say that words are powerful – I believe you have heard the saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”.  So, if words have power, how should we form and evaluate the words that we speak on a daily basis?

Let us first consider God’s words.  Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.”  If we look at each of the six days of creation, we see that they all begin with, “And God said”.  God spoke the universe into existence.  God’s word is powerful – He speaks and things happen.

I am always struck by the scriptures wherein the words, “thus declares the LORD” end a very powerful lesson or correction.  God speaks and He means what He says!!

One particular piece of scripture gives me great excitement whenever I read it and I ask you to pay attention to how it ends:  “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath, and from doing your pleasure on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable;  if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall find your joy in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.  The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  (Isaiah 58:13 – 14)

So what about our words?  In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Now, there’s a scripture to pay attention to!  What kind of things come out of our mouths on a daily basis?  What kind of careless words do we say? 

I am sure that every one of us, reading this article, has spoken words that have gotten us into trouble.  And it’s a kind of trouble that is not always easy to undo.  Two verses before this in Matthew 12 Jesus makes a very interesting comment, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”  In other words, if our hearts are filled with evil things then evil words come out of the mouth.  Again Jesus puts it this way, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

Well, then, perhaps we should consider what is in our hearts – we should examine our hearts.  Solomon wrote the book of wisdom which we call Proverbs. In the first eight chapters he make 10 paternal appeals and in chapter 4, toward the end, he says this, “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.  Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Freedom is Good News Part 133

Have you ever noticed that we human beings seem to “seek the LORD” only when we are in trouble?  “O, LORD if you will only get me out of this jam, I will do thus and such…….”  You fill in the blank!  Somehow we seem to think that God is some kind of a deal maker.  “I’ll do something for you God, if you will do this for me.” 

Allow me to share with you that this is not how God, who created the universe by His spoken word, works!  Sometimes we think that we are mighty big and mighty important people, but even King David (who was a man after God’s own heart) said, “I am but a worm and not a man….” (Psalm 22:6)  No one knew God better than David.  A cursory reading of the words of David, in the psalms, will bear this out.  David humbly served God.  And David loved God.

In Isaiah 40:6 we read, “A voice says, ‘cry out.’  And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’”  And this is the answer that comes to Isaiah, “All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

If one would care to understand just how big God is and how small we are, this chapter 40 of Isaiah should hit the mark.  Verse 14: “Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way?  Who was it that taught Him knowledge or showed Him the path of understanding?”  Verse 22: “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in……..to whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?  Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?  He it is who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”  Yeah, God is an awesome God!!

So let’s get back to our original thought, and ask the question; how and when should we seek this awesome God?  Might I suggest that if we sought Him when things were good in our lives, then things might not have to turn sour.  Isaiah addresses this idea in chapter 55:6, “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”

So that’s the when we should seek Him; and as for the how?  James tells us in chapter 4:6, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  As was said before in this article:  David, a man after God’s own heart sought the LORD with great humility. 

When all is well, let us seek God’s face.  Let us humbly bow before Him and give Him honor and praise and glory; His grace will be ours – for He is God and we are the sheep of His pasture.

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 130

I was looking at a scripture yesterday that got me to thinking.  It is not an unusual or obscure scripture but one that should be quite familiar.  It is found in the Gospel of John chapter 14:1.  But before I type it out, let’s fill in a little background.

Jesus has just spent approximately thirty-three and one half years on this earth.  Of those years, He has been with the twelve apostles for about three and one half years.  When we get to chapter 13 of John we encounter Jesus partaking of His final Passover on this earth and the twelve are gathered around Him. 

I’m not sure if the events leading up to this Passover were any different than the others He had spent with the twelve but He alone knew that this would be a very special Passover; He would be the true Passover Lamb – “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. 

He had been giving the Apostles clues about what was to happen.  Four times in the book of Matthew He mentions to them that He would have to suffer and be crucified (16:21, 17:22, 20:18 and 26:2), but they never really comprehended His words.  And now in the book of John 13:1 we are told, “It was just before the Passover Feast.  Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.”

It is appropriate for us to examine this part of scripture at this time of year, for we are headed toward the time of Passover.  The next line in John 13:1 reads, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.”  Wow!!  The full extent of His love!!  And it is that line that leads me into the scripture that I was about to type at the beginning of this article.

Jesus is confronting His imminent death – a most torturous, hideous and painful type of death; death by crucifixion.  But at this last Passover meal, His thoughts are upon His disciples and not upon Himself.  He takes time to comfort His friends.  John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many abodes; if it were not so would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”

Jesus had just washed His disciple’s feet.  He shared a meal with them and He brought forth the symbols of His own life – the bread (“Take and eat; this is my body.”)  And the cup (“Drink from it all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant.”)

And so He now takes advantage of this precious time with the twelve and begins to teach them some of the most profound things He could ever share with them!!  (Read John 14, 15, 16 and 17)  And yes, He begins by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled”.  I am reminded of the words of a song, “Hallelujah, what a Savior”.

Yes, there is more to come on this subject.

Freedom is Good News Part 129

I was reading an article a short time ago on the subject of “balance”.  The author was contemplating this busy world in which we live and the struggle we encounter as we strive to deal with balancing the many activities in our lives: family, job, exercise, sleep, entertainment and diet. 

Did I leave anything out?  Well, yes, I probably did and I’m sure you might be able to add to this list.  The question that must be asked here is, where does God fit into our busy schedules?  Do we just figure that God has to fit into a one hour slot when we gather together with others to sing a few songs and listen to a message?  Is that all that God deserves?

This article I was reading made this statement, “Your effort to balance life is a waste of time, like striving after the wind.  Don’t even try.”  And then the author quoted this scripture, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33)

You see, God does not deserve the leftovers of our lives.  The God that we should be serving is the one who is the Creator of all the universe.  He is the God that confronted Job and asked where he was when God “laid the foundations of the earth” and the same God who commissioned Isaiah to cry out to His people concerning their sins.  He is the one who sent His only begotten Son to die an extremely torturous death so that we might have life.  Do we really understand who this God is?

What was it Isaiah said when he realized that the majesty of God was in front of him?  What was it that he spoke when the angels that accompanied God cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Is. 6:3)  Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me!  I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Is. 6:5)  Did Isaiah realize something at that point?  Did his whole life change at that moment?  You bet it did!  As much as his small human mind could comprehend what he was experiencing at that moment, his whole life took a great pivot Godward!!

Who is this God?  Let us read the words of King David, the man after God’s own heart,

“Praise to you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hands are power and might to give strength to all.  And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13)

Read that again – slowly!  These are true words of praise and honor to the only living God.

Freedom is Good News Part 128

Do you know what I love about that quote from our previous article?  The one in 2 Timothy 3:14-17?  It tells us that Timothy learned the Sacred Writings in his childhood.  In other words, someone was busy teaching this young child about the salvation of God.

And of course, the message of salvation through a Messiah, sent from the Father, is taught in many places throughout the Old Testament!!  Now, if we go back to the first chapter of this letter to Timothy we read this:  “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (2 Tim. 1:5)

In the book of Acts, chapter 16 we read of Paul coming into contact with Timothy.  We are told that he was a disciple, that his mother was a Jewish believer and that his Father was a Greek (possibly not a believer).

This young man was blessed to have a godly mother and a godly grandmother who desired that Timothy know and understand the ways and purposes of God!  These women were knowledgeable of the scriptures and so they were familiar with Deuteronomy 4:9, “Be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”  Isn’t it a beautiful thing that Paul commends both mom and grandma in his letter to Timothy? 

God continues with Moses here in Deuteronomy 4:10, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”  But God isn’t finished.  He knows we have short memories and so in Deuteronomy 6:6, He tells us again, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” 

One more time God tells of the importance of godly instruction.  In Deuteronomy 11:18 He says, “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  This last expression: sitting, walking, lying down and rising is used to let us know that we should be teaching our children at every opportunity we get.  God was, and still is, serious about this teaching of our children – He mentions it 4 times in these three chapters.  And then King David picks up the command in the 34th Psalm verse 11, “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois must have done a wonderful job of instructing him.  He was a valuable asset to the Apostle Paul in so many areas of preaching the good news.  Paul even calls him “His true son in the faith” and the New Testament mentions his name 27 times. 

Teach your children.  Teach them diligently.  Teach them about God.  Instruction from someone else is O.K. but instruction from Dad and Mom pleases the Heavenly Father.

Freedom is Good News Part 127

I have heard some people say the Old Testament has been done away with.  Making a statement like that, puts an individual on very shaky ground!!  Last week we took a look at a couple of statements Paul wrote to his young assistant, Timothy.  Let’s take a closer look at them.

In his first letter we find this admonition, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” (1 Tim. 4:13)  What scripture did Timothy have to read and teach from?  At the time of this letter, the only scripture available to Timothy was the manuscript (or series of scrolls) we call the Old Testament – the New Testament had not yet been penned.  Timothy was to read, preach and teach the Old Testament, or as Jesus called it, “the law and the prophets”.

Are you familiar with the books from Genesis through Malachi?  Jesus certainly was; and so was Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter and James.  Over and over, these men quoted from them; they understood them; they taught from them – Jesus said, at one point, that they were the words of life (Matt. 4:4) and when He said this He was quoting from the book of Deuteronomy 8:3, “(God) humbled you (Israel) causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Jesus used these words when Satan was tempting Him to turn some stones into bread.  In Matthew 4:4-10 Jesus quoted words from “the Law” each time Satan posed a temptation, “Jesus answered him, ‘it is also written: You shall not put the LORD your God to the test’” (Deut. 6:16); and finally, “Away from me Satan!  For it is written: Worship the LORD your God and serve Him only.’” (Deut. 6:13)

I believe I have indicated in the past that the bible may be compared to a jig-saw puzzle.  God wants us to read, to think, to meditate and so to put together an understanding of His true plan for mankind.  But if we toss out three quarters of the puzzle, we have a very skewed; yes a very incomplete picture.  The Old Testament is an integral part of the picture God wants us to see.  And now we come to the second quote mentioned in last week’s article, “But as for you, Timothy, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:14-17)  

Here, Paul calls the Old Testament “the sacred writings” and also tells us that they are able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Let me end here by stating that salvation is significant to the good news we seek!!

Freedom is Good News Part 126

The bible, from Genesis through Revelation, is a unified piece of literature consisting of 66 books with approximately 40 authors.  That statement, in itself, is astounding.  I do not believe that there is anything like it in all of the world’s literature.  The one thing that makes it a unified text is that its editor is God. 

Yes, God used humans to pen this tome in order that we might have an instruction manual for life itself!

Paul put it this way, “But as for you, Timothy, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:14-17)

Paul, here, is urging his young assistant to continue to teach the scriptures.  These scriptures with which Timothy was acquainted, consisted of the Old Testament; Genesis through Malachi.  In his first letter to Timothy, Paul tells him to, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” (1 Tim. 4:13)

The only Scriptures extant at that time were the Old Testament.  These scriptures, Paul tells him, were “able to make you wise for salvation through Jesus Christ”.  Consider that for the time being – we’ll talk some more about it next time (God willing).

Freedom is Good News Part 125

There are those who enjoy the snow.  In past years it has been evident, from the tracks in some of the fields and meadows, that snow mobiles are used around here!  Now, mind you, I actually enjoy the walks my wife and I take in the early morning crisp cold air - but the snow!!!

The reality here is that it is just a matter of perspective.  A recently aired news piece on TV had the reporter interviewing those who enjoy the snow and so encouraged others to get out and go sledding or ice skating, etc.  And I see their point.  So, what is your perspective? 

OK, this is not an article concerning the weather or the amount of snowfall!  But what is your perspective concerning the world in which we live?  In other words, what is your worldview? 

Some years ago I encountered this concept of “worldview”.  At first I didn’t know what to make of it.  “What is your worldview?”  “Do you have a secular worldview or a biblical worldview?”  I believe the answer to that question tells a lot about how a person sees their relationship with God.

There are a lot of venues in the world today from which to garner information.  On-line or hard copy, we can read opinions, ideas, or theories about politics, science, history or current events.  But in today’s world, how do you know what is true?  My comment on this is that if you put forth an expert on a subject, someone else will put forth 3 experts confirming an opposing view.

Generally speaking, before answering anyone who would ask me my opinion on a given subject, I have to formulate my answer through the truth of the bible.  In other words, I have a biblical worldview – for me there can be no other way.  You see, those with a secular worldview can make up any answer they might want to because they don’t have the “sure foundation” of the bible. 

In this society where truth seems to be very illusive, how do we know what is “truth” and what is not?  The only foundation for truth that we have is the word of God for we read “Thy Word is Truth”.  The truth is, apart from that foundation, all human beings are liars; in fact the bible puts it this way, “Let God be true, though every man a liar”. (Rom. 3:4)  Now it is always possible for a person to be in error as to what he says – but deliberately telling an untruth is lying.

How then can a person who says he is a Christian and believes the bible to be the word of God, make a comment that involves secular reasoning or understanding and which also contradicts the word of God?  Allow me to end this session by quoting from the true Lord’s Prayer found in John 17:  Jesus was in prayer to the Father and says this, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  And yes we are seekers of truth and good news!