The God revealed in both the Old and New Testaments are one and the same God. To claim otherwise is to ignore the ample evidence of God's holiness, righteousness, goodness, grace, justice, love, and vengeance portrayed consistently throughout scripture. One aspect of God's character is He does not change. He says plainly to His people in Malachi 3:5-6, "And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien -- because they do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts.
6
"For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." Men change, but God does not change.
God had made a covenant with His people to which He remained true, despite their departure from Him. They were disobedient, unholy, and filled with unbelief. God's people demanded to have a king established over them in his place, and He granted their request. The majority of these kings were wicked, idolatrous, and did not fear the LORD. God chastened His people to test them, to move them repentance, so they might return and be restored. In both the Old and New Testament, people are very much the same. God reached out to them with open arms, inviting them to trust in Him alone, but they were not willing! Though they rebelled and broke their promise made with God, He still looked upon them favourably. Even when wicked Johoahaz sat on the throne, God remembered and kept His promise to them - though not entirely for their sakes. 2 Kings 13:22-23 reads, "And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23
But the LORD was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence."
What would you give to receive God's grace, compassion, that He would regard you, neither destroy you or cast you from His presence? These are blessings and benefits we could never earn. Yet Jesus has freely offered all who will repent and trust in Him a new covenant sealed with His own shed blood on the cross: He will be our God and Saviour if we will repent, trust Him, deny ourselves, and follow Him. Even as God ministered grace to the children of Israel who had forsaken Him for the sake of His covenant, so God expresses love and favour to us because of the new covenant He has established through Jesus Christ. If you believe God is a make-believe entity contrived by man, this promise means nothing to you. But realise Jesus was not a mere man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin in fulfillment of scripture, lived a sinless life according to the Law, performed signs and wonders confirmed in the sight of multitudes, died on a cross, and rose from the dead in glory three days later. The facts have not been changed, and there has been no revision of history. None of these things were done in a shadowy corner. The vast historical and biblical evidence is staggering. If Jesus indeed came to earth with His claim of divinity, said the things He said, did the things He did, rose from the grave, and ascended to the Father, then Jesus is truly the Son of God. And if Jesus is the Son of God, He has a Father who has made Him the judge of all living and the dead.
This was Paul's conclusion as he held forth the reality of the one true God in Acts 17:24-31. God has appointed as Judge the same one through whom we receive eternal life. "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
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Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
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And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27
so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28
for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
29
Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising.
30
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31
because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
God has not changed. He still holds out an invitation to forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. He is gracious towards you, has compassion on you, and regards you - even if you have suffered oppression from your foolish wanderings and unbelief. Turn your eyes and heart to Christ, for it is through Him alone we receive of God's everlasting covenant.
23 November 2014
20 November 2014
The Static Quo
When I was in high school, I ran cross country. For hours a week, our small team gathered and trained for upcoming races. I remember my first junior-varsity race, an invitational hosted by El Capitan which weaved around Lindo Lake in Lakeside, California. My memories of that race are not good because it is the only race I didn't finish. About halfway through I turned my ankle, and after failing to keep pace I gave up and quit. The ankle was no doubt sore, but my pride was hurt even more. I would love to say that day I was an admirable picture of perseverance, finishing despite pain and the resulting poor time. I suppose my mind set was not on finishing at all costs, but doing well. If I couldn't do well in my mind, it was better to quit than press on. Ouch.
One lesson I learned that day is despite making the team, training daily, intense preparation, wearing the right gear, warming up, and doing my best didn't guarantee a finish in the race. Starting the race with absolute commitment to finishing the race in spite of any difficulty was something I needed to determine for me to have any chance of finishing. Jesus was wise to tell people to count the cost before they followed Him. All who follow Christ will face tribulation and trials. But even counting the cost beforehand does not guarantee a finish. As Jesus walked, some after hearing His words departed and never followed Jesus again. Jesus taught that endurance to the end is key in Matthew 10:22: "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Human beings grow comfortable with the familiar. The irony of this is no human being is static but in a constant state of growth, development, or atrophy. "Static" is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, "showing little or no change, action, or progress." The world is changing, society is changing, and we are changing, but somehow we assume people stay the same. We can be quite thrown when it is revealed someone is not who we thought they were. But this is nothing new. When Saul became the first king of Israel, he was a perfect picture of humility. It only took a few years before power, wealth, fame, and pride corrupted Saul and God rejected him from being king. How many Christian musicians are not as "Christian" as when they began? How many politicians, pastors, and Christians change their tune concerning social issues or biblical truth because of pressure to conform? It is our nature to forget the pit God brought us from and start judging others critically. Paraphrasing Gene Edwards in his masterpiece A Tale of Three Kings, "The ability to see problems is a cheap gift indeed." (pg. 88)
We are either advancing in holiness or becoming increasingly weak, spiritually senseless, and blinded by sin. We are shocked when we hear of Christians falling into sin or leaving the faith, whether it is a well-known pastor, mentor, family member, or a person out of the public eye. God is certainly able to reconcile even such to Himself, for His love, acceptance, and grace is not only granted to the unregenerate but to all who repent. Don't assume you will make it to the end of your race as a faithful follower of Jesus because you have made it this far. You still need Jesus. You need to seek and hear His voice. You still need to be led by the Holy Spirit. His Word must still be applied to your life and decisions daily. Your works, gifts, or reputation among men will offer no benefit as you stand before God at the end of your days. Are you growing in knowledge of God? Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
God forbid our lives lack the sheer desperation we once had to know, follow, and obey Jesus to the end! Refuse to be pleased with the status quo of your walk with God, for nothing about man is static. If we are not taking intentional steps to grow closer to Jesus change is still happening, but not for the better. God gives us complete assurance He will do His part to save all who come to Him by faith, yet that is not a guarantee we will agree to meet His conditions! Praise the LORD it is He who works in us both to will and do of His good pleasure. Our salvation obtained by grace through faith should not give us confidence in our works or increase reliance upon self, but upon God alone. May all who call Christ Saviour and LORD find contentment in the relentless, intentional pursuit of Him!
One lesson I learned that day is despite making the team, training daily, intense preparation, wearing the right gear, warming up, and doing my best didn't guarantee a finish in the race. Starting the race with absolute commitment to finishing the race in spite of any difficulty was something I needed to determine for me to have any chance of finishing. Jesus was wise to tell people to count the cost before they followed Him. All who follow Christ will face tribulation and trials. But even counting the cost beforehand does not guarantee a finish. As Jesus walked, some after hearing His words departed and never followed Jesus again. Jesus taught that endurance to the end is key in Matthew 10:22: "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Human beings grow comfortable with the familiar. The irony of this is no human being is static but in a constant state of growth, development, or atrophy. "Static" is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, "showing little or no change, action, or progress." The world is changing, society is changing, and we are changing, but somehow we assume people stay the same. We can be quite thrown when it is revealed someone is not who we thought they were. But this is nothing new. When Saul became the first king of Israel, he was a perfect picture of humility. It only took a few years before power, wealth, fame, and pride corrupted Saul and God rejected him from being king. How many Christian musicians are not as "Christian" as when they began? How many politicians, pastors, and Christians change their tune concerning social issues or biblical truth because of pressure to conform? It is our nature to forget the pit God brought us from and start judging others critically. Paraphrasing Gene Edwards in his masterpiece A Tale of Three Kings, "The ability to see problems is a cheap gift indeed." (pg. 88)
We are either advancing in holiness or becoming increasingly weak, spiritually senseless, and blinded by sin. We are shocked when we hear of Christians falling into sin or leaving the faith, whether it is a well-known pastor, mentor, family member, or a person out of the public eye. God is certainly able to reconcile even such to Himself, for His love, acceptance, and grace is not only granted to the unregenerate but to all who repent. Don't assume you will make it to the end of your race as a faithful follower of Jesus because you have made it this far. You still need Jesus. You need to seek and hear His voice. You still need to be led by the Holy Spirit. His Word must still be applied to your life and decisions daily. Your works, gifts, or reputation among men will offer no benefit as you stand before God at the end of your days. Are you growing in knowledge of God? Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
God forbid our lives lack the sheer desperation we once had to know, follow, and obey Jesus to the end! Refuse to be pleased with the status quo of your walk with God, for nothing about man is static. If we are not taking intentional steps to grow closer to Jesus change is still happening, but not for the better. God gives us complete assurance He will do His part to save all who come to Him by faith, yet that is not a guarantee we will agree to meet His conditions! Praise the LORD it is He who works in us both to will and do of His good pleasure. Our salvation obtained by grace through faith should not give us confidence in our works or increase reliance upon self, but upon God alone. May all who call Christ Saviour and LORD find contentment in the relentless, intentional pursuit of Him!
19 November 2014
The Gates of Righteousness
"Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD.
20
This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter.
21
I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation."
Psalm 118:19-21
Only those with clean hands and a pure heart will see God (Ps. 24:4). The Law of God proves beyond any shadow of doubt that there is none good, no not one. Solomon stated rhetorically in Proverbs 20:9, "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" If man's only hope for righteousness was through his own effort, he would have no hope whatsoever. But by the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed through faith to all those who believe. Paul stated his fervent desire in Philippians 3:9-11 to "...be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Jesus Christ has been revealed as the Gate of Righteousness, the Way, the Door through whom man is invited to enter and receive eternal life. The Psalmist wrote, "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD." God has opened the gates. God has made a way of salvation, and our response should be eternal praise for God's glory. As important as it is to receive Christ's righteousness imputed through faith, it is imperative we walk in it. God did not make us righteous only so we could be granted entrance to heaven. When we decide to walk through the Gate of Righteousness, the implication is we will also are choosing to continually walk in the path of righteousness.
Every day we remain on this earth we face the choice of walking in righteousness or seeking to satisfy self. Peter wrote of Christ being our righteous example in 1 Peter 2:22-25: "...who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." Those lives of those who have received of Christ's righteousness should be marked by the practice of it. In choosing holiness and righteousness, we walk in true worship and praise of the God who loves us and gave His life for us. One person's deliberate act of choosing righteous obedience to God is worth more than all the songs and raised hands of those who walk unrighteously.
Have you chosen the Way of Righteousness to receive salvation? That is good! Be mindful and intentional to take the necessary step of choosing to live righteously every day. Through God it is possible!
18 November 2014
The Healthy Perspective
This morning I asked God to provide something for me to post on the blog, and today He saw fit to provide in a way I did not expect! God speaks through times of prayer and scripture reading, but He also reveals Himself in the mundane. When a man knows God, it changes his perspective of everything. Even in accidents God's grace and goodness is revealed. In a little booklet I read the other day written by Ken Ham, he stated all students of science use the same facts but their worldviews dictate how the facts are interpreted. It is God in a person who opens our eyes to His gracious benefits even when things "go wrong."
In between studies this morning, I went to the kitchen to prepare a coffee for myself. After tamping the grounds in the portafiller, I pulled the stainless steel milk frothing jug from the strainer. Unknown to me (at first!), the blade attachment for our blender was stealthily tucked inside! Before I even looked down or felt the sting, I knew what had happened: the blender attachment had fallen - face down - into my toe. It didn't bleed right away, but I kept my eye on it. It wouldn't be long...yep, oozing blood began to slowly outline the small incision. I grabbed a paper towel and spent the next few minutes looking through the house for Band-Aids!
As I cleaned the wound, I marveled how close the point of the blade came to hitting the leather strap on my Rainbow thongs. A couple of millimetres to the left and all the discomfort could have been avoided! But my mind did not settle on that point, because had the tip of the blade entered a couple millimetres to the right, I would have likely damaged the tendon on my big toe and also sliced through a vein! Given the situation, instead of lamenting the injury I praised God it was not more severe. As it was I would relegate the cut to a mild inconvenience and hardly worth mentioning. But it is worth mentioning that God is worthy of praise whether we manage to avoid injury or if a flying cleaver chops off an entire toe! Even should the body of a child of God be ruined or destroyed, we have been promised by God a new, resurrected, and glorified body we will use to dwell with God and praise and serve Him forever!
Keeping our eyes on God is a healthy perspective that leads to the grateful praise of God with all thankfulness. Psalm 118:28-29 concludes with, "You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." God's goodness and mercy does not hinge on the condition of my toe, but what grace He showed me today in protecting me and opening my eyes to see His providential hand for my God and His glory. Turn your eyes to God and praise the One worthy of all glory and praise for He is good, and His mercy endures forever!
In between studies this morning, I went to the kitchen to prepare a coffee for myself. After tamping the grounds in the portafiller, I pulled the stainless steel milk frothing jug from the strainer. Unknown to me (at first!), the blade attachment for our blender was stealthily tucked inside! Before I even looked down or felt the sting, I knew what had happened: the blender attachment had fallen - face down - into my toe. It didn't bleed right away, but I kept my eye on it. It wouldn't be long...yep, oozing blood began to slowly outline the small incision. I grabbed a paper towel and spent the next few minutes looking through the house for Band-Aids!
As I cleaned the wound, I marveled how close the point of the blade came to hitting the leather strap on my Rainbow thongs. A couple of millimetres to the left and all the discomfort could have been avoided! But my mind did not settle on that point, because had the tip of the blade entered a couple millimetres to the right, I would have likely damaged the tendon on my big toe and also sliced through a vein! Given the situation, instead of lamenting the injury I praised God it was not more severe. As it was I would relegate the cut to a mild inconvenience and hardly worth mentioning. But it is worth mentioning that God is worthy of praise whether we manage to avoid injury or if a flying cleaver chops off an entire toe! Even should the body of a child of God be ruined or destroyed, we have been promised by God a new, resurrected, and glorified body we will use to dwell with God and praise and serve Him forever!
Keeping our eyes on God is a healthy perspective that leads to the grateful praise of God with all thankfulness. Psalm 118:28-29 concludes with, "You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." God's goodness and mercy does not hinge on the condition of my toe, but what grace He showed me today in protecting me and opening my eyes to see His providential hand for my God and His glory. Turn your eyes to God and praise the One worthy of all glory and praise for He is good, and His mercy endures forever!
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