Why It Is Good News

For many, the gospel is good news because our sins are forgiven past, present, and future in Christ Jesus. That is good news, no doubt. However, if you stop there, you’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg of what Jesus accomplished.

This fails to answer the question of why sin was necessary to be not just forgiven but completely removed in the first place. To make it only about sins being forgiven and going to heaven one day misses out on the glory intended in the New Covenant.

Really think about this for a moment and allow the privilege you have received to sink in really deep.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Notice the hope of glory mentioned here.

Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ, in you the hope of glory!  What is glory?  The glory of God is His unchanging essence.  Christ was a visible representation of the very image of God.  He demonstrated the very nature of God, which is a supernatural nature.  God is not of this world; He created this world, but He does not originate from this world, and this world rebelled against Him.  God is altogether different from what we are so familiar with in the natural.  We should note what the Scriptures reveal to us regarding His presence.

Psalm 16:11  You will show me the path of life;  In Your presence is fullness of joy;  At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the ways of life;  You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

Christ came to give us hope of God’s presence, not just in heaven to come but also in this life on earth.  This is why Christ is in us!  God has made His abode in us!  God is alive in the church!  God is not dead; He is very much alive, and He lives in each one of us!

We are presence bearers. This is why we had to be made into new creations in Christ.  We were created to be a habitation for the Lord.  This is so much more than just having sins forgiven!  This is so much more than just being under grace.  This involves a privilege, unlike anything this world could ever offer.

God has shared His glory with us by bringing His essence to dwell within us. This is why Christ Jesus is the hope of glory!

We no longer have to live estranged from God or as enemies of God.  We’ve become His dear children and are one with Him now in a relationship made possible through Jesus Christ.  This is the purpose of forgiveness of sin; this is the purpose of grace and truth!  This is why it is such Good News and why we need to preach and teach the New Covenant Jesus established with His own blood.

It is His essence that makes it so amazing!  It is Him that makes it good news!

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What Kind Of Love?

It appears that the phrase “I love you” has become popular and can be tossed around like a penny.

Who wants to be loved with a love that is rated at the value of a penny?

It’s kind of like growing up in the South, where women call everyone sweetie or honey.  You get married and live in confusion if your wife is a Southern bell and happens to call you honey or sweetie. You don’t know if you rate above the rest, are equal, or maybe fall short because it is just the way she talks to everyone.  How can you know the measure of love you are partaking of?

Then there is the friend kind of love, the mate kind of love, the family kind of love, and so on.  There are so many variations on the idea of love today that it can be a challenge for someone to know just how loved they truly are.  It’s hard to feel secure when you can’t nail down just how sincere or solidly you are loved.

Jesus prayed about our being loved by the Father. However, He quantified it very specifically when He prayed it.

John 17:25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Have you been given to Jesus by the Father?  If you are born again, that is exactly what happened.  The Father drew you to Jesus, and Jesus gave you new life.  So that means every born-again believer in Jesus was given to Jesus by the Father, and that means this prayer applies to them.

So, let’s pay close attention to what Jesus prayed. Jesus says, “I will declare to them Your name. “ To truly grasp this, we must understand this phrase: Your name.

Jesus said he had declared it to them and would declare it.  This should give us a clue: If He had already declared it and it was merely a name or a title, then they would know it, and continuing to declare would be redundant.  By this phrase, Your name is much deeper than just a title.  It is dealing with essence.  It deals with unveiling the person based on who they truly are.  Jesus has shown the Father and will continue doing so.  He will reveal the Father in ways we have not known for a purpose.

The aim of doing this on the part of Jesus is that the love with which the Father loved and still loves Jesus might be in us, and we might be in Christ.

This spiritual reality of being in Christ is huge.  The Father loves the Son with an intense, passionate, unyielding, unwavering, devoted eternal love.  It is a love with immeasurable depth and richness.  When one is born again, Christ enters into them, and they are placed in Christ.  In that place of being hidden with God in Christ, there is an overwhelming love that seeks to overshadow and fill the life of the believer.

Every believer has access to this amazing love.   The Father heard Jesus’s prayer and answered it.  But there’s a difference in access and possession.  I can know there is something available to me, even given to me, but neglect to take possession of it due to wrong thinking about it.  Knowing the kind of love does not automatically assure me I will experience all it is intended to offer me.  I must, by faith, take possession of it and allow it to produce in me the confidence and security it is meant to produce.  We have been born into an everlasting, extraordinary love of God that is continually ours to rejoice in and take advantage of.  What kind of love?  It is the best kind of love and the most unique love there is.

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Treasure

When people think of treasure, they usually think of riches. However, I am not using this word in that sense. I am using it in the sense of something of greatest value.

Believers in Jesus have been given a treasure.

2Corinthians 3:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

What is the treasure?

Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The fellowship Jesus has with the Father and with the Holy Spirit He freely gives to us.  The union has been made ours in Christ.

In John 17, Jesus prays for His disciples at that time; however, as He continues praying, He shifts His focus to those who believe in Him afterward.

John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus was not praying for our unity with each other; He was praying for our unity with the Trinity.

He is praying about oneness with God. By stating this, I’m not saying there is no beauty or significance to our unity on some level. I am simply putting the focus where Jesus placed it in His prayer. There are riches too great to measure in our unity with God.

He has made His abode with us in Christ Jesus!  We should never lose our ability to marvel at this amazingly glorious privilege of Christ in us, the hope of glory.  What glory?  Oneness with God!  In step with Him, aware of His desires.   In tune with Him to such a degree, we know in the moment what He desires for us.  But even more than the knowing is the power to not only access but possess the very thing He desires for us.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

A partaker of the divine nature!  It’s one thing to have access and a whole other thing to possess. We have a treasure in these earthen vessels that is meant to be taken advantage of to the fullest.  A true treasure, the divine nature, unity with God, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and Christ in us!  Can we get any richer?

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Ministry Mandate

Many would say that the Apostle Paul in the Bible was one of the greatest Apostles. After all, the Holy Spirit used Paul to write most of the New Testament. Paul also testified in one of his letters that, by the grace of God, he outworked the other apostles.  Like many of the other apostles, Paul was martyred.

I do not think anyone would question Paul’s devotion to Jesus and the gospel. But did you know he possessed a core value in his ministry? One of his letters reveals this value and its origins.

2Corinthians 3:4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Paul’s trust in God was sourced from God and rooted in his understanding that he was no longer sufficient in his own strength. His ministry sufficiency now came from God through the Holy Spirit.  He understood that there was a primary truth he was to minister to the churches.  He also lets us in on what that type of ministry looks like.

What is the ministry?  The New Covenant.  What does a ministry of the New Covenant look like?  It is a ministry that is not about not the letter (Law) but rather of the Spirit.  It is not a ministry of death, but instead, it is a ministry of life.  How do we know it is not about the Law but rather the Spirit and of life as opposed to death?

2Corinthians 3:7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

The glory of the New Covenant is so much greater than that of the Old Covenant that what the Old Covenant had seems insignificant.  Yet many prefer to minister to others from a platform of Old Covenant premise.  They minister the Law to the church as opposed to bringing the saints to understand what the New Covenant is, what it offers, and who it was that established it by His own blood.

Too often, ministers get caught up in offering principles rather than focusing on the relationship at the center of the New Covenant—a relationship not earned by works of any kind.  True New Covenant ministry focuses on Christ Jesus, His finished work at the cross, His resurrection life, and how His obedience is the believer’s benefit.  It focuses on the new life given through Christ and how life can now be lived according to the Spirit as opposed to a set of rules that call on one’s own strength and ability to keep. True New Covenant ministry does not produce a sense of superiority over others.  A superiority fueled by how accomplished one might think they are based on their level of self-discipline and devotion.

True New Covenant ministry produces the fruit of the Spirit in those who minister it and imparts a yearning for Christ in those who sit under such a ministry.  The New Covenant is so grand and glorious and covers so much spiritual territory that it should never become too familiar or boring.  I desire to minister life according to the Spirit, not death according to the Law.  That is why I have embraced the New Covenant as my ministry mandate.

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Still For Today

The New Testament letters in the Bible were written to various churches to instruct them on the ways of living in the New Covenant.  The instructions they received were given with an understanding of what the New Covenant was about, who it was for, and how it was to benefit those who were under it.  Because they are written in such a way in each situation, their instructions are pertinent to those who are alive today.  Some things were merely cultural to that day and time, and they can fairly easily be discerned as to what they were and how they might be out of place in our time.  But much of what was given as instruction is still for today.

Now, some like to ignore some of the writings that address behavior as it makes them uncomfortable for whatever reason.  Ignoring such passages is not as beneficial as some might like to think.  We do not need to ignore difficult passages out of fear of making people legalistic in their thinking.  We can present instructive passages that address behavior in such a way as to promote what it means to adorn the gospel and live out our true identity in Christ Jesus.  We can stay in step with how they are presented in the letters themselves.

Example:

Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.  8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

These instructions are offered in the context of one having become a new creation in Christ and having the identity of being raised with Him in newness of life.  It seeks to remind them of what they had been called out of and then into.  In other words, while it instructs them of the differences, it establishes an understanding of who they are in Christ.

It addresses what New Creation behavior looks like. It recommends where to aim their ambitions by determining what they will set their minds on. In other words, it instructs them about how best to invest their imagination so that their practices and habits align with what is in step with who they have become in Christ.

It speaks of what they once before walked on when they did not know Christ.  It reminds them of how unfortunate a way of living that was and the judgment it promised had they not been rescued from it.

It encourages believers to actively put to death the things of the flesh that desire to arise, take over their purpose, and confuse their identity. It calls believers to walk according to the image of Christ, which they were created in. To realize this, one must alter one’s thinking to fit the reality of who one truly is in Christ.

The New Covenant contains instructive language that is still relevant today so that we can truly manifest the beauty of the image of Christ in which we have been created. It needs to be presented correctly, with understanding and maturity, so that the saints can realize its glorious appeal and possibilities.  We are not destined to think and live as we did before we came to Christ and were born again.  We are designed to be renewed in our knowledge and practice according to the image of Him who created us.  It is still for today.

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Changed

I remember how everything changed when I first came to Jesus.  The things that appeased and entertained me before no longer appealed to me.  I did not try to think differently about them as an act of my own will. They just no longer appealed to me.

It was as if someone had flipped off a switch inside of me and turned on another switch that lit up a whole new set of desires and priorities.  Before Jesus, I would run to do the things that I thought would make me happy, thinking I was having the best time of my life.  After coming to Jesus, my old friends didn’t understand me.  They wanted me to do the things I did before coming to Jesus because they were still doing them.  They would offer me substances, opportunities that before Jesus I would have jumped on, but all of a sudden, I would say no thank you.  I simply had zero desire for them. I would talk about Jesus with them, and they would say I was ruining their good time.  They tolerated me for a time.  I think they were hoping to turn back to my old ways.  But when they would get away from me, they would laugh and talk about me as if I was some sort of weirdo and kill joy now.  Eventually, because they had no desire for Jesus, they had no desire for me either.  Their love for that kind of life without Jesus appealed more to them and resulted in them no longer enjoying my friendship, and some even turned against me altogether.  They wrote me off.

The fact was, they were still of the world, and I had been made into a new creation by Christ Jesus and was no longer of the world.  I was experiencing what the Apostle Peter spoke about in his letters in the Bible.

1 Peter 4:3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

The world wants you and I to fit into the mold it casts.  Various groups desire that you fit into their mold in order to be accepted and approved of, which means thinking as they think and doing as they do.

But when Jesus makes someone a new creation, the internal motivation of life is no longer rooted in sin.  The internal motivation becomes life, and it flows from the DNA of real righteousness and true holiness, which is Christ Himself.

A new creation has a totally different spiritual DNA that seeks to take over and influence all of life for that believer in Jesus.  What once was is no longer true for the person who is born again.  They see things in a completely different way now.  The result of this transformation leads to a new set of problems for the believer in Jesus.  Where they once fit in, they are now an aggravation towards.  It is not intentional.  The differences are just too stark now between the two very different motivations and pursuits. It really is like starting a whole new life in many ways. The world cannot accept authentic new creations lovingly and warmly.  Jesus prewarned us about this.

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

The church will never win a popularity contest with this world.  Therefore, it should not be a focal point and priority of any group of believers to achieve acceptability among those of this world.  Our goal should be to bring change and influence.  Some would argue that the only people Jesus ever had a problem with were the religious leaders and that believers today only have issues with religious institutions.  Although Jesus did not approve of the corrupt religious leaders of His day, it does not mean that is the only group that chooses to dislike true followers of Christ.  Corrupt dead religion is just another group within this spiritually dead world.  To think Jesus was only hated by the dead, corrupt religious leaders of His day would be shallow thinking. When a person lives a changed life because of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, it is a testimony of the differences between dark and light, life and death, righteousness and unrighteousness.  Living changed is light turning on a bright spotlight in the darkness you were once a part of. A new creation changed person enjoys Jesus, and that is not highly popular with those who love this world.

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Imprinted

Have you ever used a rubber stamp that failed to transfer the image correctly?

How about trying to print an image only to find that the printer failed to print it as it should?

The image intended in such a case becomes marred and is unclear.  You may know what it should look like because you are the creator of it.  But those who did not create it may see it in its marred state and assume that is what you intended to start with.

When Scripture speaks of glory, it often refers to likeness—the original image of a person or thing.

If we take this idea with us when we read,

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We understand that the issue is that humanity has fallen short of the likeness God intended for it. The declaration of good given to man at the beginning was marred by Adam’s sin.  He exchanged the glory of his original state as created by God for the knowledge of good and evil.  In other words, Adam opted for his own brand of glory, his own brand of image, as opposed to what God had originally chosen for him.

Adam altered what was good at the beginning, diminishing the glory originally given. Adam fell short of God’s glory because man cannot create the likeness of God by himself. The enticement of the serpent was that Adam and Eve might improve upon what God did to start.  The lie insinuated that by gaining this specific brand of knowledge, they could rise to a level equal to God and thus bear His image.

The lie was actually rooted in distracting them from the truth, removing from their imaginations the reality they already possessed as a God-given gift when He created them.  They moved from a place of free-flowing fellowship and intimacy with God to a place of being afraid of Him.

This explains that the first creation was marred by the sin of self-realization and effort, which is the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, a new creation is required if one wishes to have fellowship with God. To be restored to a place of glory as God intended, one must be born again and become a new creation in Christ.  This is the reason for Christ coming to give His life.  This matter of image, glory, and being properly imprinted according to His image as opposed to our own is what the New Covenant is all about.  Our way of advancing now is not gained by what we can do to improve ourselves, but rather, it is rooted in how we view Jesus.

2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

To correctly view Jesus, we must first have the veil removed that blocks our ability to see Him correctly.

2Corinthians 3:14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

When we become new creations in Christ, we are enabled to see Him. This is why getting the gospel right is so important: The gospel is God’s image-transfer mechanism, the power of God unto salvation, and the means of delivering a new creation in Christ.  The knowledge of good and evil cannot remove the veil that blinds us to the glorious image of Christ that transforms us into His image from glory to glory.  The right gospel reveals that this is all of God and not of us.

2Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is God’s will that Christ’s image be imprinted on our imagination and hearts. He wants our lives to be forever changed so that we can enjoy the fellowship that is the fruit of His glory.  Our transformation comes from beholding Jesus, not ourselves.  It comes from rejoicing and being thankful for His accomplishment on our behalf, not our accomplishments on His behalf.  So, I will conclude today with this encouragement from Scripture.

Hebrews 12:1 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.

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Sense That Makes No Sense

1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In our modern age, much of the church seems convinced that academic instruction can help one obtain a spiritual understanding of God and His ways. It seems to be assumed that if one can explain supernatural truth, the other party should be able to comprehend it.

This neglects the idea that God’’s truth is of a supernatural origin and originates with Spirit, not flesh.  Jesus declared this very thing.  This further establishes the importance of the Holy Spirit for proper understanding.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

I realize that understanding original language can be beneficial, but to really know a person, you must understand where they are coming from and get the message they intend. Just understanding the basics of their language does not lead to a proper understanding of what they are actually saying. Jesus is a perfect example of saying things that seemed plain enough but, when taken literally, resulted in a gross misunderstanding on the part of some. This is found in the pages of Scripture.

John 6:41 The Jews then complained about Him because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”  43 Jesus, therefore, answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”  52 The Jews, therefore, quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”  53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”  59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

We experience this phenomenon almost every day in some way.  We think we know what a person is getting at when, in fact, we do not have a clue because we truly do not know them well enough to get the nuance of what seems plain to most but has a different message to those who truly know them.

Jesus was speaking in their language of things that originate in the Spirit. They could not see the forest for the trees.  Their pride in their ability to know the language properly, in the natural, led them to a wrong interpretation of what Jesus was actually saying.  They would have argued that they knew what they heard and were not mistaken.  Jesus knew that unless the Spirit gave them understanding, they would not get it, so He did not try to find other ways of describing His point to them.  Jesus was, in a way, making sense that made no sense.  I have a friend in Detroit, Michigan, who refers to this as the meta-message.  We all need the help of the Holy Spirit if we are to understand the intent of God’s communication truly.  The Bible is no ordinary book.  It’s the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring its words to life in those who desire to know the truth.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Oh, how we need You, Holy Spirit, to help us see what we really need to see and understand what we really need to understand.

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How Well Do You Know?

I have a good friend I have known for many years since coming to know Christ. We have journeyed together and experienced many things. I recently asked him what he would do if someone came to him and reported that I had smacked them, cussed them out, and key-scratched their car because they upset me.  His response was quick and concise.  He said, “I would tell them I don’t believe it even for one second because I know you and know you wouldn’t do such a thing.”  Then he said I would encourage them to avoid spreading such a lie.

His quick response came from a place of knowing me well enough not to believe something contrary to the character he had witnessed in me. He’s spent enough time with me to know that I have no desire to hurt anyone, even when they’ve done me wrong.  He really knows me; he doesn’t just know about me through someone else report.

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He spoke to her and revealed things about her life that led her to believe in Him.  As a result of this encounter with Jesus, she told the people where she lived to come out and meet a man who told her everything about her life and who is the Messiah.

This is what they testified after meeting Jesus for themselves,

John 4:39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.  42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

The woman’s testimony of Jesus served as an invitation to come and meet Him for themselves. Had they refused and said, “We now know about Him, and that is enough,” they would never have benefited.  They needed to hear Him speak to them in a real way, in a personal way.

During the recent election, there was much information circulating about the two candidates for president.  Listening to information from separate sources carried two very different opinions, as a bias was clearly evident.  I learned a lot in my endeavor to get to know all I could about each candidate in order to make an informed vote.  I had to weed through all the biases to come up with my own thoughts.  But for all I learned, I still could not say with integrity that I really knew either candidate.  I know about them, and in this particular case, it was enough for me to do what I needed to do.  However, I do not personally know either one of them.  If you asked me about them, I could tell you what I learned and became confident about.  But I could not speak like one who was close to them.

I have shared all this to say that religion seems to think that knowing things about Jesus on an informational level is equal to truly knowing Him, and nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus is more than just a historical figure from the pages of Scripture about whom we can learn. He is a person who desires to know us intimately and have a personal relationship with us.

Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask to ensure that we know Him intimately. His ministry is to help us realize our connection and grow in personally knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus up close and personally is far more powerful than just knowing things about Him. The enemy is good at debating and stealing perspectives that are not rooted in personally knowing Jesus.  This is why Scripture testifies of the importance of believing in Him, not about Him, but in Him.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

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Think About It

Have you ever wished the world would stop spinning for a moment, giving you a chance to process something before demanding you get back to it?

Have you ever had to move from a very serious and sad moment to dealing with the everyday affairs of life?

This happened to Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples.  While all the disciples were in Galilee with Jesus, He spoke to them.

Matthew 17:22 Now, while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

Jesus has just informed His disciples that He is about to be betrayed and will be put to death, but He lets them know He will be raised to life again three days later.  It tells us how this made them feel.  They were exceedingly sorrowful.  Not just a little sorrowful but exceedingly so.

Then, after they arrive in Capernaum, Peter is approached by the temple tax collectors.

Matthew 17:24  When they came to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?”  25 He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or strangers?” 26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Can you imagine? Peter is probably still trying to process the idea that Jesus said He would be betrayed and die, and these tax collectors are expecting to collect taxes from Jesus and challenging Peter about it.

I love that Jesus knows Peter is concerned about their perceptions of him and is willing to help Peter find peace.  Peter did not mention the tax matter to Jesus, Jesus anticipated it.  In other words, Jesus already knew about it and how Peter felt about it.  In like manner, Jesus knows when we are in a difficult place brought on by something significant happening to us and sees how the things of life will continue to come at us.  He cares.

I love the simple solution Jesus has for the occasion.  Although Jesus knows Peter’s concerns, Jesus does not pass on the opportunity for it to be a lesson in faith and trust. The solution is a simple one, but it requires childlike faith to possess it.  Jesus sends Peter to do something he enjoys and relaxes him, such as go fishing.  The challenge is to believe that the first fish he catches is to check in its mouth for the money to pay the temple tax for both Jesus and himself.

Sometimes, when life is coming at us fast and hard with all its demands, Jesus will tell us to do something that allows us a moment to relax and unwind, and He will show us the solution. It can be difficult to hear His solution when we are anxious and hurried, but Jesus cares, and if we approach with childlike faith, He will show us a simple solution to our problem.  If you have a problem or a concern, take it to Jesus and let Him speak to you about it.  What He tells you might challenge your faith in Him, but it will bring you peace.

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What If?

The Bible contains a very interesting story about a leper from Syria named Naaman. Although he was a leper, the king of Syria honored him as a man of great accomplishment.

Because of his military feats, he was revered. During one of his military raids against Israel, he brought back a young Israeli girl who became a servant to his wife. The young girl told Naaman’s wife that if her master Naaman were with the prophet who dwelt in Samaria, he would be healed of his leprosy.

The wife told Naaman about it, and Naaman went to the king to get permission to visit the prophet. The king granted permission and sent a letter along with Naaman to give to the king of Israel.

When the king of Israel received the letter saying the king of Syria sent Naaman to be healed of leprosy, he tore his clothes and declared, “Am I a God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to be healed of leprosy?”  The king of Israel saw this act as a setup to stir up a war.

Elisha heard of this and told the king of Israel to send Naaman to him. The king would then see that there was a prophet in all of Israel.

So Naaman arrived at Elisha’s place, and Elisha didn’t even come out to meet him.  Elisha sent a messenger out and told Naaman to wash in Jordan seven times.  This was not how Naaman imagined it would go.  He expected Elisha to come out to him and then call on the name of God, wave his hand over the affected places, and heal the leprosy.  When Elisha didn’t do this, it offended Naaman, and he became angry. In his anger, Naaman reasoned that the rivers in Damascus were cleaner than the Jordan and said, “Could I not wash in them and be clean?”  After stating this, he went away in a rage.

As he was leaving, his servants began to reason with him. “If the prophet had told you something great to do, would you not have done it?  How much more then, when he says to you, ‘wash and be clean’?”

At this, Naaman calmed down and decided what the heck? Why not try it?  When he came up out of the water the seventh time, his skin was healed and new, like that of a child.

In our many situations in life where we desire God’s intervention and help, are we willing to accept His wisdom when it comes to us in a very simple way?

What if He tells us to do something contrary to what we have imagined it should go?

Often, God’s wisdom cuts through the fog of a situation with the simplest solution, which does not ask that we display our own might but rather trust Him.

What if God offers something absurdly simple as the answer to your situation?  Will you say okay?  Will you go way mad and offended?

If you allow yourself to build up the situation in your imagination very dramatically and He does not respond with an equally dramatic solution, you may risk being offended.  Keep His greatness ever before you, and know that every problem presented to Him has a simple solution.  God is not into all the drama. He is content being Himself, supernatural and all-wise.

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The Greatest In The Kingdom

I grew up with four brothers, three older and one younger. I understand a little bit about competition. If that were not enough to teach me about it, I also played sports when I was young and have had to compete to get jobs in my lifetime. Adults will argue over who is the greatest in a position in a sport or a political appointment.  The idea of who was the greatest has always been a thing in life for many, if not most. Among siblings, the competition can often be about who is the favorite child.

If I were to ask you who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, what would your answer be?

Where would your thoughts take you when being asked such a question?

Would it be the largest mega-church pastor?  Would you think it might be a famous, well-known missionary?  How about a famous evangelist?  Would you imagine it to be one of the original apostles?  What actually makes someone great in the kingdom of heaven?

You might not think this would be an issue among followers of Jesus. You’d like to think that the idea of competing with each other would not be a thing in the church at large, especially among leaders.  However, the disciples of Jesus asked Him this very question.

Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

We should all be able to identify to some extent with the question the disciples asked Jesus. But are we prepared for the way Jesus responded to such a question?

Matthew 18:2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I love the way Jesus handled this issue with the disciples.  It was such a great teaching moment for them, and it is still the case for us today.

Jesus called a child to come to Him and then set that little boy in the midst of the disciples as an example.

Then Jesus offers two distinct explanations: one involving children in general and how one enters the kingdom, and the other involving this specific child and how it denotes who is the greatest in the kingdom.

So, in essence, Jesus says that in order to enter the kingdom, one must become childlike. That is the more general idea He conveys to the disciples. But then He moves on to answer their question more specifically and says whoever humbles themselves as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom.  Why this specific little child?

This child responded when Jesus called him to come to Him.  The child came, and when Jesus desired to put the child on display before the disciples, the child complied with no resistance.  Do you think it might have been possible for this child to be even a little bit intimidated to be placed in the middle of a bunch of competitive men grappling over who is the greatest and who towers over you in size and power?  Yet this child came to Jesus when He called him and then let himself be put on display in what was likely an uncomfortable and awkward way.  In other words, this child was willing to say, “Okay,” when Jesus called him and asked him to do something.  He did not debate with Jesus; he did not resist Jesus or act as if the thing Jesus desired of him was too difficult a thing.  He simply complied with Jesus from what appears to be an attitude of trust.  This specific child simply submitted himself and complied.

Greatness in the kingdom is not measured by the numbers we affect, the size of our ministry, or the reach of our influence. It is measured by the surrender and trust we bring to Jesus and how quickly and easily we are able to say okay to whatever He might ask of us.  Surrender and submission are the way to greatness in the kingdom of heaven.

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Set Free

Jesus said something profound,

John 8:36 Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

He said this after stating the following,

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

Jesus is saying these things to the Jewish people, which He was sent to deliver according to God’s promise and the truth.  They were asking Jesus who He was.

John 8:25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”  And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

They did not understand that He was speaking to them of the Father.

John 8:28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

Jesus did not live by His own strength in the flesh, and He did not do things based on what He wanted.  The primary desire of Jesus was to please the Father by being in unity with Him and yielding to His will.  This is why Jesus is considered the most humble man that ever lived; He never did anything based on His own desire.  He was fully submitted to the will of God.

After saying these things, it says many believed in Him.  To those who believed in Him, He spoke the following.

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

This saying disturbed them in their minds and led them to ask him,

John 8:33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

Interestingly, if we were to go on to read all of what occurred in this exchange in the Scriptures, we would learn that these very ones who claim to believe in Him turned on Him.  His claim to set them free from their bondage to sin went unheard and unattended due to their offense that they needed to be set free in the first place.  They preferred to argue that they were not in bondage to start with. They allowed a red herring of their natural descent to get in the way of a beautiful promise because of their pride in their “heritage.”

Jesus truly sets us free from sin when we believe and accept who He is and what He has accomplished on our behalf.  The power of sin has been broken, and we can live in freedom from sin’s rule over us in Christ.

Those who truly believe that they are in Christ and that Christ lives in them have been set free!  Those who take Him at His word just as He took His Father at His word can walk in the freedom Christ died to give to them.  It is for freedom that Christ sets us free.  Freedom from the tyranny and power of sin!

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Mall Cop Jesus?

I hope that the title grabbed your attention and stirred your curiosity.

What do I mean by Mall Cop Jesus?

When I was young, I used to join some friends out west in our town at a popular arcade. There were electronic games and pool tables, and we would go there to hang out and enjoy ourselves.

Because of how many young people would show up, they hired a security guy in uniform.  I was a rebel at that time and full of myself.  I remember one evening driving into the parking lot and making my usual round in front of the place when the security cop stopped me.  He put his head inside the window of my car to tell me to stop showing out by dropping my clutch and squealing my tires.  I looked at him in my rebellious attitude and said something I really shouldn’t have. I dropped my clutch with his head still inside my window, knocking off his hat, and it dropped into my lap.  I then took his hat, threw it out of my window, and screamed you don’t have any authority over me, you pretend cop.

I am not proud of that moment from my former days before Jesus.  I simply use this story to make a point.

Many quote what Jesus said, but they act more like Jesus is a Mall Cop than who He truly is.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Luke 10:18   And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

It’s one thing to talk about having authority in His name, and it is yet another to actually exercise that authority by faith in who He is and the authority that is His and is now given to the church on this earth.

Mark 16:5 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

These statements were not just good ideas and platitudes of speech to merely excite our emotions.  They are real and alive words of authority given to the church.  Jesus was not a Mall Cop, and neither was nor is His church!  The authority He has given to us, His church, is real authority even greater than any authority on this earth.  However, this authority is only reflected through those who truly believe it has been given to them and who have received it by faith in Jesus.  It involves the power and agency of the Holy Spirit working through the believer.  The world needs to see the church exercising this authority on this earth.  This authority accompanies the right gospel when it is preached, and it manifests the reality of Jesus to as many as would receive it.  Mall Cop Jesus?  I think not!

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The Value Of Character

I asked a good friend of many years recently what he would do if someone were to come to him and say that I had cursed them, punched them, and key scratched their car over something petty.  His answer was quick and concise.  He stated that he would tell them that it was a lie.  He would refuse to believe a single word of it.  I asked him why that was.  He said because I know you, and I know your character!

There’s something powerful about knowing someone’s character.  A person’s character leads us to trust or distrust them.

I share this to speak of how important it is for us to know God’s character because it fosters our faith and trust in Him when we know more accurately who He is and what He is like.

Jesus came to show us the Father, and this is very important for us to know.  Everything Jesus did or said was a reflection of what the Father was doing and saying.  That means if we wish to clarify our understanding of what God is like based on a true demonstration of a particular aspect of His character, we can look at what Jesus was doing and saying.

Just as we function in life, make choices, and perform actions based on the foundation of our character, God acts based on His nature and according to the quality of His character.  Because of what Jesus revealed concerning the Father, we need never be terrified by His holiness, greatness, and majesty.  We should, however, reverence Him for these amazingly beautiful and wonderful attributes, knowing that they are the foundation for His goodness, mercy, love, and grace He has extended to us on behalf of Jesus.  There are certain attributes He possesses that are meant to cause us to hold Him in the highest esteem and respect Him with humility of heart and soundness of mind.

When this transpires in our hearts, minds, and souls, it produces in us the fruit of gratitude and love towards Him that is rooted first in His love for us revealed in Christ Jesus at the cross, and it sets the groundwork for a deep trust of Him in all things.  Such revelation and understanding of His immutable character and nature is what enables our surrender and submission to His will even when we struggle to understand it fully.

I’m not speaking about mere knowledge about His character that can be gained from theological books so that we can appear spiritually astute to those who do not engage in such studies.  That kind of knowledge leads someone to feel they are superior to others and, therefore, look down on them and fail to esteem them as Scripture instructs us to. I am talking about a relational knowing that is rooted in interacting with Him in real-time, real-life, everyday situations.  The kind of knowing that comes from hearing Him speak and experiencing His ways and works in your personal life.

2Corithians 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Knowing Christ according to who He is now in all of His glory is important for every believer.  It is why Jesus prayed,

John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Jesus is exalted to the highest place!  He is not ordinary, yet He is approachable and intercedes for us with such great love.  His glory is unbroken fellowship and oneness with the Father shrouded in love.  The more we know Him according to His greatness, the greater the privilege it is to be loved by Him and be accepted in the beloved.  If we choose to diminish His character by reducing Him to merely being human as we are, we do ourselves and others a disservice.  He indeed gets us, but He gets us from His high and lofty position on the throne, and that makes His getting us all the more special and beautiful.  This is the value of knowing the true character and nature of a person, especially Jesus and the Father.  Character has value, and His character is without flaw.

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Me Centered?

My definition of me-centered is when I think someone must serve my best interest according to my thinking as to what that would be. Otherwise, they are of no use to me.

Today, it seems popular to speak of easily kicking someone to the curb based on whether or not they serve one’s own best self-interest.

Being self-centered can be dangerous, as it can lead to deception and turn important things upside down.

Having a dominant “what’s in it for me” attitude is not the best thing.  Choosing people as friends based only on what they can do to promote me is not healthy.

Sadly, many have approached Christ from this basis of thinking.  They approach Him based on what they think He will do for them, never even considering what He might ask of them.

When it is only about what I want, it distorts the truth and creates discontent. If a person with that type of thinking and attitude does not get what they want the way they want it, and when they want it, they behave like a child throwing a temper tantrum due to not getting whatever it was they desired.  That kind of attitude can set a person up for a rebellious state of mind and practice.  It stirs up contentions, fighting, and wars.  The Scriptures clearly show us that this is true.

James 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

When James says war in your members, he is speaking about the natural tendencies of the flesh.  Self-centeredness has never served anyone well. It has always been a path to disappointment and complaint. Demanding to be spoiled with everything desired in this life generally does not bring anyone satisfaction to the level they seek.  This is why it says,

James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

There’s an advantage to being submitted and surrendered to Jesus, Who is greater and wiser and Who loves me deeply.  Being submitted and surrendered to the point that His desires for me are more important to me than my own desires is a blessing.  He sees my end from the beginning and can help me navigate my way through the most trying times as I seek to stay in step with Him.  I may not get to see everything I had hopes to be answered and accomplished the way I wish, but if I know Him well and trust His character and desire Him for who He is more than for what He does for me, I will never be disappointed due to a selfish attitude and thinking He exists for my purposes as opposed to the other way around.

Those who truly love the truth always end up with Jesus and are content to know Him for who He is. Me-centeredness will always be a snare, but Christ-centeredness is a prospering way of life.  The more I get to know Him for who He is, the more I esteem Him as Lord, and the more I find, the happier I am in my soul and my mind.  I am loved with everlasting love, not because it is all about me and my getting my way.  I am loved because of how wonderful and great He is.  His loving me is far more about His goodness and greatness than it is about me.  I find my value and worth in His love for me, no doubt. However, it does not produce a self-centeredness in me to know this.  Instead, it makes me even more aware of just how wonderful Jesus truly is.

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Heavenly Butler

We’ve all seen movies where a wealthy family is served by a loyal butler who will do whatever is asked because it is his job to serve the family.

In the beloved Downton Abbey series, the Butler is Carson. He does things for the family that sometimes go against his better judgment.  They made sure to cast him as always being concerned that family got the best in every situation.  Still, Carson was a servant to the family.

As a butler, Carson was not allowed to tell family what they must do; it was the other way around.

In our modern times, among some in the church at large, one might think Jesus and the Holy Spirit are butlers to the family.  It comes across as though they are not allowed to have a will and desire for the family that the family should give attention to and observe.  It is reversed to the point that whatever the family tells them should be done is expected to be done.

The value has been reduced severely in some cases.  As opposed to the greatest value being placed upon Christ Jesus, it now has been ascribed to the recipients of grace.  There’s no doubt that Jesus Himself ascribed a great value to us by giving Himself for us.  There’s no doubt that His love is on display for us at the cross.

There’s something, though, that needs to be considered here.  Jesus does not owe His existence, joy, peace, and happiness to us.  Jesus did not do what He did out of need for Himself, the Father, or the Holy Spirit.  They have no needs; they were never in want, and they, for all eternity, will be self-sufficient and forever all-sustaining.  So the things Jesus did were never because He would in any way cease to be without us.  They do express a desire to have us as His own from a place of love.

He has applied a value to us not from a place of need but rather from a place of desire.  Someone who does this is not taking on the role of being our butler.  To put Him in such a light is to devalue Him!  The reason His love for us is so special is communicated to us in the Psalms.

Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

Psalm 144:3 LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?  Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

When we fail to get the right values placed where they belong, things become confused and upside down.  It begins to send the wrong signals to those who look on and observe the way He is being treated by those claiming to be His and claiming to love Him.  It becomes a show of disrespect as opposed to great respect for who He is and what He has accomplished that has benefitted us so greatly.

It is past time for the church to reclaim awe and wonder regarding who Christ is and who the Holy Spirit is and recapture respect and reverence while still maintaining an acute awareness of His great love.  It is when reverence and respect are in place that the idea of His love increases in value to us.  His grace becomes more valuable than ever before, and our gratitude levels soar even higher.  To see Jesus or the Holy Spirit from the sense of being a butler lends itself to developing in us a sense of entitlement, which in turn lends itself to being less thankful and complaining more when things do not go as we wish.  If a butler fails to satisfy the wishes of those he serves, he is met with disapproval.  But a Lord is very different.  Jesus is still King of kings and Lord of lords; He will never be a heavenly butler.  I get to serve Him and others at the pleasure of His will, not mine.  I consider it a great honor to be found in such a position with One so great.

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Esteem

According to our English dictionary, the word esteem means to hold in respect and admiration. In Hebrew, it means to value, as in the translation of the word Chashab in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.  3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;  He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;  The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;  We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep, before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

The prophet makes us aware of how Jesus did not come with the usual characteristics the world would normally place a value upon.  As a result, Jesus was not esteemed.  He should have been esteemed according to His real value and worth.  However, by not possessing the things first looked for in order even to get started esteeming someone, the people struggled with esteeming Jesus according to His true value.

We now have the benefit of looking back on what the prophet Isaiah said, knowing what Jesus did for us in full view. The cross is plainly displayed, as are His resurrection from the dead and ascension.

The fact that He suffered as He did to take our sin upon Himself and then, in turn, give us His righteousness.

Today, it is clear that the cross demonstrates God’s love for us, and the love of Christ is said to be shed abroad in our hearts. Paul, as an apostle, encouraged the church to know the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, and thereby be filled with all the fullness of God.

But the depth of what He did and His value is not as esteemed as it could be if there is ignorance with regard to His majesty and glory.  An ordinary man can do extraordinary things and be somewhat esteemed for what he did.  But if a distinguished man highly revered and honored does extraordinary things, it is highly esteemed.

If you recall, when Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, He could not do many mighty things there, and He was rejected by His people even though they marveled at the gracious words He spoke to them.  They even desired to throw Him off a cliff.  That’s anything but esteeming Him.  Why did this happen?  He was merely Jospeh’s son.  Had they looked at Him as being the Son of God, His value would have greatly gone up.

Today, many wish to present Jesus as ordinary and talk about His loving people as if He were an ordinary person. They do not realize that diminishing who Jesus truly is in His magnificence and majesty diminishes the value of what He did, which in turn diminishes our value as well.

It is one thing to be called a friend by a needy, ordinary person; it is a whole other thing to be called a friend by a very important and highly esteemed person.

If we shy away from presenting Jesus according to the glory He had with His Father before He came and the glory He now has, as revealed in Revelation when John fell as one dead at His feet, we do a disservice to ourselves and others when we seek to present His love and the offer of grace that He alone can provide.

We do not help anyone by making Jesus seem ordinary because we think that doing otherwise might make them uncomfortable.  Heaven sees Him according to the great value that is His, and it makes what He did even more amazing.  It is time once again to regain the esteem for Jesus that He deserves.

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Loving Criticism

First, please allow me to use the English dictionary to define what criticism is: the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.

It is not the same as a critique:  evaluate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way.

Did you know that there’s a compelling argument circulating that Jesus, the figurehead of the church, would never criticize it?

I am not sharing this to promote the idea of being a proponent of criticizing the church.  I am sharing this to demonstrate that bold statements that are final in nature on a subject need to be subjected to the whole counsel of Scripture before they are embraced.  I do not believe it is healthy or appealing to be a person who never has anything good to say about the church.  If all one can do is find fault, it doesn’t make them a prophet. However, there are times when correction is needed in order for believers to stay on course in their walk with Jesus.

Scripture does teach us that rebukes and correction are attributes of a loving Father.

Hebrews 12:7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Correction, through pointing out what might be wrong with something spoken or done, is necessary in life if we desire to learn and grow.

High-level athletes, musicians, artists, and business people have discovered that criticisms of their work can fuel their efforts for improvement. When they are secure in who they are, they welcome criticism because they desire to improve.

If Jesus never criticized the church, there should be no evidence in the entire New Testament that He did so. Yet there is sufficient evidence that He did criticize certain churches for their benefit.

Here’s just one example:

Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

I absolutely love how Jesus makes it clear that He rebukes and chastens those whom He loves with the aim of helping them change their minds and adjust their ways with an end goal in mind.  I think it would be the most awesome thing ever to sit with Jesus on His throne just as He sat down with His Father on His throne after conquering death, hell, and the grave.  I am indeed seated with Him in the heavenly places right now, but this is a promise of something yet to come.  Some rewards await us in the not-so-distant future, and those rewards are glorious.  Holiness has not gone out of style with heaven, and consecration and loving devotion to Jesus has not been cast aside.  Loving criticism will always be to our benefit so long as we do not harden our hearts to it and falsely accuse the practice of being unloving and hurtful due to walking in unchecked pride.

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Repentance

The word interpreted as repent in Greek is not complicated. It is simple.  It is the Greek word metaneo, which simply means to think differently afterward or reconsider.

Contrary to some modern teachings, repentance is a thing of the past. It’s not a practice that remains relevant for the righteous today.

To make such a claim would mean that someone has arrived at a state of perfection in all areas of thought and life in Christ.  While I need not think of myself as being dead in sin and trespasses any longer because I have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus and given eternal life, that does not mean my every thought and imagination is now perfect.  I am the righteousness of God in Christ.  However, that does not mean there can never be an attitude or thought that I need to change my mind about, so it can affect my choices and actions.

In the Scriptures, when something is referred to as the church, it really is a part of the church, and to be that, it means the ones being addressed have been born again and are new creations in Christ.  If anyone knew who the church was, it would be the one who created the church to start with.

I would take my stand on knowing that Jesus, as the One who created the church, is the authority on what the church is and who is a part of it.  Therefore, if Jesus says something to a church, I must find a way to accept it and not formulate a doctrine that eliminates what He said.  I need the Holy Spirit to help me see and understand just as we all do.  Jesus speaks to seven different churches in the letter of Revelation.

P.S.  They are all part of the church on earth, but Jesus addresses them based on their local geography of being a gathering, and they each have their own appointed messenger—something to consider.

Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Jesus says this is a church in Sardis, so it is an authentic church, but it is an authentic church dealing with some issues.

Once again, we find Jesus evaluating this church based on its works. When looked at from the outside, it is not an idle church. It is a church that is doing things that make it appear as though it is a live church, but Jesus says this church is dead.  How can Jesus acknowledge this is a church He created by giving life to those who make it up and then say to them as a church that they are dead even though outwardly they appear alive?

He encourages them to strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die.  When a church gets into its mind that there are important things they must do to the distraction of really important things, the Holy Spirit details it can look alive while it is dying spiritually.  The most important thing is an active, intimate relationship with Jesus and the Father.  Interestingly, Jesus says to this church that He did not find their works perfect before God.  Jesus then encourages them to remember.  Their business has led to them forgetting the more important thing to God.  They are to remember how they have received and heard, hold fast, and repent.  In other words, there is a need to experience a change of mind to such a depth and degree that it changes what is occurring even though, outwardly, it looks alive.

Teaching anyone that repentance is no longer needed is dangerous because it eliminates the notion of the need to change one’s mind to be in unity with God’s thoughts and what Jesus desires. The act of renewing the mind by the washing or the water of the word is, in fact, an act of repentance.  Teaching that there is no longer a need for repentance ignores the fact that even as they attempt to teach that repentance is no longer needed because we are already righteous, it is in and of itself a call to some type of repentance.

If, in my claim to know Jesus and be walking with Him, I am not finding areas of thought and attitude that fail to align with Him and thus am inclined to change my mind to adjust to how He thinks, I appear to be alive while I am actually dead and I need to repent.  Repentance is a way of life for a believer in Jesus.  I wish to engage it because, like those in Sardis who were given a promise of walking with Jesus in white by being found worthy due to not defiling their garments, I, too, want to be found worthy.

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