Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "spiritual-maturity"
Tit for Tat
And (Isaac) said (to Esau), “Your brother (Jacob) came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing”… And (Jacob) said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?” [Genesis 27:35; 29:25].
When I was a child I behaved like a child. My childishness was not unique, not even close. When no one bothered to correct me, I went right on committing dumb acts! If I got by with it long enough, the acts became even dumber and my response increasingly witless. And if others joined in and egged me on—well, let’s not even go there.
You see, it’s in human nature to do wrong because all of us are born with a sin nature, and that’s the nature of sin. So here we are, very young or not so much so, and we come to know the Lord. We are born again, and now the Lord has another son to rear.
Like any good father, our heavenly Father desires the best for His kids. But there we stand, spiritually childish as all get out, committing one dumb act after another. So what’s a good heavenly Father going to do about it. He’s going to give us incentive to stop the childish behaviors, that’s what. To do this He disciplines us. This can consist of all sorts of good stuff, like, for instance, taking us to the woodshed to become acquainted with the hickory stick.
But in His discipline of His kids, the Lord isn’t limited to just the wood shed. Often He directs our lives so that we receive tit for tat. We have a superb example of this in the Bible verses with which we began our study. Jacob was the Lord’s chosen son. In fact Jacob was chosen while Esau his twin brother was not, even while they were still in the womb. The Lord told Mommy Rebekah as much while she was carrying the twins.
The story of Jacob’s life as recorded in the Book of Genesis is meant to illustrate the parental aspect of the Lord, as He takes His finagling son through life’s process. Along the way Father God directs the affairs of Jacob’s life so that he keeps bumping his head into a brick wall. Sooner or later—in Jacob’s case it was later, much much later—this was meant to knock some sense into the childish urchin, so that he would stop committing dumb acts and seeks the Lord’s will in his life.
And that is just what happened with Jacob…in the end. Jacob connived to steal his older twin brother Esau’s birthright. Then he machinated against Father Isaac to steal Esau’s blessing. The Lord had already told Mommy Rebekah that Jacob would be the child to receive the rights of the firstborn, even though Esau was the natural firstborn. But Jacob had to help the Lord out by seizing them in his own strength according to his own reasoning. In fine, Jacob walked in the flesh and considered that serving the Lord.
Needless to say, but Brother Esau looked none too kindly on Jacob’s maneuverings. He plotted to kill Jacob, so Jacob had to be sent away from the family home in Beersheba to stay with Uncle Laban in Paddan-aram. If you look at a Bible map you will see that this was a trip from the far south of Canaan all the way past Damascus to northern Mesopotamia—a not so minor distance on foot back in the day.
Anyway, to teach Jacob discipline, the Lord used Uncle Laban to give Jacob a taste of his own medicine. Laban repeatedly manipulated and schemed to cheat Jacob, in order to further Laban’s income. The Bible verses with which we began our study is a case in point. Jacob liked Laban’s daughter, so he agreed to work for Laban seven years in order to marry her. After the seven years were up, Jacob had his wedding. When he went to the bedroom for his conjugal rights, it was dark. Laban substituted his older daughter Leah in place of Rachel. Jacob was none the wiser…until the morning light revealed the truth!
Well, you get the point. Jacob deceived Father Isaac to get his way. The Lord’s discipline was to use Laban to deceive Jacob to get his way. Tit for tat. After several of these tit-for-tat rebuttals, Jacob did finally mature spiritually and begin to walk in the Spirit in serving the Lord. This occurred at Peniel, where Jacob was renamed Israel by the Lord.
So how goes it with you? Are you responding as a good son to the Lord’s discipline and maturing spiritually? I hope that all of us are, or there will continue to be tit for tats on the horizon. And they’re no fun!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
When I was a child I behaved like a child. My childishness was not unique, not even close. When no one bothered to correct me, I went right on committing dumb acts! If I got by with it long enough, the acts became even dumber and my response increasingly witless. And if others joined in and egged me on—well, let’s not even go there.
You see, it’s in human nature to do wrong because all of us are born with a sin nature, and that’s the nature of sin. So here we are, very young or not so much so, and we come to know the Lord. We are born again, and now the Lord has another son to rear.
Like any good father, our heavenly Father desires the best for His kids. But there we stand, spiritually childish as all get out, committing one dumb act after another. So what’s a good heavenly Father going to do about it. He’s going to give us incentive to stop the childish behaviors, that’s what. To do this He disciplines us. This can consist of all sorts of good stuff, like, for instance, taking us to the woodshed to become acquainted with the hickory stick.
But in His discipline of His kids, the Lord isn’t limited to just the wood shed. Often He directs our lives so that we receive tit for tat. We have a superb example of this in the Bible verses with which we began our study. Jacob was the Lord’s chosen son. In fact Jacob was chosen while Esau his twin brother was not, even while they were still in the womb. The Lord told Mommy Rebekah as much while she was carrying the twins.
The story of Jacob’s life as recorded in the Book of Genesis is meant to illustrate the parental aspect of the Lord, as He takes His finagling son through life’s process. Along the way Father God directs the affairs of Jacob’s life so that he keeps bumping his head into a brick wall. Sooner or later—in Jacob’s case it was later, much much later—this was meant to knock some sense into the childish urchin, so that he would stop committing dumb acts and seeks the Lord’s will in his life.
And that is just what happened with Jacob…in the end. Jacob connived to steal his older twin brother Esau’s birthright. Then he machinated against Father Isaac to steal Esau’s blessing. The Lord had already told Mommy Rebekah that Jacob would be the child to receive the rights of the firstborn, even though Esau was the natural firstborn. But Jacob had to help the Lord out by seizing them in his own strength according to his own reasoning. In fine, Jacob walked in the flesh and considered that serving the Lord.
Needless to say, but Brother Esau looked none too kindly on Jacob’s maneuverings. He plotted to kill Jacob, so Jacob had to be sent away from the family home in Beersheba to stay with Uncle Laban in Paddan-aram. If you look at a Bible map you will see that this was a trip from the far south of Canaan all the way past Damascus to northern Mesopotamia—a not so minor distance on foot back in the day.
Anyway, to teach Jacob discipline, the Lord used Uncle Laban to give Jacob a taste of his own medicine. Laban repeatedly manipulated and schemed to cheat Jacob, in order to further Laban’s income. The Bible verses with which we began our study is a case in point. Jacob liked Laban’s daughter, so he agreed to work for Laban seven years in order to marry her. After the seven years were up, Jacob had his wedding. When he went to the bedroom for his conjugal rights, it was dark. Laban substituted his older daughter Leah in place of Rachel. Jacob was none the wiser…until the morning light revealed the truth!
Well, you get the point. Jacob deceived Father Isaac to get his way. The Lord’s discipline was to use Laban to deceive Jacob to get his way. Tit for tat. After several of these tit-for-tat rebuttals, Jacob did finally mature spiritually and begin to walk in the Spirit in serving the Lord. This occurred at Peniel, where Jacob was renamed Israel by the Lord.
So how goes it with you? Are you responding as a good son to the Lord’s discipline and maturing spiritually? I hope that all of us are, or there will continue to be tit for tats on the horizon. And they’re no fun!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hot and Cold - Part 1
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hot and Cold – Part 2
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off half cocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off half cocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Lord of the Beings
He must increase, but I must decrease [John 3:30].
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I AM in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I AM in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Doggie in the Window – Part 1
But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” [Luke 10:41-42]
Some of you may remember this popular song from way back in the day. No, it wasn’t before the Civil War! Actually it came out in 1952. I loved hearing it as a small fry. It is titled How Much is That Doggie in the Window. The chorus goes like this:
How much is that doggie in the window,
The one with the waggly tail?
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie’s for sale.
The scene is a pet shop with a picture window which faces the sidewalk. Some of the shop’s pets are on display at the window. As shopper’s walk by they see the cute little darlings and are enticed to go inside and make a purchase.
Things haven’t changed much, have they? The more things change, the more they remain the same. Today we have indoor shopping malls of massive proportions. No matter how bad the weather is outside, we can still shop all the stores in air conditioned comfort during the hot summers and central heating coziness during the cold winters. Come rain or snow or hurricanes, our craving to look at the world’s goodies never has to be put off.
Is it any wonder we cannot stop spending? Is it any wonder we have credit cards galore? Is it any wonder we haven’t time for family, unless it be to go shopping or play with our toys together? Is it any wonder our children are receiving a poor education and falling behind the kids of other countries? Between computer games and movies and texting and the social media, what time is left for study?
Today’s social landscape explains a lot, when it comes to the prevailing religious and spiritual climate in the good ol’ USA. When the shopping malls and restaurants are constantly packed; when we surf the web in search of more of the world’s toys to purchase; when even the tiny kids have their own cell phone with camera and texting and internet access and Facebook account—how is church supposed to compete?
Just look at the way church has evolved. At church we break the family down into age groups and separate the different ages into their own “churches” and Sunday School classes. And we don’t even blush when we pledge ourselves to “family values”! The older ages listen to the old hymns on piano in their “church”, while the younger ages listen to contemporary songs with guitar and bass and drums. Big screens carry the lyrics so everyone can sing along. A full band of innumerable parts is desirable, even a full orchestra! Big productions. Big programs. Elaborate decorations and outfits. All hail to Hollywood tactics in the church building!
We will pause here to give our attention to these things. Meditate on them and pray about it. Tomorrow we will assay how this affects the churches today. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Some of you may remember this popular song from way back in the day. No, it wasn’t before the Civil War! Actually it came out in 1952. I loved hearing it as a small fry. It is titled How Much is That Doggie in the Window. The chorus goes like this:
How much is that doggie in the window,
The one with the waggly tail?
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie’s for sale.
The scene is a pet shop with a picture window which faces the sidewalk. Some of the shop’s pets are on display at the window. As shopper’s walk by they see the cute little darlings and are enticed to go inside and make a purchase.
Things haven’t changed much, have they? The more things change, the more they remain the same. Today we have indoor shopping malls of massive proportions. No matter how bad the weather is outside, we can still shop all the stores in air conditioned comfort during the hot summers and central heating coziness during the cold winters. Come rain or snow or hurricanes, our craving to look at the world’s goodies never has to be put off.
Is it any wonder we cannot stop spending? Is it any wonder we have credit cards galore? Is it any wonder we haven’t time for family, unless it be to go shopping or play with our toys together? Is it any wonder our children are receiving a poor education and falling behind the kids of other countries? Between computer games and movies and texting and the social media, what time is left for study?
Today’s social landscape explains a lot, when it comes to the prevailing religious and spiritual climate in the good ol’ USA. When the shopping malls and restaurants are constantly packed; when we surf the web in search of more of the world’s toys to purchase; when even the tiny kids have their own cell phone with camera and texting and internet access and Facebook account—how is church supposed to compete?
Just look at the way church has evolved. At church we break the family down into age groups and separate the different ages into their own “churches” and Sunday School classes. And we don’t even blush when we pledge ourselves to “family values”! The older ages listen to the old hymns on piano in their “church”, while the younger ages listen to contemporary songs with guitar and bass and drums. Big screens carry the lyrics so everyone can sing along. A full band of innumerable parts is desirable, even a full orchestra! Big productions. Big programs. Elaborate decorations and outfits. All hail to Hollywood tactics in the church building!
We will pause here to give our attention to these things. Meditate on them and pray about it. Tomorrow we will assay how this affects the churches today. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Doggie in the Window – Part 2
But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” [Luke 10:41-42]
How has Hollywood tactics in the church building worked out for us, dear Christians? Let’s take inventory and see. In past generations Christians read their Bibles—their entire Bibles, not just parts here and there. The Bible was known so much better then than it is today, so very much better. People wasted far less time on the ways and things of the world, leaving them far more time to pray and read the Bible and study.
The result was large prayer meetings, serious conversations about the things of Scripture, and many more Christians getting involved in sharing the Lord Jesus with other people. Unlike today, where we swipe fish from the other fish tanks and call that “church growth”, back in the day Christians actually went fishing in the big pond. They witnessed to the unbelievers and won some to Christ. That was know as “church growth” then.
In the Scripture we quoted to kick off this study, there are three persons interacting together. One is Mary, another is Mary’s sister Martha, and the third Person is the Lord Jesus. Jesus was visiting the home of these two dear ladies, and they loved Jesus. Jesus did what He always did: He shared the Word of God with them. Martha wanted to make a fancy meal for Jesus, so she was in the kitchen preparing it. Meantime Mary was in the parlor sitting at Jesus’ feet and feeding on the Word of God which graciously rolled off Jesus’ tongue.
Martha became flustered because she was doing all the work, you see. She chided the Lord Jesus Himself for distracting Mary and giving her an excuse not to help prepare the meal. What was Jesus’ response to Martha? He gave it in love and gentleness to be sure, but it was a rebuke nonetheless. Jesus pointed out that Martha was “worried and bothered”, while Mary wasn’t. Jesus added that Martha got her fur rubbed the wrong way about “so many things”, while Mary chose only “one thing”, and this “one thing” was “the good part”.
Martha, you see, was like the shoppers who walk by the storefront and look in the window. They don’t really need anything, but they want to feast their eyes on all the world’s gimcracks. This stimulates an insatiable appetite for more and more and more. It is a vicious circle which leads us to be “worried and bothered about so many things”. No wonder we aren’t sitting next to Mary at Jesus’ feet, feeding on the Word of God which proceeds out of His mouth.
Only ONE thing is needful, dear friends. Only ONE thing is the GOOD PART. Why do we allow ourselves to join the Prodigal Son in the pigsty to feed on the swill? Why not arise and go to Jesus to receive a royal robe and a ring and sandals, and sit at His table to feed on the fatted calf of His Word?
Let’s make this our lifestyle. Let’s permit the Holy Spirit to rule our hearts and minds. And may the name of the Lord Jesus be praised!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
How has Hollywood tactics in the church building worked out for us, dear Christians? Let’s take inventory and see. In past generations Christians read their Bibles—their entire Bibles, not just parts here and there. The Bible was known so much better then than it is today, so very much better. People wasted far less time on the ways and things of the world, leaving them far more time to pray and read the Bible and study.
The result was large prayer meetings, serious conversations about the things of Scripture, and many more Christians getting involved in sharing the Lord Jesus with other people. Unlike today, where we swipe fish from the other fish tanks and call that “church growth”, back in the day Christians actually went fishing in the big pond. They witnessed to the unbelievers and won some to Christ. That was know as “church growth” then.
In the Scripture we quoted to kick off this study, there are three persons interacting together. One is Mary, another is Mary’s sister Martha, and the third Person is the Lord Jesus. Jesus was visiting the home of these two dear ladies, and they loved Jesus. Jesus did what He always did: He shared the Word of God with them. Martha wanted to make a fancy meal for Jesus, so she was in the kitchen preparing it. Meantime Mary was in the parlor sitting at Jesus’ feet and feeding on the Word of God which graciously rolled off Jesus’ tongue.
Martha became flustered because she was doing all the work, you see. She chided the Lord Jesus Himself for distracting Mary and giving her an excuse not to help prepare the meal. What was Jesus’ response to Martha? He gave it in love and gentleness to be sure, but it was a rebuke nonetheless. Jesus pointed out that Martha was “worried and bothered”, while Mary wasn’t. Jesus added that Martha got her fur rubbed the wrong way about “so many things”, while Mary chose only “one thing”, and this “one thing” was “the good part”.
Martha, you see, was like the shoppers who walk by the storefront and look in the window. They don’t really need anything, but they want to feast their eyes on all the world’s gimcracks. This stimulates an insatiable appetite for more and more and more. It is a vicious circle which leads us to be “worried and bothered about so many things”. No wonder we aren’t sitting next to Mary at Jesus’ feet, feeding on the Word of God which proceeds out of His mouth.
Only ONE thing is needful, dear friends. Only ONE thing is the GOOD PART. Why do we allow ourselves to join the Prodigal Son in the pigsty to feed on the swill? Why not arise and go to Jesus to receive a royal robe and a ring and sandals, and sit at His table to feed on the fatted calf of His Word?
Let’s make this our lifestyle. Let’s permit the Holy Spirit to rule our hearts and minds. And may the name of the Lord Jesus be praised!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
That doesn’t make sense, God!
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? [Habakkuk 1:13]
Men and women can sometimes have an impossibly difficult time communicating. Some refer to this by the contemporary adage, “Women are from Venus, men from Mars”. But all jesting aside, men and women by nature have a different mental framework. Their thinking processes are not identical.
This is not an indictment of men or women, just an accurate observation. By the same token Orientals and Occidentals in general also employ different thinking processes. In this case the thinking varies because Occidentals are trained to think, even if subconsciously, in terms of Aristotelian logic. But for Orientals this is not the case.
In the verse we cited at the start of this study, Habakkuk is faced with another example of different thinking processes. In this case the variation is between God’s thinking processes and sinful man’s. God is holy. All men are sinful.
God makes a distinction between born again folks and plain old born folks. Because born again folks have the Spirit of God living in them, they are capable of understanding the mind of Christ, which is equivalent to the mind of God.
We have to go through a spiritual growing process, just as babies in the physical realm do. But if we continue to spend time alone with Jesus—feeding on the Word of God, praying, and obeying—then we mature spiritually to understand how the Lord thinks and what He expects of us.
In Habakkuk’s case He had difficulty grasping how, on the one hand, God cannot bear to even look upon evil, much less tolerate it. On the other hand God permits the extremely wicked people to have the victory over those who are less wicked than them. As if to say, “What gives, God? That doesn’t make sense!”
At the heart of Habakkuk’s complaint lies the different thinking processes of God and sinful man. In God’s eyes sin is sin. He doesn’t label some sins as flagitious and others as peccadilloes. Any person who sins is a sinner. A rose is a rose. By any other name it stills smells sweet. A sin is a sin. By any other name it still reeks to high heaven!
So God is not being illogical, when He employs the devil’s kids to spank His kids for sinning. He will do much more than spank the devil’s kids when the time is right, viz., at the Great White Throne judgment. For the present time His business is to rear His own kids.
Sometimes this entails visits to the woodshed, sometimes physical or mental afflictions, other times financial failures, and still other times making use of foreign invaders who are more wicked than His kids.
In the final analysis, though, the Lord disciplines His kids to spiritually mature them, but He casts the devil’s kids into the lake of fire for all eternity to be rid of them. During our lives on earth this side of eternity, the Lord does what it takes to get His kids to become like Him. This is well worth the cost to us because in eternity we will live with the Lord forever.
The devil’s kids have their good things now. In eternity they will beg for just a drop of cool water to cool their parched tongues. We have good things now too, just not the worldly good things the devil’s kids crave. In eternity we will enjoy our good things of all stripes and colors.
Let’s not question God’s motives. Let’s spend more time alone with Him and His Word, so that our minds are transformed into the mind of Christ. Life has such a grand appearance when we see through His eyes. What do you say. Can I have an “Amen”?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Men and women can sometimes have an impossibly difficult time communicating. Some refer to this by the contemporary adage, “Women are from Venus, men from Mars”. But all jesting aside, men and women by nature have a different mental framework. Their thinking processes are not identical.
This is not an indictment of men or women, just an accurate observation. By the same token Orientals and Occidentals in general also employ different thinking processes. In this case the thinking varies because Occidentals are trained to think, even if subconsciously, in terms of Aristotelian logic. But for Orientals this is not the case.
In the verse we cited at the start of this study, Habakkuk is faced with another example of different thinking processes. In this case the variation is between God’s thinking processes and sinful man’s. God is holy. All men are sinful.
God makes a distinction between born again folks and plain old born folks. Because born again folks have the Spirit of God living in them, they are capable of understanding the mind of Christ, which is equivalent to the mind of God.
We have to go through a spiritual growing process, just as babies in the physical realm do. But if we continue to spend time alone with Jesus—feeding on the Word of God, praying, and obeying—then we mature spiritually to understand how the Lord thinks and what He expects of us.
In Habakkuk’s case He had difficulty grasping how, on the one hand, God cannot bear to even look upon evil, much less tolerate it. On the other hand God permits the extremely wicked people to have the victory over those who are less wicked than them. As if to say, “What gives, God? That doesn’t make sense!”
At the heart of Habakkuk’s complaint lies the different thinking processes of God and sinful man. In God’s eyes sin is sin. He doesn’t label some sins as flagitious and others as peccadilloes. Any person who sins is a sinner. A rose is a rose. By any other name it stills smells sweet. A sin is a sin. By any other name it still reeks to high heaven!
So God is not being illogical, when He employs the devil’s kids to spank His kids for sinning. He will do much more than spank the devil’s kids when the time is right, viz., at the Great White Throne judgment. For the present time His business is to rear His own kids.
Sometimes this entails visits to the woodshed, sometimes physical or mental afflictions, other times financial failures, and still other times making use of foreign invaders who are more wicked than His kids.
In the final analysis, though, the Lord disciplines His kids to spiritually mature them, but He casts the devil’s kids into the lake of fire for all eternity to be rid of them. During our lives on earth this side of eternity, the Lord does what it takes to get His kids to become like Him. This is well worth the cost to us because in eternity we will live with the Lord forever.
The devil’s kids have their good things now. In eternity they will beg for just a drop of cool water to cool their parched tongues. We have good things now too, just not the worldly good things the devil’s kids crave. In eternity we will enjoy our good things of all stripes and colors.
Let’s not question God’s motives. Let’s spend more time alone with Him and His Word, so that our minds are transformed into the mind of Christ. Life has such a grand appearance when we see through His eyes. What do you say. Can I have an “Amen”?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 1
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
A TV commercial used to run regularly during prime time each evening. For the life of me I cannot even venture a guess how long ago it was. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
Anyway a public disavowal of illegal drug usage was in full swing. In a failed effort to dissuade the young folks—and the not so young too—from using drugs, the government put out these commercials on the TV during prime time. They were actually done quite well.
I remember how one of the commercials popped up on the screen, showing a skillet with an egg in it. The egg sizzled loudly as it fried. After several seconds of watching that scene—the delay being for effect and creating anticipation, you see—a voice brusquely announced, “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
Effective in making a point, don’t you agree? Well, the real point I want to draw from those anti-drug commercials is what followed next. All of these anti-drug commercials ended with the same catch phrase, “Just say no to drugs.”
The reason I recall those anti-drug commercials at this time is simple. Many many moons ago a youth pastor at a church where I interned had a good take on Titus 2:12. In the New International Version the verse is translated, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions”. Taking his cue from the anti-drug commercials, he noted that Titus 2:12 is his anti-drug verse. Being a youth pastor he regularly taught and exhorted the youth not to do drugs.
Whenever I read Titus 2 anymore, I remember that good brother. He had a knack for ministering to young folks. Youth pastors require a special gift from the Lord, if they are to be effective with teenagers under their care. He was good at his ministry, and I for one appreciated him for it.
In this study we won’t employ Titus 2:12 as our anti-drug Bible verse. We want to tackle verses 11-14 as a group and enjoy the smorgasbord of scrumptious delectables afforded therein. So let’s wash our hands, sit at the table, say grace, and get to eating!
But now we will call it a day and go visit with Jesus a spell. See you tomorrow, and we won’t be showing anymore commercials.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
A TV commercial used to run regularly during prime time each evening. For the life of me I cannot even venture a guess how long ago it was. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
Anyway a public disavowal of illegal drug usage was in full swing. In a failed effort to dissuade the young folks—and the not so young too—from using drugs, the government put out these commercials on the TV during prime time. They were actually done quite well.
I remember how one of the commercials popped up on the screen, showing a skillet with an egg in it. The egg sizzled loudly as it fried. After several seconds of watching that scene—the delay being for effect and creating anticipation, you see—a voice brusquely announced, “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
Effective in making a point, don’t you agree? Well, the real point I want to draw from those anti-drug commercials is what followed next. All of these anti-drug commercials ended with the same catch phrase, “Just say no to drugs.”
The reason I recall those anti-drug commercials at this time is simple. Many many moons ago a youth pastor at a church where I interned had a good take on Titus 2:12. In the New International Version the verse is translated, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions”. Taking his cue from the anti-drug commercials, he noted that Titus 2:12 is his anti-drug verse. Being a youth pastor he regularly taught and exhorted the youth not to do drugs.
Whenever I read Titus 2 anymore, I remember that good brother. He had a knack for ministering to young folks. Youth pastors require a special gift from the Lord, if they are to be effective with teenagers under their care. He was good at his ministry, and I for one appreciated him for it.
In this study we won’t employ Titus 2:12 as our anti-drug Bible verse. We want to tackle verses 11-14 as a group and enjoy the smorgasbord of scrumptious delectables afforded therein. So let’s wash our hands, sit at the table, say grace, and get to eating!
But now we will call it a day and go visit with Jesus a spell. See you tomorrow, and we won’t be showing anymore commercials.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 2
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
Let’s continue our study of the anti-drug Bible verse. When reading Scripture we would be benefited to note the actors on the stage of the text. There are several in Titus 2:11-14. We will acquaint ourselves with them as they make their appearance.
The first person we meet enters stage right during the first seven words: “For the grace of God has appeared”. God is the star of this story, as He is in all of Scripture. Life isn’t about me, or about you, or about the family cat. Life for everyone revolves around God.
The word “grace” appears in the New Testament constantly. We need to understand what it means, if we want to know what God has to teach us. The grace of God has appeared. What is that anyway?
The word “grace” refers to a free gift. In our study it refers to a free gift from God specifically. He gives it to us because…because…well, just because He wants to. His love is His motivation. God is love so He does things like that.
Man hasn’t earned this free gift. Otherwise it wouldn’t be free, and it wouldn’t be a gift either! Nor does man receive this free gift because he deserves it. I am not so sweet a darling that God felt compelled to give me His grace. It doesn’t work like that! Nor am I so smart or strong or successful or whatever.
God gives me His grace because He is love. I don’t even enter the picture until I receive it. Up until that time God’s grace alone is on the stage.
So God’s grace, His free gift, has made an appearance on the stage of world history. Okay, then what is this free gift, this grace of God which has appeared? Well, first of all it isn’t a “this” or a “which”. God’s grace is a “Who”. In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize the “Who” as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
“How do you reckon those three Persons comprise God’s grace, based on Titus 2:11-14?” you are no doubt champing at the bit to ask me.
And an insightful query it is too. I’ll be happy to oblige you with an explanation, as we make our way through the text.
But it’ll have to wait for our next study. This one’s over, as is the day. I need time alone with Jesus before I retire. Don’t you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Let’s continue our study of the anti-drug Bible verse. When reading Scripture we would be benefited to note the actors on the stage of the text. There are several in Titus 2:11-14. We will acquaint ourselves with them as they make their appearance.
The first person we meet enters stage right during the first seven words: “For the grace of God has appeared”. God is the star of this story, as He is in all of Scripture. Life isn’t about me, or about you, or about the family cat. Life for everyone revolves around God.
The word “grace” appears in the New Testament constantly. We need to understand what it means, if we want to know what God has to teach us. The grace of God has appeared. What is that anyway?
The word “grace” refers to a free gift. In our study it refers to a free gift from God specifically. He gives it to us because…because…well, just because He wants to. His love is His motivation. God is love so He does things like that.
Man hasn’t earned this free gift. Otherwise it wouldn’t be free, and it wouldn’t be a gift either! Nor does man receive this free gift because he deserves it. I am not so sweet a darling that God felt compelled to give me His grace. It doesn’t work like that! Nor am I so smart or strong or successful or whatever.
God gives me His grace because He is love. I don’t even enter the picture until I receive it. Up until that time God’s grace alone is on the stage.
So God’s grace, His free gift, has made an appearance on the stage of world history. Okay, then what is this free gift, this grace of God which has appeared? Well, first of all it isn’t a “this” or a “which”. God’s grace is a “Who”. In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize the “Who” as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
“How do you reckon those three Persons comprise God’s grace, based on Titus 2:11-14?” you are no doubt champing at the bit to ask me.
And an insightful query it is too. I’ll be happy to oblige you with an explanation, as we make our way through the text.
But it’ll have to wait for our next study. This one’s over, as is the day. I need time alone with Jesus before I retire. Don’t you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 3
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize God’s grace as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
Let’s assay how this is so.
To begin with observe what occurred when God’s grace appeared: it brought salvation to all men. And there are the second and third members who make up the cast of this movie. The third part of the cast is a group, “all men”. Who does that include? Well, you show me a human being from the past, present, or future, and I will show you someone who is included!
To recapitulate, “God” is the first member of the cast and “all men” make up the third addition to the cast. But wait a sec. How did we go from first to third? Where is the second member of the cast?
You will recall that I identified the “grace of God” as a Person, or rather three Persons to be exact. That is where the second member of the cast comes in. This second member was already present when Paul wrote the words of Titus 2. He appeared already, you see. When He appeared He brought salvation to all men. In fact He continuously brings this salvation to all men.
Is this starting to ring a bell? We are of course pointing to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ministry at the cross and empty tomb. Jesus is the Son of God, one of the three Persons of the Godhead. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men”. That is a direct allusion to Jesus Christ the Son of God. He appeared (past tense), and He is continuously “bringing salvation” (present tense).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. God’s love is for “the world”, or as it is worded in Titus 2:11 “all men”. The world consists of all men, or all humans.
However, only those who believe this truth from the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “have eternal life”. The “have eternal life” part is worded in Titus 2:11 as “bringing salvation”. If we have salvation, we have eternal life, and vice versa too.
Titus was one of Paul’s closest associates. Paul went around the Mediterranean world sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people believed they were born again. Paul organized the believers into local churches.
One place Paul did this was on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Crete was south by southeast of Greece and south of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea is the body of water between today’s Asia Minor and Greece.
I’ll give you a pass on the geography lesson. We need to pause now and reflect on what we’ve been taught. Jesus calls us. Let’s accept the invite.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize God’s grace as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
Let’s assay how this is so.
To begin with observe what occurred when God’s grace appeared: it brought salvation to all men. And there are the second and third members who make up the cast of this movie. The third part of the cast is a group, “all men”. Who does that include? Well, you show me a human being from the past, present, or future, and I will show you someone who is included!
To recapitulate, “God” is the first member of the cast and “all men” make up the third addition to the cast. But wait a sec. How did we go from first to third? Where is the second member of the cast?
You will recall that I identified the “grace of God” as a Person, or rather three Persons to be exact. That is where the second member of the cast comes in. This second member was already present when Paul wrote the words of Titus 2. He appeared already, you see. When He appeared He brought salvation to all men. In fact He continuously brings this salvation to all men.
Is this starting to ring a bell? We are of course pointing to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ministry at the cross and empty tomb. Jesus is the Son of God, one of the three Persons of the Godhead. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men”. That is a direct allusion to Jesus Christ the Son of God. He appeared (past tense), and He is continuously “bringing salvation” (present tense).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. God’s love is for “the world”, or as it is worded in Titus 2:11 “all men”. The world consists of all men, or all humans.
However, only those who believe this truth from the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “have eternal life”. The “have eternal life” part is worded in Titus 2:11 as “bringing salvation”. If we have salvation, we have eternal life, and vice versa too.
Titus was one of Paul’s closest associates. Paul went around the Mediterranean world sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people believed they were born again. Paul organized the believers into local churches.
One place Paul did this was on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Crete was south by southeast of Greece and south of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea is the body of water between today’s Asia Minor and Greece.
I’ll give you a pass on the geography lesson. We need to pause now and reflect on what we’ve been taught. Jesus calls us. Let’s accept the invite.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
