“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he arose and followed Him.'” - Matthew 9:9
The Greek word for “follow” is ‘akoloutheo” - to accompany. Christ beckoned Matthew to accompany Him and Matthew immediately did so. There was no hesitation, no pause, no doubt. Jesus beckoned Matthew and in a like manner did so with all the Apostles. He chose these ordinary men. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” - John 15:16 The message is apparent: no one can come to Christ unless he is first called!
There are a great many who believe that “making a decision for Christ” is the way to salvation. But how can this be? If holy scripture is inerrant then how can one reconcile how we can possibly “make a decision for Christ,” if it is God who must first choose us? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” - Ephesians 1:3-5.
Scripture tells us that no man will ever of his own ‘free will,’ choose God. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” - Romans 7:8. Those in the flesh can neither please God nor ‘choose’ God! So God in His infinite mercy chooses those whom He wills to be saved for no other reason than His own good pleasure. Once God’s grace has been bestowed upon us we are then willing and able to accept Jesus Christ. Once filled by the Holy Spirit we are now capable of making that greatest of choices. “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” - Titus 3:5.
And just as Matthew and the Apostles willingly responded to the call of Christ we do the same. Not unless and until we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit can we or will we ever choose God. In all things give thanks to our Lord Jesus , the Christ - the God Who Saves!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
A Savior Is Born - Luke 1: 46-50
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.”- Luke 1: 46-50
Mary, the mother of our Lord, Jesus, had traveled to spend some time with her cousin Elizabeth, prior to the birth of her cousin’s child, John. Elizabeth greeted Mary, calling her “blessed’ and questioned why the mother of the Lord would come to her. God had so filled both of these women that there was the unquestioned presence of the Holy Spirit within each of them. Elizabeth knew the child she was carrying was to be a Spirit-filled man yet she also knew the child within her sister was the promised Messiah, “the Lord.”
Mary responded to her cousin with “The Magnificat,” her song of praise.
In many ways we should all echo Mary’s praise. We rejoice in God our Savior. He is mighty who has done great things for us. His mercy is on those who fear Him.
As a Christmas message we can all take confidence in a Savior who is for us and done great things for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31. We know we have God’s mercy because we fear Him, and rightfully so because our God is an awesome God! “And I said: ‘I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,’” - Nehemiah 1:5.
Mary glorifies God as she realizes she has been chosen to give birth to her Savior, to our Savior! There is spiritual power in her song to God. She is expressing her joy, her faith, and her thanks to Him with humility and reverence! And the most amazing thing is that as she did so “the Savior” was but a growing infant in her blessed womb. Not yet a swaddled infant, the Savior of the world, our King, our Lord, Jesus “the Christ” was yet to be born. Is there any wonder that Elizabeth’s child “leaped in her womb” upon their meeting? The utter power and strength of the Spirit of God was at work in Mary’s life and the life of her child even before His birth! This is the power of the Living God - that even before our prayers and supplications He is at work within our souls. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:3-6. What is not to praise?
Within Mary grew the child who would walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, and become the Savior of God’s people! Could God have done it differently? God can do anything but He chose to send His Son to be like us - to save us. “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” - Hebrews 2:17.
While Mary carried the unborn Savior from Immaculate Conception to birth, the Spirit of God was breathing holiness within her. That absolute perfect holiness took the form of the Son of Man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! God bless us all and may we all have a Merry Christmas!
Mary, the mother of our Lord, Jesus, had traveled to spend some time with her cousin Elizabeth, prior to the birth of her cousin’s child, John. Elizabeth greeted Mary, calling her “blessed’ and questioned why the mother of the Lord would come to her. God had so filled both of these women that there was the unquestioned presence of the Holy Spirit within each of them. Elizabeth knew the child she was carrying was to be a Spirit-filled man yet she also knew the child within her sister was the promised Messiah, “the Lord.”
Mary responded to her cousin with “The Magnificat,” her song of praise.
In many ways we should all echo Mary’s praise. We rejoice in God our Savior. He is mighty who has done great things for us. His mercy is on those who fear Him.
As a Christmas message we can all take confidence in a Savior who is for us and done great things for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31. We know we have God’s mercy because we fear Him, and rightfully so because our God is an awesome God! “And I said: ‘I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,’” - Nehemiah 1:5.
Mary glorifies God as she realizes she has been chosen to give birth to her Savior, to our Savior! There is spiritual power in her song to God. She is expressing her joy, her faith, and her thanks to Him with humility and reverence! And the most amazing thing is that as she did so “the Savior” was but a growing infant in her blessed womb. Not yet a swaddled infant, the Savior of the world, our King, our Lord, Jesus “the Christ” was yet to be born. Is there any wonder that Elizabeth’s child “leaped in her womb” upon their meeting? The utter power and strength of the Spirit of God was at work in Mary’s life and the life of her child even before His birth! This is the power of the Living God - that even before our prayers and supplications He is at work within our souls. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:3-6. What is not to praise?
Within Mary grew the child who would walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, and become the Savior of God’s people! Could God have done it differently? God can do anything but He chose to send His Son to be like us - to save us. “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” - Hebrews 2:17.
While Mary carried the unborn Savior from Immaculate Conception to birth, the Spirit of God was breathing holiness within her. That absolute perfect holiness took the form of the Son of Man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! God bless us all and may we all have a Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
The Needle In the Haystack - 2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. - 2 Timothy 4:3-4
What could be harder to find than a needle in a haystack? A church which follows sound theological doctrine. Don’t believe it? Just walk into a local church on any given Sunday morning with a pad and a pen. Now note every time you hear the minister say any of these words: hell, judgment, wrath, sin, punishment - you get the picture. But I think the ink in your pen will dry up before you ever get to use it.
Far too many ministers today want to “tickle” their congregation’s ears. “Don’t want to upset them because, after all, their tithings put me in that new Lexus!” The false teachers will always be with us but the deeper problem, I believe, lies in the hearts of the congregation.
In the subject verse, Paul is referring to the people, not the false teachers; “they” are the people. And these people are intent on finding a ministry where their erroneous understanding of Christianity is pandered to by an unscrupulous preacher. None of these “Christians” could sit for more than a minute in the churches of Jonathan Edwards or Charles Spurgeon. These people want to feel good about themselves when they walk out of church; they don’t want to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Where do people first encounter this worldly doctrine of high self-esteem? The media, the government, the educational system, the popular culture. It surrounds us from the cradle to the coffin; it is everywhere! Is it any wonder that these people are bringing their preconceived notions of self-worth and their positive affirmations into the house of God? Christ, Himself, said as much. “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” - Matthew 9:12-13.
When you inject a pandering minister into this already poisoned atmosphere you wind up with a false teacher preaching falsehoods to an erroneously self-absorbed congregation who spend less time considering the precious blood of Jesus Christ and their eternal salvation than they did deciding what to wear to church today!
The state of many churches in the world today appears to be a pretty bleak picture when viewed from this perspective. But, it is what it is. All joy is not legitimate joy. All praise is not worthy of God, no matter how loud or flamboyant it is. If this sounds eerily familiar to you perhaps it is time to reassess whether or not your minister or pastor abides by the instructions of Paul to the teachers - “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:2.
What could be harder to find than a needle in a haystack? A church which follows sound theological doctrine. Don’t believe it? Just walk into a local church on any given Sunday morning with a pad and a pen. Now note every time you hear the minister say any of these words: hell, judgment, wrath, sin, punishment - you get the picture. But I think the ink in your pen will dry up before you ever get to use it.
Far too many ministers today want to “tickle” their congregation’s ears. “Don’t want to upset them because, after all, their tithings put me in that new Lexus!” The false teachers will always be with us but the deeper problem, I believe, lies in the hearts of the congregation.
In the subject verse, Paul is referring to the people, not the false teachers; “they” are the people. And these people are intent on finding a ministry where their erroneous understanding of Christianity is pandered to by an unscrupulous preacher. None of these “Christians” could sit for more than a minute in the churches of Jonathan Edwards or Charles Spurgeon. These people want to feel good about themselves when they walk out of church; they don’t want to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Where do people first encounter this worldly doctrine of high self-esteem? The media, the government, the educational system, the popular culture. It surrounds us from the cradle to the coffin; it is everywhere! Is it any wonder that these people are bringing their preconceived notions of self-worth and their positive affirmations into the house of God? Christ, Himself, said as much. “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” - Matthew 9:12-13.
When you inject a pandering minister into this already poisoned atmosphere you wind up with a false teacher preaching falsehoods to an erroneously self-absorbed congregation who spend less time considering the precious blood of Jesus Christ and their eternal salvation than they did deciding what to wear to church today!
The state of many churches in the world today appears to be a pretty bleak picture when viewed from this perspective. But, it is what it is. All joy is not legitimate joy. All praise is not worthy of God, no matter how loud or flamboyant it is. If this sounds eerily familiar to you perhaps it is time to reassess whether or not your minister or pastor abides by the instructions of Paul to the teachers - “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:2.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Strong Hearts - Psalm 27:14
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” - Psalm 27:14
We are often forced to be patient. Sitting in traffic, we bristle with impatience. Standing in line at the check-out counter we drum our fingers, hoping those “ahead of us” will get the message. And how patient are we when we have been put . . . “on hold?” Patience truly is a virtue that few of us have managed to master. But the few things I mentioned are really inconsequential. What do we do when wait for an answer from God?
There will be times in all our lives when we must be patient and wait for answers to the more perplexing questions and situations in our lives. At those times we need to put away our own selfish desires and await God’s input - God’s will for us.
The Hebrew word for courage, “châzaq,” can be interpreted as ‘fasten’ or ‘cleave to.’ We are to fasten ourselves or cleave to the Lord! And there is no greater way to do so than by trusting Him, having faith in Him, and fervently praying to Him. Pray earnestly for God’s will to be done . . . not ours. And with such prayer we are told that God shall strengthen our hearts. And not only our hearts, but our resolve.
“Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.” - Psalm 37:34
We must ‘keep His way’, and we all know what the Lord’s way is. He has revealed it to us in His holy scripture. When we keep God’s way we glorify Him and is it not our highest goal to glorify the Lord?
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” - Psalm 40:1. God is always faithful to us to hear our prayers when we come to Him humbly through the one mediator between man and God - Jesus Christ! But we must be patient and wait on the Lord. By doing so we can be assured that He will reveal His will for us.
When we are at a crossroad in our lives and our own resources fail us worrying won’t help us. Fretting over our next move freezes and immobilizes us, keeping us from making sound decisions. We must give our troubles to our heavenly Father - trust Him, have faith in Him, and pray to Him in our moments of uncertainty. Then and only then will we be able to say, “And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’” - Isaiah 25:9
May our hearts always be strengthened by the Lord.
We are often forced to be patient. Sitting in traffic, we bristle with impatience. Standing in line at the check-out counter we drum our fingers, hoping those “ahead of us” will get the message. And how patient are we when we have been put . . . “on hold?” Patience truly is a virtue that few of us have managed to master. But the few things I mentioned are really inconsequential. What do we do when wait for an answer from God?
There will be times in all our lives when we must be patient and wait for answers to the more perplexing questions and situations in our lives. At those times we need to put away our own selfish desires and await God’s input - God’s will for us.
The Hebrew word for courage, “châzaq,” can be interpreted as ‘fasten’ or ‘cleave to.’ We are to fasten ourselves or cleave to the Lord! And there is no greater way to do so than by trusting Him, having faith in Him, and fervently praying to Him. Pray earnestly for God’s will to be done . . . not ours. And with such prayer we are told that God shall strengthen our hearts. And not only our hearts, but our resolve.
“Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.” - Psalm 37:34
We must ‘keep His way’, and we all know what the Lord’s way is. He has revealed it to us in His holy scripture. When we keep God’s way we glorify Him and is it not our highest goal to glorify the Lord?
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” - Psalm 40:1. God is always faithful to us to hear our prayers when we come to Him humbly through the one mediator between man and God - Jesus Christ! But we must be patient and wait on the Lord. By doing so we can be assured that He will reveal His will for us.
When we are at a crossroad in our lives and our own resources fail us worrying won’t help us. Fretting over our next move freezes and immobilizes us, keeping us from making sound decisions. We must give our troubles to our heavenly Father - trust Him, have faith in Him, and pray to Him in our moments of uncertainty. Then and only then will we be able to say, “And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’” - Isaiah 25:9
May our hearts always be strengthened by the Lord.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
It Is About Style: 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’” - 2 Corinthians 6:17
“It’s not about the style,” they say; “It’s about the content.” Well in this case I have to disagree. It is about style and here is the biblical standard we need to pursue. I don’t care whether the style is rap music, rock, pop, or the redundant and inane ‘praise chorus’ songs performed in many churches today. I don’t care whether it’s a puppet show, a juggling act, or role playing on stage. If we need these worldly devices to spread the word of God or to edify ourselves then what we are receiving is not the word of God!
Paul borrowed from Isaiah 52:11 in an attempt to convince the Corinthians to part ways with “the world.” Such “extracurricular activities” do two things to the worship of God. 1) Despite the best intentions of the heart these songs and shows distract from the message. And, 2) because this type of worship is so often self-indulgent it lacks the reverence that God demands of our worship. I could be very wrong here but it appears there is an irreverent familiarity at play here. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” - Romans 12:2.
Note too that none of the Apostles, nor Jesus, Himself ever resorted to “song and dance” to spread the gospel! Paul and the Apostles preached the Good News of Christ’s saving act. Go through the history of the church and you will find nowhere that Augustine, Luther, or Calvin ever resorted to their time’s cultural modes of entertainment to preach the message of the cross!
Neither Edwards, nor Whitefield, nor Spurgeon ever brought out “the band” to fire up the crowd - they fired up the crowd by preaching the blood of Jesus Christ!
No my friends, the Christian church today has fallen far away from the demands for holiness and reverence to God’s holy name. If people refuse to respond to the Word of God because it hasn’t been presented in a colorful form of entertainment for them then perhaps they were not meant to receive an ‘effectual calling.’ The Holy Spirit will regenerate those He will regenerate. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. - 1 Corinthians 2:12.
I am not suggesting for a moment that these worldly forms of worship cannot be reverent or respectful. It’s just that the temptation to fall away from the proper attitude for worship exhibits itself more frequently within these worldly modes.
May our worship of our Heavenly Father always be full of reverence and respect.
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