Wednesday, January 31, 2007

 

God Promo

A very common dilemma for Christians specifically, the human race in general, is that we are so rarely sure we can hear God or if it is Him when we think we did hear Him. I have been asked by Bible believers, "How can I hear God?" Because I have been discussing for years God's reality with a God believing friend who just happens to not believe in the Bible as God's Holy Word, the idea of sharing some of the questions and discussions has been rising. And since yesterday was Christianity Is Jewish's birthday (I was out celebrating!), I am announcing the birth of her brother, God Still Speaks, where questions and answers will be blogged over. And I am daring to invite new questions by comment or email there. Answers are always welcome too; I might need some help! Most of all, let us hope to hear from the One True God. Amen.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

 

Like a Dove

Finally, John clinches it, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” ~John 1:34

What did John see? The Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus, “like a dove”. And the Voice of God was heard by the people there, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Can the follower of Christ ever recognize this one and the same Spirit within? Indwelt by God’s Spirit, we continue in our doubts, fears, failures and plain bad behavior! To top it off, if we could still hear it, that Voice might say, “You are My child…good job!” But the Christian is pretty well beat up by the standard of behavior and the knowledge of his/her own shortcomings. We forget that we are sporting the life of Christ in all its glory. The even uglier opposite is the Christian that takes his new appearance for granted, living in the glory of life’s pleasures and human desires. Surely you have met one of these. For the heavy hearted child of God though, remember; we wear the Righteousness of God’s Son and our Father IS WELL PLEASED. God receives our childlike faith and turns it into the beauty and purity of the dove…peace abounding.

Picture it. The very same John who confidently pronounced, “This IS the Son of God!” later on sent his disciples to Jesus asking, “Are you Him?” Pretty sad to see John’s glorious faith diminished to this dark and ugly place. In prison for confronting Herod’s sin, John was overwhelmed. The nature of being a Christian is remarkably revealed here. We wallow in life’s hardships and trials, and we feel ashamed, depressed, and broken as our faith hangs on by a thread or one single question, “Are you God?” Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are they that mourn…” Remember the dove. You are the child of God, in whom He is well pleased…not because of what you have done. Now, go! Live it! And sin no more. The Holy Spirit…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…is upon you, in your ugliest moments; “yours is the kingdom of heaven…ye shall be comforted.”

Sunday, January 21, 2007

 

Preach It!

Listen to John’s powerful preaching to the religious leaders:
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can way to yourselves , ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children fro Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” ~Matthew 3:7-10

These words are living…Beware. God DID raise up children for Abraham from out of the Gentiles! It is called the Church. Yet still today, preacher and teacher cannot rest in any heritage for “Ye must produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” There is no sugar coating for the Gospel...every tree that fails to produce or brings forth the bad fruit of false teaching is to be declared "cut down and thrown into the fire." Here's my thinking: I will cling to the Word of Almighty God. If I try to make it up as I go, picking and choosing what I will teach, I risk being wrong! Pure folly.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

 

"Behold, the Lamb of God!" ~John 1:29

Edith Schaeffer, by virtue of common sense and logic, knows there were some Jews who got it, right then and there! They would explain to their child’s question, “What lamb?” with a gasp and a whisper, “Ha Meshea”. It had only been thirty years since Anna ran through the streets with her good news (see Thus Spake Anna) of the baby in the Temple. Some still had the star over Bethlehem etched in their memory when the shepherds did the same. Repeated prophecies from David’s psalms, Isaiah, Micah, to name a few, the countless prophetic sacrificial lambs seen over the years since the nation’s birth—you might wonder at how the Jews could miss it? But not all Jews missed it—Jerusalem had a Christian church, one of the first, because some DID see and hear! John the Baptist’s words were tantamount: “My God, could this be Him, the Lamb of God?”

The fact that so many Jews missed it seems a fluke of history. Yet the fluke does NOT stop there! Today, Christians, for the most part, have missed it. I mean, blind as a bat, MISSED IT! We read over the words as if they weren’t even there! It took an entire book of explanation from the co-founder of L’Abri for me to realize the Lamb…Oh! THE LAMB! Actually, I needed two books. I came across Marvin Rosenthal and Kevin Howard’s book, The Feasts of the Lord, and then my heart leapt! THEN is when I realized, “So you’re trying to tell me ALL the ritual and prophetic mumbo jumbo actually has meaning?” Here’s me, a despiser of ceremony and sleeper during history lessons, way too free-spirited for such mundane things! And I have not been the same since. There is a very solid chance, John the Baptist had this same effect…it was an awakening moment!

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Matthew 3:11

“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”’” ~Matthew 3:3

That is exactly the cry in today’s wilderness from believers who are rooted in the Old Testament. The Lord’s path does become straight when the relativistic dissection of God’s Word stops and attention is given to heeding every Truth made known.

“[John] came as a witness to testify concerning that Light, so that through Him, all men might believe. He himself was not the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light…he cries out, saying ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.”’” ~John 1:7,15

Remember, Elizabeth became pregnant before Mary. John was the elder cousin.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

 

Lamb of God, Love's Pure Light

Why was it essential for John the Baptist to pave the way and enter the world along with Messiah? Repentance must precede salvation. That is the short answer. The Baptist is quintessential to the Salvation. Jesus, Lord of all, is not only the Savior, someone who saves us! Jesus Christ IS salvation itself. He is our High Priest Who offers the sacrifice of payment for sins yet less understood is the fact that He is the Price. John had the insight to call it exactly right! After months of receiving repentant hearts at the river Jordan, John looks up to see the Son of God. But he doesn’t acknowledge that identity…no, John cries out, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” How many times must we read it and still gloss over that one word: LAMB?

By divine call, John had nailed it! It has become my favorite line in the Bible. The blood shed by countless lambs on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur; the lambs’ blood marking the doorposts at Passover; the ram, a male sheep, provided to replace Isaac so that Abraham’s son need not die! John looked at the man Jesus, and saw a lamb, perfect, without blemish, Isaiah’s prophetic Lamb (Is. 53). When Jesus first entered into His infamous occupation, He merely picked up where John left off! “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ~Matthew 4:17

People were accustomed to the message from John. The fact is, John’s ministry is not secondary; it is primary…Jesus said so. Today, we are hardly familiar with such preaching and so many will admit actually resenting the discomfort it brings. It runs the gamut, from squirming in the pew to the harsh response, “We are leaving this church and we won’t be back!” Personally, I know one minister who left instead of the whining “Christians” who were unhappy with his negative preaching…"too dark"! Ministers, deliverers of Truth, keep in mind and ponder in your heart: a people’s response does not lessen the reality of Christ and His message. Sin utterly can not be ignored. We are to face our failures, our wrongs, our apathy and lack of initiative, the readiness to be the sheeple and our fear of acting, thinking, creating like the people God made in His image. That dirty little word: SIN.

Jesus connected the gap between John’s ministry and His own by first calling attention to sin. “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—the soul which is acutely aware of its own sins— “…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

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Friday, January 12, 2007

 

Thus Spake Anna

To whom did Anna speak in Jerusalem that fateful day when Simeon recognized the Messiah? This dear woman was over one hundred years old, yet she dwelt with God in the Temple, serving Him day and night with fasting and prayers. You are NEVER too old to serve the Lord!

When Anna came by Simeon in God’s perfect timing, she too gave God a heartfelt thank you and wasted no time; speaking “of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem,” she sought out the faithful…the ones “she knew really BELIEVED God’s Word!” (p 128; Christianity Is Jewish)

The ones who heard the good news, the Gospel, had already committed themselves to accept the prophecies and Old Testament promises as factual, literal, God-breathed. These people KNEW God and trusted God’s WORDS: A Messiah was coming some day, some where near Jerusalem. Just as believers today need each other for encouragement, accountability, teaching, feeding each other and cleansing each other’s feet as Jesus taught us, the believers then knew each other and shared in the Promises…waiting and praying. Now that the Word was out, THE PROMISE, the Messiah was here among them; although a small baby, those with faith to believe KNEW THIS WAS BIG!

Do you need to first believe the possibility before you can accept your own redemption? Do you need to KNOW the promise before you can accept its fulfillment? Of course, you need not be a believer to become a believer! Yet there is some accuracy in the story of Anna. We must prepare Him room. Even if your salvation comes suddenly in a moment of remorse and brokenness, the seed will only take root as you realize the cost, the history behind it…God’s promise of love and justice from the beginning. Our intellect and emotion is STRONG and WILL fool us. Dear child of God, you had better be a BELIEVER, heart, mind, soul, and strength, the hour you first believe. Only with this kind of commitment can anyone experience the “peace that passeth all understanding.”

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

 

God Still Speaks 2

Because Edith Schaeffer, and her husband, Francis, did convince me that faith can be rooted in intellect, emotion, psychological AND spiritual experience, I have hope that many questions are answerable. Because God, in His Word, by His Son, has spoken, and because He still speaks today in His living Word, and through those who feed upon it, I am entering a new phase of blogging. God Still Speaks will be an avenue for questions...Questions that God is pleased to answer. Schaeffer writes, “The Word of God gives ALL we need to know, and then, we need to believe what has been said by God."

When the shepherds headed off to the town under dark sky (perhaps they didn’t recognize the star from their earthbound occupation and by now, the angels’ radiance was gone), they hung onto the words which had been left behind in a memory; they NEEDED to believe what they had heard and seen. The common, every day scene of a baby with its parents took on a different meaning ONLY because they believed the words.

And they went and told the townspeople and they praised God and thanked Him! The people had choices to make: To believe or not to believe these facts. What Mary “kept and pondered in her heart” was going forth already. Simeon, an aged man in Jerusalem, had been pondering His own promise that he would not die before he saw the Messiah. When he saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, Simeon had his eyes and heart opened by the Holy Spirit and proclaimed that now he could die in peace “for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of ALL people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people, Israel.”
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit’s revelation as we ponder questions and receive answers, in His Holy Name. Email your questions or answers to God Still Speaks 3 at yahoo dot com.

Friday, January 05, 2007

 

God Still Speaks

Not all from the same source, the abundance of Bread fills me! Did I mention the study on the Tabernacle I have been doing with my friend? There is where I learned the meaning of the word Bethlehem—House of Bread! Is it any wonder at all that Jesus, THE Bread of Life was laid in a manger, a feeding trough? Is it any wonder, Mrs. Schaeffer marvels, that our Savior, the Lamb of God, was born among the animals in a stable? God speaks so very plainly as He calls to the lowly shepherds…”Go into Bethlehem and see for yourselves, the Lamb of God and fellow Shepherd. Surely you will recognize Him!” With humble hearts and intuitive insight, as lambs gone astray, they did. As the author reminds us, they were Jewish! They were familiar with the Old Testament finger of God, pointing to the Promise: Lamb and King, Shepherd and Servant. They very well could have KNOWN Micah’s prophecy! They were stirred beyond amazement when God’s angel spoke. “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to ALL people…” the seed of Abraham is come to bless ALL nations. It was really happening and they didn’t SIT and meditate on it…they ran to see the place! Just as the Wise men journeyed and had sight to see a King in an ordinary baby boy.

I have also been fed with my new Zion’s Fire. In the Tabernacle, there was no seat for the priests: A table, altar, wash basin, lamp--no chair. Marvin J. Rosenthal explains it; their work was NEVER finished because the people are EVER sinning and in need of atonement. The priests were forever in demand for the annual covering of sin and the various sin offerings brought to the altar for sacrifice. Until the Perfect Lamb appeared and offered Himself---and said, “It is finished”, there was no rest from the torment of sin. But, Marv Rosenthal continues in his article, Hebrews 1:3 tells us Jesus SAT at His Father’s side. Sin was dealt with once, for all. Dear ones, the Lamb was slain for you. The Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep.

The King lives and will take hold of your life--the moment you let Him. Be His lamb, follow your Shepherd, bow to your King.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

 

The Voice of God

Hard to imagine, I began chapter eleven of Christianity Is Jewish back in July. As Christmas has come, and for most, gone, it seems more than a pressing matter to finish the story. Also of urgency would be for all those so inclined, to get out to the theatre to see The Nativity Story, in true Christmas spirit. Did I leave off with Micah? Think of the Jewish faithful, Mary and Joseph, and a knowledgeable priest, Zacharias, who surely were familiar with some of the prophecies. Knowledge of God’s Word undoubtedly helps us hear God’s voice more clearly but there are no guarantees. Sometimes it requires the removal of distractions—what distractions? I’m not distracted! It demands our desire, a pure and sincere motive. I don’t know if Mary and Joseph saw the Light as they entered the little town…”Mary, do you remember that verse in Micah? That’s why the census brought us here, NOW!” Joseph calls back to Mary on the donkey. No, actually, the movie (above said) is a more human depiction. Filled with anticipation, some anxiety about the accommodations, I’m thinkin’ Micah was a lost memory. Zacharias on the other hand, reduced to writing all his expressions, had plenty of silence before John was born. But we all know how frustrations and concern interrupt deep contemplation! “This is just perfect,” cries Zacharias, “I’ve got no voice, my dear wife is old. Will she survive childbirth? And how will I call the doctor?!”

Jesus God, as depicted in the four faces in Ezekiel’s vision, is the Lion of Judah, the ox to whom we are yoked as Servant, the Son of Man, and the glorious Son of God. The gospel writers perhaps had knowledge of all four faces from God’s Word, yet each one heard God speak to them differently; the message came vividly, yet they only wrote about one face each. Matthew heard God from his Jewish perspective and told of the Messiah, King of the Jews, complete with royal blood. Mark drew the picture of the Servant God as he had heard and understood---an ox. Luke, the physician, received God’s revelation of Jesus, the Man. The one Jesus favored, maybe BECAUSE of his ability to hear God in a heavenly, supernatural way, John blessed us with the eagle perspective. Jesus was God, is God and forever will be.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” ~John 1:1-5

To hear God’s true voice has no measure. WE are given what we will hear…we don’t always hear what we are given. Slow me down, Lord. Let us hear out of excited yearning, solemn focus, calm awareness, and aggressive searching. Amen.

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