The Greatest Salvation Imaginable

 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . ” (Jeremiah 31:31)

God is just and holy and separated from sinners like us. This is our main problem at Christmas — and every other season. How shall we get right with a just and holy God?

Nevertheless, God is merciful and has promised in Jeremiah 31 (five hundred years before Christ) that someday he would do something new. He would replace shadows with the Reality of the Messiah. And he would powerfully move into our lives and write his will on our hearts so that we are not constrained from outside, but are willing from inside, to love him and trust him and follow him.

That would be the greatest salvation imaginable — if God should offer us the greatest Reality in the universe to enjoy and then move in us to know that Reality in such a way that we could enjoy it with the greatest freedom and the greatest pleasure possible. That would be a Christmas gift worth singing about.

That is, in fact, what he promised in the new covenant. But there was a huge obstacle. Our sin. Our separation from God because of our unrighteousness.

How shall a holy and just God treat us sinners with so much kindness as to give us the greatest Reality in the universe (his Son) to enjoy with the greatest possible joy?

The answer is that God put our sins on his Son, and judged them there, so that he could put them out of his mind, and deal with us mercifully and remain just and holy at the same time. Hebrews 9:28 says Christ was “offered once to bear the sins of many.”

Christ bore our sins in his own body when he died (1 Peter 2:24). He took our judgment (Romans 8:3). He canceled our guilt (Romans 8:1). And that means our sins are gone (Acts 10:43). They do not remain in God’s mind as a basis for condemnation. In that sense, he “forgets” them (Jeremiah 31:34). They are consumed in the death of Christ.

Which means that God is now free, in his justice, to lavish us with all the unspeakably great new covenant promises. He gives us Christ, the greatest Reality in the universe, for our enjoyment. And he writes his own will — his own heart — on our hearts so that we can love Christ and trust Christ and follow Christ from the inside out, with freedom and joy.

THE ESSENCE OF IMMERSION BAPTISM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 17, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE ESSENCE OF IMMERSION BAPTISM!

Memory verse: "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.” (Romans 6 vs 4.) 

READ: Romans 6 vs 3 - 9:

6:3: Or do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

6:4: Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death: , that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

6:5: For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

6:6: knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

6:7: For he who has died is freed from sin.

6:8: Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him:

6:9: Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

INTIMATION:

The action of baptism is by immersion. The word “baptism” is from the Greek baptizo, meaning “to dip,” “to immerse,” “to plunge,” or “to overwhelm.” Baptism by immersion is the repentant believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, who went to the cross as a sacrificial lamb to die the death we ought to die to pay the wages we owed for our sins. His death on the cross was for us. He came as a propitiation for our sins. Any action short of total immersion cannot be identified with the context being discussed here. As Jesus was buried in the tomb, so the repentant believer, who has identified with the deed of Christ for mankind, must be buried in water. 

The gospel is the death of Jesus for our sins. It is His burial in order that He be raised never to die again. In response to this grace of God that was manifested on the cross, where we are set  free by the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins, repentant believers are immersed in water after crucifying the old man of sin. They are resurrected with Christ in order to walk in a new life. 

Immersion is usual form of baptism; that is, new Christians were completely “buried” in water. They understood baptism to symbolize the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolized resurrection to new life with Christ. If we think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried, we can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus. 

The preposition here indicates that a union is established between the one being baptized and Jesus. As Jesus went to the tomb in a garden outside Jerusalem, obedient believers throughout the world can go to the tomb with Him. If one is not willing to go to the tomb with Jesus, then certainly that person cannot come into a covenant relationship with Christ. Unless one goes to the cross and tomb with Jesus, he cannot experience a resurrection with Jesus. Going to the tomb with Jesus is by accepting what He wrought for us in redemption. 

One establishes and signs a covenant to trust in God for salvation by His grace when his faith moves him to respond to God’s grace. This response is immersion into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism is not a work of law in order to earn God’s grace. It is a response to grace by the believer, who at the time of immersion contacts the blood of Jesus that came as a result of the grace of God. 

The condition for obtaining the newness of life, therefore, is that one go to the cross and tomb with Jesus in order to be raised with Jesus. It is only after resurrection from the waters of immersion that one comes into a new life with Christ. Without immersion, therefore, one cannot establish through works of law or meritorious deeds that which results from submission to the grace of God. 

Though baptism is an obedient response to the grace of God, salvation takes place in the spiritual realm wherein God washes one clean of sin by the sacrificial blood of Jesus. There is no magic in the waters of baptism. There is no meritorious atonement by one’s performance of the action of immersion. However, it is at the point of baptism that God pronounces one cleaned of sin, and thus, is brought into a covenant relationship with God. Immersion into Christ is essential to one’s salvation. 

When the repentant believer comes forth from the waters of baptism, the focus of his thinking is changed. His mind is turned to focus on those things that are above and beyond the world. His ambition is not to live in order to use and consume the things of the world upon his own lust, but to use the world to sustain life that is focused beyond the world. He not only thinks on things above the world, but he seeks them. 

Since the world view of the repentant believer has changed, so has the focus of his attention. When he died with Christ, his will was replaced by the will of Jesus. Since Christ lives in the Christian, then the Christian’s mind is not on things of this world. It is on those things that pertain to the work of Jesus among men. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your grace that manifested on the cross when Jesus paid the debt I owed, and Your gift of salvation. Engrace me to walk in the newness of life in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God’s Most Successful Setback

 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11)

Christmas marked the beginning of God’s most successful setback. He has always delighted to show his power through apparent defeat. He makes tactical retreats in order to win strategic victories.

In the Old Testament, Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, was promised glory and power in his dream (Genesis 37:5–11). But to achieve that victory he had to become a slave in Egypt. And, as if that were not enough, when his conditions improved because of his integrity, he was made worse than a slave: a prisoner.

But it was all planned. Planned by God for his good and the good of his family, and eventually for the good of the whole world! For there in prison he met Pharaoh’s butler, who eventually brought him to Pharaoh, who put him over Egypt. And finally, his dream came true. His brothers bowed before him, and he saved them from starvation. What an unlikely route to glory!

But that is God’s way — even for his Son. He emptied himself and took the form of a slave. Worse than a slave — a prisoner — and was executed. But like Joseph, he kept his integrity. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9–10).

And this is God’s way for us too. We are promised glory — if we will suffer with him as it says in Romans 8:17. The way up is down. The way forward is backward. The way to success is through divinely appointed setbacks. They will always look and feel like failure.

But if Joseph and Jesus teach us anything this Christmas it is this: What Satan and sinful men meant for evil, “God meant it for good!” (Genesis 50:20).

You fearful saints fresh courage take
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy and will break
In blessings on your head.

GIVE GOD THE CREDIT AND GLORY DUE TO HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 16, 2021.

SUBJECT: GIVE GOD THE CREDIT AND GLORY DUE TO HIM!

Memory verse: “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner.” (Like 17 bs 18.) 

READ: Genesis 41 vs 15 - 25:

41:15: And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

41:16: So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

INTIMATION:

Glory primarily signifies an opinion, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. It is used of God’s nature in self-manifestation, that is, what He essentially is and does, as exhibited in whatever way He reveals Himself in these respects, and primarily in the Person of Christ, in whom essentially His glory has ever shone forth and ever will do.

When His grace and His power manifest, it constitute His glory. And we should always give due acknowledgment of the exhibition of His attributes and ways. How easily we take credit for what God does through us! This rubs God of the honor that He alone deserves. Instead, we should, in any achievements in our lives, give credit to God thereby pointing people to God so that we give Him the glory. 

In our anchor Scripture, Jesus asked the question here to stimulate all to think concerning their obligation of returning credit to God for all that He would do in our lives, and through us, especially in showing mercy to man. The gratitude of the one leper in contrast to the ingratitude of the nine, illustrates how often men forget God’s blessings in both the materials and spiritual realms. 

In the passage we read today, Joseph made sure that he gave the credit to God. We should be careful to do the same. To take the honor for ourselves is a form of stealing God’s honor. Don’t be silent when you know you should be giving glory and credit to God. When the interpretation of dreams came up, Joseph focused everyone’s attention on God. Rather than using the situation to make himself look good, he turned it into a powerful witness for the Lord. One secret of effective witnessing is to recognize opportunities to relate God to the other person’s experience. When the opportunity arises, we must have the courage to speak as Joseph did. 

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had a dream and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then he gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell him his own dream and its interpretation. However, none of them was able to tell the king his dream, nor its interpretation. But Daniel did. In Daniel 2 vs 27 - 30, before Daniel told the king anything else, he gave credit to God, explaining that he did not know the dream through his own wisdom but only because God revealed it.

In Daniel 2 vs 47 - 48, the Scripture says. “The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.” 

Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel and Daniel’s God. If Daniel had taken the credit himself, the king would have honored only Daniel. Because Daniel gave God the credit, the king honored both of them. Part of our mission in this world is to show unbelievers what God is like. We can do that by acts of love and compassion, and if we give God credit for our actions, they will want to know more about Him. Give credit and glory to God for what He is doing in, and through you.

God appreciates giving Him credit and glory due to Him hence Christ’s question concerning the lepers that were cleansed. And the benefits include. (1) perfection of the blessings, (2) preservation of the blessings, and (3) qualification for more blessings; Joseph was made a prime minister in a foreign land, Daniel was made a great man, and received many great gifts, and was made the ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon, and the leper that returned was made whole.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with a heart of gratitude for Your acts and works in my life, and to testify of Your works in my life at all times. Give me the grace never to take credits and glory due to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE BEATITUDES—THE CHRISTIANS WAY OF LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 15, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE BEATITUDES—THE CHRISTIANS WAY OF LIFE!

Memory verse: “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61 vs 3.) 

READ: Matthew 5 vs 3 - 12:

 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5:5: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

5:6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

5:7: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

5:10: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:11: Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

5:12: Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

INTIMATION:

The Beatitudes can be understood in at least four ways: (1) They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conducts for all believers. (2) They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary). (3) They contrast the superficial “faith” with the real faith that Christ demands. (4) They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom. These Beatitudes are not multiple choice—pick what you like and leave the rest. They must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ’s followers. 

Each Beatitude tells how to be blessed by God. Blessed means more than happiness. It implies the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God’s kingdom. The Beatitudes don’t promise laughter, pleasure, or earthly prosperity. Being “blessed” by God means the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter what the cost.

Blessed could also be translated “happy.” Happiness in heart results from the application in life of the characteristics expressed in the Beatitudes:

(1) Poor in spirit: Happy are those who are not proud, conceited or arrogant concerning their spiritual relationship with God. One must recognize his humanity, his spiritual poverty and destitution. One must empty himself of self-reliance and learn to humble himself before God.

(2) Mourn: Happy are those who recognize their spiritual poverty, and thus, humbly grieve over their sinfulness. The humble person recognizes his spiritual poverty and thus mourns over his inadequacies before God. 

(3) Meek: When one mourns over his sin, his relationship with others changes. He becomes mild, gentle, lowly and unselfish in character. He is not arrogant or self-seeking. The meek will inherit the earth in the sense that they will enjoy the greatest that life has to offer. Because they understand the brevity of life and the temporary nature of material things, their concentration of thought is on that which is above.

(4) Hunger and thirst: Those who realize their sinful condition and mourn over their sin, hunger and thirst after the justification (righteousness) that can come only from God by His grace. They seek the knowledge of God through His word. It is the word of God that will supply knowledge of how to be justified of one’s sin. God is the source of all righteousness.

(5) Merciful; Those who recognize their own spiritual poverty are merciful to others. They sympathize and have pity on others. They thus seek to relieve the suffering of others because God has had mercy on them in relation to their sin. Contrary to the legalistically proud who seek to judge, the meek have mercy. Their mercy will reap mercy from God.

(5) Pure in heart: Happy are those who do not seek evil, but are sincere. Without guile or a vile heart of evil motives, they do not seek to find evil in others. The pure in heart will understand the pure nature of God.

Peacemakers: Those who recognize their own sinfulness will seek peace of mind with others. Such are sons of God for they portray the spirit of God in their relationship with others. They are not contentious, nor do they have a spirit to argue with others.

Persecuted: Those who portray in their lives the above characteristics will be sons of God. Being such will bring persecution from those of the world who do not understand such behavior. Christians are persecuted because they refuse to walk in the darkness of the world. 

Persecution can be good because (1) it takes our eyes off earthly rewards, (2) it strips away superficial belief, (3) it strengthens the faith of those who endure, and (4) our attitude through it serves as an example to others who follow. We can be comforted knowing that God’s greatest prophets were persecuted (Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel). The fact that we are being persecuted proves that we have been faithful; faithless people would be unnoticed. In future God will reward the faithful by receiving them into His eternal kingdom, where there is no more persecution.

Rejoice: This is the attitude of those who truly understand the inner nature of the Christian life. They are able to rejoice in persecution for they know that life exists beyond this world. The same evil envy that led to the persecution of the prophets of the Old Testament will also lead to the persecution of Christians who stand up for their faith. 

God’s way of living usually contradicts the world’s. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate, to help when others abuse. By giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you. 

Jesus said that God’s kingdom is organized differently from worldly kingdoms. In the kingdom of heaven, wealth and power and authority are unimportant. Kingdom people seek different blessings and benefits, and they have different attitudes. Are your attitudes a carbon copy of the world’s selfishness, pride, and lust for power, or do they reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus, your king?

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of Christlikeness; abhorring evil, cleaving to that which is good, loving one another, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality, blessing those that persecute me, and not cursing them, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Life and Death at Christmas

 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

As I was about to begin this devotional, I received word that Marion Newstrum had just died. Marion and her husband Elmer had been part of our church longer than most of our members had been alive at the time. She was 87. They had been married 64 years.

When I spoke to Elmer and told him I wanted him to be strong in the Lord and not give up on life, he said, “He has been a true friend.” I pray that all Christians will be able to say at the end of life, “Christ has been a true friend.”

Each Advent I mark the anniversary of my mother’s death. She was cut off in her 56th year in a bus accident in Israel. It was December 16, 1974. Those events are incredibly real to me even today. If I allow myself, I can easily come to tears — for example, thinking that my sons never knew her. We buried her the day after Christmas. What a precious Christmas it was!

Many of you will feel your loss this Christmas more pointedly than before. Don’t block it out. Let it come. Feel it. What is love for, if not to intensify our affections — both in life and death? But oh, do not be bitter. It is tragically self-destructive to be bitter.

Jesus came at Christmas that we might have eternal life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Elmer and Marion had discussed where they would spend their final years. Elmer said, “Marion and I agreed that our final home would be with the Lord.”

Do you feel restless for home? I have family coming home for the holidays. It feels good. I think the bottom-line reason for why it feels good is that they and I are destined in the depths of our being for an ultimate Homecoming. All other homecomings are foretastes. And foretastes are good.

Unless they become substitutes. Oh, don’t let all the sweet things of this season become substitutes of the final, great, all-satisfying Sweetness. Let every loss and every delight send your hearts a-homing after heaven.

Christmas. What is it but this: I came that they may have life? Marion Newstrum, Ruth Piper, and you and I — that we might have Life, now and forever.

Make your Now the richer and deeper this Christmas by drinking at the fountain of Forever. It is so near.

BE A TRUE FRIEND!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 14, 2021.

SUBJECT: BE A TRUE FRIEND!

Memory verse: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17 vs 17.) 

READ: First Samuel 20 vs 11 - 17:

20:11: And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field. So both of them went out into the field.

20:12: Then Jonathan said to David, “The LORD God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and, indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

20:13: May the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the LORD be with you, as He has been with my father.

20:14: And you shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die;

20:15: but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

20:16: So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the LORD require it at the hand of David's enemies.

20:17: Now Jonathan caused David to vow, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

INTIMATION:

A friend is an intimate associate; an association of familiarity and companionship. It is a close or intimate acquaintance; a favorer, wellwisher, or supporter. A true friend will stick close, listen, care, and offer help where it is needed—in good times and bad. It is better to have one such friend than dozens of superficial acquaintances. Instead of wishing you could find a true friend, seek to become one. There are people who need your friendship. Ask God to reveal them to you, and then take on the challenge of being a true friend.

There is a vast difference between knowing someone well and being a true friend. The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty; being available to help in times of distress or personal struggles. Too many people are fair-weather friends. They stick around when the friendship helps them and leave when they are not getting anything out of the friendship. Think of your friends and assess your loyalty to them. Be the kind of true friend the Bible encourages.

As I said earlier, loyalty is the greatest evidence of true and genuine friendship. Loyalty is one of life’s most costly qualities. It is the most selfless part of love. To be loyal, you cannot live only for yourself. Loyal people do not only stand by their commitments, they are willing to suffer for them.

In the passage we read today, Jonathan is a shining example of loyalty. Sometimes he was forced to deal with conflicting loyalties: to his father, Saul, and to his friend David. His solution to that conflict teaches us both how to be loyal and what must guide loyalty. In Jonathan, truth always guided loyalty. Even the opportunity that Jonathan had to assume the power of his father never affected his loyalty to his friend David, and he refused to think of assuming that position of power. That revealed the godly nature of him. His faith in the work of God through David was greater than any thirst for power. 

True friends are not only honest about themselves, but they are also honest about you. They are able to have difficult conversations in telling you things that sometimes you may not be eager to hear. The key is that they do it in love and with grace. Jonathan said to David that nothing would destroy their bond of friendship, though they would not be in the presence of one another in the future. Regardless of the circumstances or environment, good friends are friends for life. 

Jonathan realized that the source of truth was God, who demanded his ultimate loyalty. It was his relationship with God that gave Jonathan the ability to deal effectively with the complicated solutions in his life. He was loyal to Saul because Saul was his father and the king. He was loyal to David because David was his friend. His loyalty to God guided him through the conflicting demands of his human relationships.

The conflicting demands of our relationships challenge us as well. If we attempt to settle these conflicts only at the human level, we will be constantly dealing with a sense of betrayal. But if we communicate to our friends that our ultimate loyalty to God and His truth, many of our choices will be much clearer. The truth in His Word, the Bible, will bring light to our decisions. Do those closest to you know who has your greatest loyalty? 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of selflessness, love, and loyalty to You and others. Give me the grace to be a true friend, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!