Our Servant, Jesus

 Our Servant, Jesus

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Not only was he the servant of his people while he lived on earth, but he will also be our servant when he comes again. “Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them” (Luke 12:37). Jesus gave that as a picture of what he will do at his return.

Not only that, he is our servant now. “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5–6).

Does this belittle the risen Christ — to say that he was and is and will ever be the servant of his people? It would, if “servant” meant “one who takes orders,” or if we thought we were his masters. Yes, that would dishonor him. But it does not dishonor him to say that we are weak and need his help.

It does not dishonor him to say that he is the only one who can service us with what we need most.

It does not dishonor him to say that he is an inexhaustible spring of love, and that the more he helps us and the more we depend on his service, the more amazing his resources appear. Therefore, we can confidently say, “Jesus Christ is alive to serve!”

He is alive to save. He is alive to give. And he is thrilled to be this way. 

He is not burdened down with your cares. He thrives on burden-bearing, not burden-giving. He loves to work “for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). He “takes pleasure . . . in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:11). His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Jesus Christ is exuberant with omnipotent service for the sake of all who trust him.

THE ESSENCE OF IMMERSION BAPTISM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2025.

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 word 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 goes 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. Give me the grace to walk in the newness of life in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

TRUST IN THE LORD COMPLETELY!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2025.

SUBJECT: TRUST IN THE LORD COMPLETELY!

Memory verse: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind s stayed on You, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26 vs 3.)

READ: Psalm 125 vs 1 - 2:

Psalm 125:1: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

125:2: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.

INTIMATION:

Trusting in the Lord completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life, you are certain He will keep His promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary. Trusting in the Lord completely pleases Him. When you put your absolute trust in the Lord, He will surround you as the mountains surround the city of Jerusalem. You will confidently say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress." Those who trust in the Lord completely have the same claim and experience expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 91; the perfect expression of the result of our absolute trust in God. Recite Psalm 91 daily in assurance of your trust in Him.

The reason we trust in the Lord is because He is an unchanging God. As the mountain remains unmoved so do the consistency of our God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Malachi 3 vs 6; Hebrews 13 vs 8). And because "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy," (Psalm 147 vs 11), He surrounds His people now and forever. You are continually in His presence. And "In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16 vs 11.)

Noah was one of the people that trusted in the Lord. Even when God asked him to do something that made no sense to him, he trusted God and obeyed. Noah knew nothing about flood because there has been no rain before that time, so he knew nothing about rain. He has never seen an ark or built a ship before, but obeyed the instructions God gave him and adhered strictly to the measurements and materials God told him to use. 

Obviously Noah was faced with three problems that could have caused him to doubt. First, he had never seen rain and by extension flood, because prior to the flood, God irrigated the earth from the ground up. (See Genesis 2 vs 5 - 6.) Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Even if he could learn to build a ship, how would he get it to the water? Third, there was the problem of rounding up all the animals and then caring for them. But he didn't complain or make excuses. 

He trusted God completely, and that made God smile at him. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. I imagined he faced many discouraging days. With no sign of rain year after year, he was ruthlessly criticized as a ‘crazy man who thinks God speaks to him.’ I imagined Noah's children were often embarrassed by the giant ship being built in their front yard. Yet Noah kept trusting God.

Trust is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when the children trust their love and wisdom, your faith makes God happy. And without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) Trusting in the Lord completely pleases Him, and consequently He ensures you are kept in perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding. 

We can never avoid strife around us in this world, but with God we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. When we are devoted to Him, our whole attitude is steady and stable. Supported by God's unchanging love and mighty power, we are not shaken by the surrounding chaos. Do you want peace? Keep your thoughts and your trust in God. The secret of stability is to trust in God, because He never changes. He cannot be shaken by the changes in our world, He is in control, and He endures forever. Therefore, do not trust in the world of varying circumstances but on God who controls all circumstances.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You I put my whole trust. Whatever You can’t do for me, let it remain undone, whatever You can’t give me, may I never have it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Amazed at the Resurrection

 Amazed at the Resurrection

1This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. (2 Peter 3:1)

As Easter approaches, let’s stir up our thankfulness and joy and admiration and amazement at what the resurrection of Jesus means for us. The curse of our fallen nature is that what once thrilled us becomes ordinary. The reality hasn’t changed. We have changed.

This is why the Bible exists. Peter says of his two letters that they are written to “stir up” or “arouse” by means of “reminder.”

So, let’s stir up our sincere minds by way of reminder.

What has God done in raising Jesus from the dead? Here are a few biblical answers.

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we are born again to a living hope.

1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Because of Jesus’s resurrection, he now has the glory for which we were made. Our ultimate destiny is to see him as he is.

1 Peter 1:21: “God . . . raised him from the dead and gave him glory.” 

John 17:5, 24: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. . . . Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

May the risen Lord Jesus himself awaken and arouse your sincere mind to new depths of worship and allegiance and joy.

The Kind of Cold That Kills

 The Kind of Cold That Kills

He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. (Psalm 147:15)

Tonight it will be forty degrees warmer in our kitchen freezer than it is outside here in Minneapolis. The high temperature tomorrow will be five degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). We receive this from the Lord’s hand.

He sends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

He gives snow like wool;

he scatters frost like ashes.

He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;

who can stand before his cold?

He sends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

(Psalm 147:15–18)

This is the kind of cold you do not play with. It kills. 

When I came to Minnesota from South Carolina, I dressed for it. But I did not prepare life-saving support in my car in case of a breakdown. 

One Sunday night on the way home from church, in this kind of cold, my car died. This was before cell phones. I had a wife and two small children in the car. 

There was no one on this road. I suddenly realized, this is dangerous. 

Soon it was very dangerous. No one came. 

I saw in the distance through a fence a house. I am the father. This is my job. I climbed the fence and ran to the house and knocked on the door. They were home. I explained that I had a wife and two small children in the car, and asked if they would let us in. They did.

This is a kind of cold you do not play with. 

It is one more way God says, “Whether hot or cold, high or deep, sharp or blunt, loud or quiet, bright or dark . . . don’t toy with me. I am God. I made all these things. They speak of me, just like the warm summer breezes do, and the gentle rains, and the soft moonlit nights, and the lapping of the lakeside, and lilies of the field and the birds of the air.” 

There is a word for us in this cold. May the Lord give us skin to feel and ears to hear.

REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2025.

SUBJECT: REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN!

Memory verse:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.) 

READ: Hebrews 10 vs 16 - 18:

10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

10:17: Then He adds, “Their sins  and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

10:18: Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

INTIMATION:

It is noteworthy that it was God's Nature that was not available to man in creation. Man was created in God's image and after His likeness, but God's Nature wasn't given then to man. The absence of God's nature in man enabled Satan to influence him, led him to sin, and became his ruler. God, in realization of this, recreated man and gave him His Nature, that now Satan has no dominion over him again. This is the fallout of Christ's finished work of redemption wrought by God Himself. 

In the passage we read today, God, in His infinite mercy, planned to take away (remit) our sins, that is, it is blotted out completely as if it never existed, and that He remembers them no more. He wrought this in Christ finished work as a propitiation for our sins. The work was finished, and accepted when He sat down at the Right Hand of the Father on high. We could see that the new creation is brought into being by the Life and Nature of God, and this new creation is awaiting every unsaved man. 

It is very important that we understand the difference between forgiveness and the remission of sin. A man receives remission of sins when he is Born Again (Spiritual rebirth). This is consequent upon his accepting the finished work of Christ on the cross for us, and  confessing Christ as his Lord and Savior. Subsequently, one may receive forgiveness of sin after one is Born Again as often as one sins, and confesses your sin to Christ, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

When we come to Christ by confessing Him as our Lord and Savior, God forgives and remits all the sins we have committed, and we don't need to fear that God will reject us if we don't keep our state perfectly clean thereafter. Once we confess Christ, our relationship with God is secure. Our continuing in confessing our sins is not because our failure to do so will make us lose our salvation, but for us to enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with Him.

True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn't be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it. As  “Born Again,”the Holy Spirit will begin to give you the enablement to overcome temptations. It may be a gradual process.

It is therefore, necessary we appreciate Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9 that says, "For by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift from God, and not of works lest any man should glory." The new creation does not come through our repentance or the surrendering of ourselves or the confession of our sins, but it comes by grace, pure and simple. All we do is to accept it. It is ours, a gift based upon legal grounds.

Then what is grace? It is the unmerited favor of God. It is God's love for us unveiled in our redemption. It is the hungry heart of God assuming man's sins; assuming the responsibility of man's creation, acting as though He were guilty of every sin that man committed. No works that man could do would have any value. Why? Because every man was spiritually dead and the good things that he would do to redeem himself would be the works of a spiritually dead man.

But God comes in the person of His Son, and that Son becomes sin on our behalf, assumes all that man had ever done and ever was, and meets the claims of justice on our behalf (‘The soul who sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18 vs 4)), satisfies the need for fallen man. He defeated death by His resurrection and ascended to heaven where He sits down at the Right Hand of the Father (the hand of authority with all authorities handed over to Him), and sends the Holy Spirit Who convicts men through the Word, and recreates them.

It is this great event of God, now on legal grounds, that imparts on man God’s Own Nature and make him a new creation. Only God can do this; imparting His Nature and Eternal life on man. Natural man is without God. He is without hope, and is in the world, and is Satan-ruled. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I will ever be grateful for the finished work of Christ in redeeming me, and the privilege of sonship given to me by You. May my recreated spirit ever thirst for You, in all wisdom and prudence, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When You Are Immortal

 When You Are Immortal

When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. (Acts 23:12)

What about those hungry fellows who promised not to eat till they had ambushed Paul?

We read about them in Acts 23:12, “When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” It didn’t work. Why? Because a string of unlikely events happened. 

A boy overheard the plot. 

The boy was the son of Paul’s sister. 

The boy had the courage to go to the Roman centurion guarding Paul. 

The centurion took him seriously and brought him to the tribune. 

The tribune believed him and prepared “two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen” to take Paul to safety. 

Every one of those events was highly unlikely. Strange. But that’s what happened.

What had those hungry men lying in ambush overlooked? They failed to reckon with what happened to Paul just before they made their plot. The Lord appeared to Paul in prison and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome” (Acts 23:11).

Christ said Paul was going to Rome. And that was that. No ambush can stand against the promise of Christ. Until he got to Rome, Paul was immortal. There was a final testimony to be given. And Christ would see to it that Paul would give it.

You too have final testimony to give. And you are immortal until you give it.