The Power of the Reademer

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. (Jeremiah 50:29)

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go. (Jeremiah 50:33)

Wait a minute, didn’t God want to Babylonians to come in and capture the Israelites? So why would God suddenly turn on the Babylonians in favor of his people? That just doesn’t make sense. Well let’s look at the next verse:

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. (Jeremiah 50:34)

Ah, so God wanted to show the power of the Redeemer. So, first he uses a sinful nation (Babylon), to capture Israel, to show them there faults, and then saves them by way of a redeemer. Well, we all have faults too, right? (The correct answer is Yes, by the way), so do we need a redeemer?

⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, theforgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7-8)

We too have a redeemer, Christ himself! Who died for us on the cross to buy us back to himself. And unlike with the Israelites, we don’t have to earn that redemption.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

All Consuming Fire – All Consuming Love

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

Behold, I will bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts, from all who are around you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives. “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 49:5-6)

If you look one chapter back, you’ll find pretty much the same story with Moab; destruction followed by restoration… The reason for the destruction bit was because they were worshiping false God’s. Yet God promised to restore them, despite their false worship, I wonder if perhaps we today have any Idol’s, (and since we all do), will we get the same destroy-rebuild treatment? I’ll be honest with you; yes.

⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)

We must first die (to self) before we can live (in Christ). Like the Ammonites we (formerly) had and worshiped our “false gods”. And each of those “false gods” sprang up out of and took root out of one thing; self. And until, also like the Ammonites and Moabites, we are destroyed, until all of our selfishness and false gods are done away with, can we worship the one true God. But now the question arises, how is it that we can die to our self? What must we do in order to crucify our flesh so that we can serve God?

²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

 ²² “He committed no sin, 
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.”^[e]

 ²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)

Through Christ’s death and only through his death can our flesh (self) be crucified.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

An Execration; a Horror; a Curse; and a Taunt.

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. (Jeremiah 42:18)

In what circumstances though would this happen I wonder? – If they returned to Egypt, God said the above (they’re becoming a: execration, etc), would happen. So how are we to apply this today? If someone goes back to “Egypt” or in today’s words Drugs or Alcoholism, should we do all of those things to them? Well of course not. But why? Let’s think about this for a moment: why is it today, that we don’t do the same thing God did back then (or more accurately; was going to do)? Why is it that everyone that turns to drug’s isn’t promptly put out of the church (you will see this place no more) and beaten (all the rest). Well aside from that being extremely illegal, the reason we don’t do what God did today, is because there has been a change in the way we do things.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:21-22)

From the above passage (the one in Galatians) we can see that things have in fact changed; we’re no longer under the law… We’re not stoned to death any longer for doing something wrong. Why? Because of what he, Jesus, did for us. Namely, dying on the cross for us.

Conclusion? Because Jesus was beaten, made to become an execration and a horror. Cursed for our transgressions and a taunted (spat at), we no longer have to become the afore-mentioned. However, this does not entitle us to freedom to do whatever it is our flesh want’s to do. Paul in Roman’s 6 makes that point quite clear.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Because of What You’ve Done

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. (Jeremiah 40:1-3)

Because of what you’ve done this has come upon you. Because of what Jeremiah did, he was punished. Well let’s say I have a ton of debt, I suppose does that mean God’s punishing me? Now that I think about it, my car broke down, Is the resonable conclusion though that I must have disobeyed the Lord? … Careful; one false step could mean the dishwasher is next! – We don’t have to live that way, obviously (unlike Jeremiah). But think about it, why is it we don’t have to live in fear of doing something wrong in God’s eyes?

²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve all heard that verse and I don’t see how it changes anything. Sure Christ became sin for us, but that only covers what happened before not what will happen.

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13)

Ah, so God’s working in me now to will and to act according to his good purpose. That would explain the not-broken-state of the toaster I suppose… So just give me a minute here to get this all straight:

Because Christ became sin and died, God now lives in me, and now I’m free to do whatever I want. With no limits or bounds what so ever. Without there being a resulting earthquake, volcanic explosion, etc. I’m free, free, free! After all I can’t do anything God doesn’t want me to, so obviously I can do whatever I want to!

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:1-7)

Ah, well let me revise my summary then:

Because of what he (Jesus) di(e)d for me and therefore I am free, yes, but that freedom is freedom from sin, and slavery to Christ.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

1) The Leopar 2) The Worshiper 3) The Betrayer – Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today the sermon was in Mark 14 and John 12.

The pastor’s first point was about Simon the Leopar, I’ll admit to know remembering much of anything about this part except that apparently  there are 10 different Simon’s mentioned in the New Testament. His second point was about the Worshiper, and if you’ll endeavor to read some of John 12, you’ll discover that “The Worshiper” in this particular case is Mary, who broke an alabaster jar and poured the contents (about 1 pound of nard, not to be confused with lard) onto Jesus. Basically here he talked about how it was in fact customary to drip a few drops of nard (in this case) onto a guest who had visited, because they often smelled quite bad after walking. And how it was unheard of for anyone to ever dump an entire jar on someone. And this obviously led into the third point, the Betrayer (Judas Iscariot). And here he talked about, naturally, Judas. And how he betrayed Jesus for the price of the slave, etc.

I apologize for not portraying the sermon exactly as it was, I tend to remember the more memorable things and points. If you don’t want my skimpy version on any more sermons though, I would suggest your going to West Wood Alliance, Mansfield.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Incurable Disease

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

“For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous. There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant. Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you. (Jeremiah 30:12-15)

I can never be cured, I’m going to be stuck with it for life. Our guilt is to great, our might to weak, our flesh to overpowering. There’s not even any use in crying over it, we’re stuck with this incurable disease of the flesh for life.

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.^[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

I’m cured! The incurable disease has been cured, now I weep for joy; I’m stuck with this Spirit of Joy for life. – Now my flesh is dead, not by my hand, but by the might of God. My guilt has been washed away in the torrent of his love for me; Jesus himself, died to give me new life! No longer am I under the control of a merciless foe, but instead my life is lived anew in the shelter of the rock of my salvation.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Everlasting Reproach; Perpetual Shame; Perfect Memory

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'” (Jeremiah 23:40)

If you look a little further back you’ll find that the reason for this was that all the other prophets in Jeremiah’s time were prophesying falsely, “shepherds” were leading God’s “sheep” away, and people were stubbornly following ‘their own path.’ and God basically said ‘I’ve had enough.’ So in that light, does that mean everyone who is stubborn will always be remembered for that, have reproached for it continually, and end up with everlasting shame? Well let’s see how Paul addresses this:

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)

A man commits incest, and then brags about it possibly leading to other’s falling astray, if that’s not following your own path instead of God’s I don’t know what is. Granted he did it out of ignorance, he didn’t know according to Paul’s letters up to this point that it was wrong. Even so, even if you’re an immoral wretch (pagan, etc) one would think you would know that was wrong. Anyway, Paul addresses this matter as God addressed it in Jeremiah, reproach him, put him to shame (by putting him out of the church), and remember it always. Right?

⁵ If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. (2 Corinthians 2:5-8)

It seems to me like Paul is perhaps treating this case differently then God did, at first he said the man was to be reproached, and put out, but it seems he has forgotten the last step; to always remember and never forgive what has happened. Why would Paul, of all people, forget such a basic step as remembering the sin. For that matter, he broke the first two steps as well! He didn’t add the “everlasting” bit or the “perpetual” bit, what’s going on here? Could it be perhaps, that between Jeremiah’s time, and the time Paul wrote this letter that something drastic had changed in his life?

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

What reproach is left for us? What shame wasn’t put onto Jesus at the cross? Christ’s becoming sin (for us) will be remembered for all time, yet because of the same act, my sins have already been washed away in his blood. – I suggest you quickly read Romans 6 at this point – There is simply nothing left for us, but the everlasting, perpetual, and perfect love of God our heavenly father.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Do or Die – He Did So We Could Live

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. (Jeremiah 22:3-5)

We’re all going to die unless we shape up and do right. We’re all going to die if we all don’t become righteous in about zero seconds from now. We’re all going to do any wrong. We’re all going to die if we are violent in general.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

We’re all going to live because he was beaten out of shape. We’re all going to live because he did right for us. We’re all going to live because he was righteous from the start. We’re all going to live because he took all of our wrong-doings onto himself. He was treated violently, so that we could be treated with mercy and forgiveness.

Video URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYf

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The First and Last Adams

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. (Jeremiah 18:7-8)

And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. (Jeremiah 18:9-10)

Grab your popcorn, because I predict the second big bang is about to happen. In which the Earth will be utterly obliterated! … Why are we not all dead, that’s my question. Anyway you look at it, we, as a planet, have done evil in God’s sight. Could it be that God is simply looking the other way? What’s going on here?

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Ah, that would explain why we aren’t little bits floating around in space. But how is it that one man dying on a cross, could possibly save the entire world, half (or more) of which isn’t even sure he ever existed.

⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”^[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.  (1 Corinthians 15:45-47)

Conclusion? By one man sin was brought into this world, and by one man sin was taken out of it. – Christ became sin for us; in this way he took on the sin of the world and saved us.

Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubGCISQQ7Zo

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Jesus our Sabbath Rest

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.'” (Jeremiah 17:27)

Well I haven’t “kept the Sabbath day holy,” by not doing work on it. So does that mean I’m about to go up in a puff of smoke? No, it doesn’t, but why? After all, God did just said in the above passage that he would ravage Jerusalem should they fail to keep the Sabbath, I may not be Jerusalem, but don’t you think that after so many years God would see fit to punish me for my horrid crime of forsaking the Sabbath day?

¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:14-17)

“The reality, however, is found in Christ.” – I find that an interesting statement. It seems to be inferring that Christ could in fact be our Sabbath rest. And that could quite possibly explain my lack of crispness… But what does this all mean to us? Sure Jesus may be our Sabbath rest but, frankly speaking, so what? – Well I think it means that we won’t get burned up. And how would Jesus being our Sabbath rest do that? Because Jesus is our Sabbath rest and in that he saved us, and he saved us by dying for us on the cross!

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland