Three Notes

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in His word:

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:8-10)

Now, it’s worth noting two things here: first, that Jesus declaring that Zacchaeus’ household was saved wasn’t because of his giving to the poor and returning what he had stolen. Also, Jesus isn’t talking about Zacchaeus being a physical descendant of Abraham, rather, Jesus was speaking Spiritually. We can see these two things by the following:

First of all, we know for a fact that someone cannot be saved simply by giving to the poor and returning stolen goods. No matter how you look at it, this remains true. So then, with that in mind, we can see from the previous couple of verses (namely verses 1-6) that Zacchaeus saw Jesus, rejoiced in Jesus’ company, then gave to the poor etc., and after all that was when his household was pronounced saved. In other words, we see the process of salvation here: first Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus; pretty much everyone who begins to want to become a Christian wants to see Jesus the word. Next, He rejoiced in Jesus’ company. Likewise, when someone finds Jesus, they too often rejoice. Finally, we see Zacchaeus evidence his desire to be made right by what he does; give to the poor, and return what he had stolen plus interest.

Also, we see that Jesus wasn’t talking about Zacchaeus’ physical relation to Abraham as being the cause of his salvation. Rather, Jesus is saying that Zacchaeus has now become a Spiritual child of Abraham; a Spiritual “Jew.” As Paul puts it in his epistle to the Galatians:

⁷ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”^[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9)

Jesus is saying that Zacchaeus’ being a descendant of Abraham is evidence of his household’s salvation. Now before Jesus had come, this may have applied in the physical sense, because back then the Jew’s were still the chosen people of God. However, Jesus made it so that now there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile;   he made it so that being a physical descendant of Abraham no longer meant you were somehow “qualified” for salvation. Rather, He changed it so that everyone (including you and me) can become Spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham, by having faith that Jesus came, died, and rose again.

With all that being said, there is actually a third thing that needs to be noted, and that is Jesus’ love and kindness. More than that even: His love, His kindness, His grace and mercy; all these are on display here. That Jesus would bring a vile tax collector (who were known for taking more “tax” than was actually required) to Himself, and save even his household, is simply amazing. Not only that, but that He would do the same for us today is even more amazing.-He gave up His very life to save us. Our response should be, therefore, to do what this tax collector did, and accept Jesus into our homes, to love Him, to rejoice in His presence, and to repent.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Giving Thanks

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in His word:

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:11-18)

This is something of a sad story really. Ten were healed, but only one, and him a Samaritan to boot, came back  and gave thanks. But why is that exactly? After all, we had ten lepers healed, what made this one person decide to come back, and why didn’t the others return and give thank’s as well?

Well, so far as we can tell, the one who returned to give thank’s was the only foreigner of the bunch.–Nine Jews, and one Samaritan. Now, remember that when Jesus saw the lepers, He told them to go and show them-self to the priest (in order to be pronounced pure from their leprosy). Therefore, the reason for only one person, and him a foreigner, becomes fairly obvious: the Jews would’ve taken the command to obey the law as being more important than giving thank’s to God. See, their problem, was that even after Jesus had cured them, they still wanted to be pronounced pure by the law, instead of wanting to give glory to God.

We need to follow the example of the Samaritan here. It’s all too easy for us to, even after Jesus has cured us, still want to somehow try to obey the law for salvation. Trying to obey the law is perfectly fine of course. Doing good of any kind is, in of itself, perfectly fine. It’s just we first need to give glory to God by recognizing that it’s by Jesus’ blood and His mercy only that we are saved, and whatever it is that we do, is only an off shoot that springs from what He did for us.

The point being this: doing good is just fine, in fact, it’s the very evidence that we are Christians; even obeying the law is fine (so long as we don’t force that obedience onto others). But we must realize prior to all that, that we’ve been saved by grace, through faith in the son of God, not by good works, or obedience to the law.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Separation

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in His word:

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:51)

The curtain mentioned here, is the one which separated the “Holy of Holies” (where only the High Priest was allowed to venture, and that only ever once a year) from the rest of the Temple, where people came on a regular basis to offer sacrifices. Yet, when Jesus died, this veil was torn from top to bottom.–The way to God (who was dwelling in the Holy of Holies) was made open. Where once only the High Priest could go, now anyone can enter and see God.

The curtain of the Temple represented separation between man and God. It’s presence said that any who would dare to enter through it, must be perfect in the sight of God. It was not a place for the average person. Yet Jesus, through His death, has made the way open, not only to Jews, but also to everyone who believes in Him as their Lord and Savior: all Christians. As the author of Hebrews puts it, we can come before God’s throne of grace with confidence (we see that in Hebrews 4:16). Which is exactly what we should do, in prayer (and once we’ve died, it’s exactly what we hopefully will do in Spirit): come before God’s throne of grace, and ask Him for help, for strength to overcome, and for forgiveness where we have failed.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Magnification

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in His word:

So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” (Romans 11:5-8)

Yes, sure there’s a remnant of people; those who have been lucky enough as to be “chosen” to be saved by grace from the wrath of God, but it seems God has put everyone else into a spirit of blind stupor! What sort of God would purposefully close the eyes and ears of His people to His own message of salvation? What God would bother sending His son to die a horrible death for the sins of “all people”, when all along He never actually intended to save them, but rather to doom them? Surely this “God” is both confused and cruel!

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! (Rom 11:11-12)

God is neither confused nor cruel. Rather, He purposefully blinds some people’s eyes, for a time, so that others may be saved. Not only that, but by the salvation of those ‘others’, to make the first group, in essence, realize what they’re missing out on; eternal life, and thus, perhaps repent. To put it as simply as possible: God puts some people into a spirit of stupor, in order to have a bad example. Others look at what they have become, and where it seems they’re going, and recoil from them, and towards Christ. Then, God opens the eyes and the ears, and takes away the spirit of stupor, so that the “bad example” realizes there is indeed a better way; trusting in Christ.

Yet, does this affect us today? So far everything we’ve been talking about is rather abstract; it doesn’t really touch our lives.

Well, there’s also an exhortation in the verses that we read. We can see it rather more clearly in the following verses:

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? (Rom 11:13-15)

Paul says that he, “magnified his ministry”. In other words, he made his ministry known to them; made the radical changes that were happening in the lives of those he spoke to, known to them. We, even if we don’t have a “ministry”, such as an actual Church, should still magnify our lives to those around us, by living in a way different to those who aren’t Christians.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The True Jew

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in His word:

Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. (Romans 2:27-29)

The true Jew, is someone who is a Jew in his heart. True circumcision, is circumcision of the heart. These two concepts may seem almost absurd. After all, how can someone circumcise his own heart? How can someone be an inward rather than an outward Jew?

Well, it only seems crazy until you really think about it. After all, what is a Jew? A Jew is someone who is chosen by God.  And who is the “chosen” of God? All who accept and believe in His son, and someone whose heart has been cut clean of sin. A true Jew is a Spiritual Jew, rather than a physical one. And in fact, it’s this physical Judaism that Paul is speaking out against here: it doesn’t matter if you offer sacrifices, or have a prayer shawl, or whatever else. What matters is your heart.

So, has Jesus circumcised our hearts yet? Has the cross-cut off the sin which ensnared our lives? If He hasn’t, we need to let go of whatever effort we were making to be made perfect before God on our own, and instead let Jesus’ blood make us pure and perfect before God.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today my dad was the pastor at The Fountain of Grace Church. Here’s what he said today:

Jesus Christ, the Fulfillment of All God’s Promises

Micah 5:1-4 ¹ Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. ² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” ³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. ⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

2 Corinthians 1:18-22 ¹⁸ As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. ²⁰ For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. ²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, ²² and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Well let’s ask a few questions this morning to get us thinking about this passage of Scripture. What did Jesus Christ accomplish when He came to this earth? Well that’s easy, He came to save the world. True, but the Bible tells us that He came to accomplish something specific for the Jewish people. And He accomplished something for the Gentiles. What did He come to do? And what does this have to do with us today?

Well if we look at our passage of study today we’ll see what He accomplished for the Jews and what He accomplished for the Gentiles. Let’s look at Romans 15 verses 8-9:

Romans 15:8-9 ⁸ For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

And so we see clearly that Jesus came to show the Jews that God is a truthful God, that He keeps His promises. And He came that the Gentiles might praise God for His mercy. The Jews are to praise God for His truth and the Gentiles are to praise God for His mercy, and we see both of these in Jesus Who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

So in this passage let’s notice just two points: 1–what Christ became, and 2—why He became it.

So just looking at verse 8, first we see that Christ became a servant. I wonder if you are in awe of the tremendous humility here? Before this time, Jesus was the King of heaven and He received the worship of all the angels. He is Lord of all created beings in the whole universe, and was clothed with majesty and glory, and now He has became a servant. One day He took a towel and washed His disciples feet like a common house-slave would do. Though He was the Lord of glory, He became the servant of all, the lowliest of the low. What tremendous humility. And what a stark contrast to today’s world where people walk all over other people to get up one step higher on the ladder of success. Here Jesus came down, and made Himself nothing, taking on Himself the form of a servant.

And just notice in passing that this word “servant” is “diakonos” where we get our word “Deacon.” One who ministers to the body of Christ. Christ became a deacon. Now we have deacons in this church and they are charged with ministering to the needs of the body. So think how Jesus elevated the role of a deacon by becoming one Himself. Deacons you have the same ministry Jesus did: a servant who meets the needs of the body. What an honorable role.

And secondly, why did Jesus become a servant? Verse 8 tells us it was “to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.”

So the very existence of a man named Jesus Christ tells us something right away: God is a truthful God.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? The existence of Jesus Christ answers these questions: God has said and He did it. In Jesus. God has spoken and He fulfilled it. In Jesus.

And turn with me if you would like to the Book of John chapter 3. Here John the Baptist is speaking about Jesus and he says something very interesting about all believers:

John 3:31-33 ³¹ He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. ³³ Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

So if we’re here this morning and we believe in Jesus Christ what we are saying is that God is true. But if we reject Christ in essence we are saying “God, you are liar.” But God cannot lie. God has fulfilled His promises in Jesus Christ. The Jews are to praise God for His truth, and Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and therefore the Jewish nation is to praise God for Jesus.

Now what does this have to do with us? I wonder if you have considered the amazing benefits of reviewing the promises God made to Israel and seeing the fulfillment in Jesus Christ? This method of study convinces us that God can be believed, His Word is good, we can count on what He says.

And what Romans 15:8-9 invites us to do is to examine the promises God made to the Jewish nation, and then to see the fulfillment of them in Jesus Christ. So today we’re going to look at just a few promises in the Old Testament, and see their fulfillment in Christ. Wait a minute, aren’t we studying Romans? Yes, but sometimes a passage of Scripture invites us to study other passages to confirm the truth. And that’s what Romans 15 has done, both last week and this week. So we just take a little break from Romans and come right back to it. Now just watch how this creates faith in us. See if you don’t find tremendous confidence in the Word of God as we do this study together.

So I invite you to turn to Micah chapter 5, which was our first Scripture reading this morning. It has been proven beyond all doubt that Micah was written 700 years B.C. So 700 years before Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem, Micah wrote this book of the Bible. And here God promised that Israel’s ruler would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). And of course we know that Jesus fulfilled this. And it says that his origins would be “from old”, from ancient times. And so Jesus said to the Jews of his day, “Before Abraham was born, I am.”

But did you notice that His sufferings were actually predicted before His birth? Vs. 1 says that Israel’s ruler would be struck on the face with a rod. It reminds us of Matthew 26 where Jesus is before the Roman soldiers and verse 67 says, “Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him.” Jesus was fulfilling the promises and predictions of Micah chapter 5.

And vs. 3 says that “Israel would be abandoned until” this ruler would be born. And we know that for 400 years God said nothing to the nation of Israel. 400 years of silence, of no prophets, and no visions. Nothing. Until Jesus was born. And He was born as the Word of God—God’s final communication to man.

And vs. 4 tells us He would stand and shepherd His flock. In John 10 Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd—the Good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” And vs. 4 tells us He would be a king. A shepherd-king like David who ruled in the majesty of the Lord His God. And so over the cross Pilate wrote “The King of the Jews.”

And vs. 4 tells us that His greatness would reach to the ends of the earth. His ministry wouldn’t be limited to the nation of Israel. And Philippians 2 shows the fulfillment, that because Jesus was obedient unto death, and rose from the dead, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow. Unity of worship through the gospel. The whole world will acknowledge the greatness of King Jesus.

And finally, notice what the effect of this ruler would be on the nation: vs. 4 says “they will live securely.” Well of course. If you had a Shepherd that would die to save you, if you had a king who would reign in righteousness and justice, and these two were combined into one Person, you could live in security. You would have peace and safety.

And so look what hope the nation of Israel would have, based upon this writing 700 years BC. Someone was going to come and be born in Bethlehem, who would be their ruler, but He would be struck on His face with a rod, there would be suffering in His life, but then He would reign as a Shepherd-King over the whole world, bringing security and peace and joy to the people. And Jesus fulfilled every word of this promise.

So we looked at His birth, now let’s go back and look at the first promise God made, in Genesis chapter 3. And in this chapter we see that sin has entered the world: Adam and Eve have disobeyed God and now everything is messed up. When sin came in the ground was cursed (vs. 17), thorns and weeds came up (vs. 18), hard work; Adam would work by the sweat of the brow (vs. 19), pain in childbirth (vs. 16), banishment from paradise (vss. 23-24), and finally death (vs. 19). All of this came through sin.

But God had promised that somebody would come and fix the whole mess. Look at vs. 15. God is talking to the serpent, to Satan, and He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Now notice that this promise is to the woman’s offspring, not the man’s. Well how can the woman have an offspring and without the man? I mean it would have to a miracle, like a virgin birth for this promise to be fulfilled, where the offspring is only the woman’s, the man is not included. And we read in Matthew 1:21-25 ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”

And then notice the reference to the battle in Genesis 3:15. There would be a fight. But the woman’s offspring would win: he would bruise the head of the serpent, a fatal blow, while He Himself would be bruised in the heel. Like someone stomping on a serpent, who might be bit as their foot is coming down. So the woman’s offspring would be victorious and would destroy the devil and His work; He would fix the whole mess and put things back right again. 1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. Hebrews 2:14 Jesus “shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil.

So Jesus, the Seed only of the woman, not a man, destroyed the work of the devil, made everything right. He perfectly fulfilled the promise in Genesis 3:15, born of a virgin, destroyed the devil and his work, receiving wounds in His flesh as He did so.

Now there are literally hundreds of these promises made to Israel, it would take us years, maybe a lifetime to go through them all. But let’s look at one last promise, this one in Isaiah chapter 9. We hear this a lot at Christmas time:

Isaiah 9:6-7 ⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

So the promise is that David would have a descendant who would sit on his throne forever. A king would rule forever. Now question: looking at the nation of Israel today, who is king? I was just in Israel last week and there is no king. There’s a democracy but there’s no theocracy: no king is reigning. Has God lied? Could He not fulfill this promise? Well let’s look at the promise:

Notice verse 6 says “to us a child is born.” That’s just a natural thing, a child would be born, a human being would become king. But look at the next part, “to us a son is given.” A son given is different than a child born. A child born is humanity, but a son given is deity. It reminds us of John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…” This God-Man would be King. The Government would be on His shoulders. And so Jesus said to Pilate, “you’ll see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, sitting at the right hand of God.” And He would be called “Wonderful.” Do you know Jesus as wonderful? Marvelous? Magnificent? As the Counselor, Mighty God.” The Son given is the Everlasting Father. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

But still, we don’t see a king reigning on the throne in Jerusalem. Did God not fulfill His promise? Oh yes He did, because Hebrews 12:2 …for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Revelation 7:17 says the Lamb of God is “in the midst of the throne.” He’s reigning from the heavenly Jerusalem. We aren’t people who put off the reign of Jesus for some time in the future, no He is reigning right now in the heavenly Jerusalem. He’s on David’s throne.

And so this promise is wonderfully fulfilled. The child born is a human, the Son given is God, the God-man reigning on the throne forever and ever. So just like the cross was a sign, the throne is a sign that says “God is truthful. He fulfills His promises.”

Now as I said, there are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of promises God made, and Jesus fulfills them all! So, what does this mean to us today? We’re not Jews, what does God fulfilling His promises in Christ mean to us today? Just this: God is trustworthy. Jesus confirmed the promises made to Israel. We can believe Him, put our faith in Him, trust in Him, rely on Him, count on Him, take His Word to the bank.

This builds our faith, it gives us confidence in God. We can say just like Joshua did: Joshua 21:45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” We have faith that God will be true to His word because He sent Jesus. And so we see that Christ did indeed come as a minister to the Jews to fulfill all of God’s promises to them.

So let’s close by just looking at a couple of promises God makes to us today. We can be sure that God will be true to His Word as we read these. So the first one is in John chapter 6. As we read this together, see if you can pick out the promises God gives:

John 6:37-40 ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

This passage tells us how to be saved. By looking to Christ and coming to Christ. In  other words, all people whom God saves first are made to see our sin and feel condemned and rejected and hopeless. We have failed, we don’t measure up. But then we hear the words “whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” No matter what you’ve done, no matter the sin you’ve committed, come to Jesus and He will welcome you and receive you and never send you away. All you have to do is look away from your sin and look to the Son of God as having paid your penalty on the cross, and believe that. And His promise is that He will save you and never lose you.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Do you believe this promise that God is always with us, will never leave us? There is a way to know if we believe this promise. When something catastrophic happens in your life, do you lose it? Do you go crazy? Or do you have absolute confidence that God is right there with you in the midst of it? So that you have stability and strength? David could walk through the valley of the shadow of death, even, because He knew God was with Him.

Galatians 6:9-10 ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Do you believe that if you do good you’ll reap a harvest if you don’t give up? If you stay the course, if you keep plugging along, doing good?

Jesus came as a minister to the Jews, to show that God has fulfilled all the promises in Him. And He will fulfill all His promises to us too. Let’s pray.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Say A Prayer: Get Rich

Hello again!

Today we start 1 Thessalonians. – This is what God gave me today in his word:

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved–so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God’s wrath has come upon them at last! (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)

Join Christianity → Say a Prayer → Let The Money ($$$) Start Rolling In! – Or maybe, depending on who you are, you’ll think: Become a Believer → Say a Prayer → Become Rich and Famous! – Things don’t work like that. Plain and simple.

But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. —C.S. Lewis

Becoming a Christian doesn’t instantly entitle you to a house-deed, money, fame, furniture, or whatever else comes to mind which you pray for. The Jew’s crucified Jesus, and can you guess who lives in you as a Christian? Jesus Christ, by whom we are saved and for whom we are put in pain. In China or Iraq that pain may/probably would be physical, but it doesn’t have to be. The good news though, is that God will deal with them… Eventually. While we’re talking about God, why is it He allows us to suffer? Why is it He doesn’t give us everything we want, when we want it?

Which would be better for a son/daughter do you think? To be pampered and grow up getting everything s/he ever wanted. Or growing up poor, and learning to love and care for those around him/her? The answer, by the way, is number two. – God wants the best for us, that doesn’t mean he gives us what we think is best for us. He lets trails come, he lets us feel pain, so that he can (as Lewis put it) shout his will for us into our ears.

Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape. —Charles Dickens

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you–I, Paul, again and again–but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18)

Paul provides a perfect example: he was torn away from the Thessalonians, thus he tried all the harder to get to them. It’s slightly different with us, but the same concept applies; the harder Satan pushes, the more we must rely on Christ’s power. This is the point: That God let’s us feel pain in order to draw us nearer to him. This may seem selfish, and it is! God is an incredibly selfish God, that’s why he sent his son to die for us! So that we can be his and his alone.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sabbath

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7)

Today, on a Q&A Site, I saw a question that I thought was very interesting. And it applies to the current verse we’re on today with Galatians, so I thought I’d share it with you (the first section is the question, followed by my in-part answer):

———————————————————————————————————————

Ever since Satan was banished from heaven he has been getting people to break God’s commandments. Even in the Old Testament he got people to break the Sabbath and worship idols and commit adultery. Nothing has changed. Today millions of Christians say it’s okay to break God’s holy Sabbath day.

Heaven and earth would have to pass for God’s law to be altered (Luke 16:17). Have you ever heard the saying, “It is written in stone.” People cannot even change the law of the government. Only the government can change the law. On what authority can people change the law of the Almighty God of the universe who wrote his law in stone?

God bless Jesus Christ for taking away the curse of breaking God’s law. But does that mean he gave us a licence to break it?

Did Jesus ever teach his followers to replace the Sabbath day with Sunday? Does the Bible ever call Jesus the Lord of Sunday? When Jesus rose from the dead did he ever tell his disciples to forget about the Sabbath commandment and keep Sunday in remembrance of his resurrection?

After the resurrection the disciples met on varies days. They often met on Sundays and broke bread, they also met on Thursday, and one time they worshipped together seven days a week. But the Sabbath day was the day that the Jews and Gentiles kept as their holy day. They did meet on other days, but they never replaced the Sabbath.

“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” (Acts 13:42)

“On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:44)

“And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made…” (Acts 16:13)

The book of Acts was written by Luke who was a Gentile. Luke never taught that the Sabbath had been done away. Why would the Gentiles beg Paul to preach to them on the Sabbath day if Sunday was the new Lord’s day?

And why would God need to change his commandments? The Sabbath was blessed at creation. But we know the Sabbath was never changed because Jesus said that heaven and earth would have to pass (Luke 16:17).

And for those Christians who make Sunday their holy day, do they keep ALL of Sunday holy, or just a few hours at church. The reason the Sabbath is so important is because it involves time with God. The more time we spend with God, the stronger our relationship will be. Life can be so stressful that we often don’t have much time for God. The Sabbath is holy time with God. It is a commandment. What right do we have to change it to another day?

It is never called the Sabbath of the Jews, it is called the Sabbath of the LORD. It is the LORD’s day. It is called the holy Sabbath. Why would Jesus abolish something that is holy? The Sabbath is a delight, but Christians try to say that Sabbath keeping is a burden.

According to Colossians 2:14-16 the ordinances of Moses i.e the feast days, new moons, yearly sabbaths etc were nailed to the cross. But God’s law–the 10 commandments–are forever (Psalm 111:7-8).

I believe that their will be a revival before the Lord returns and God’s people will come back to true worship and turn away from all these man made traditions.

—————————————————————————————————————————

You: Ever since Satan was banished from heaven he has been getting people to break God’s commandments.

Me: Very true.

You: Even in the Old Testament he got people to break the Sabbath and worship idols and commit adultery. Nothing has changed. Today millions of Christians say it’s okay to break God’s holy Sabbath day.

Me: The law, including the Sabbath, died along with Jesus Christ:

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
(Galatians 3:2-3)

The Galatians were being deceived into believing that works of the law would save them, ‘works of the law’ includes obeying the Sabbath.

You: Heaven and earth would have to pass for God’s law to be altered (Luke 16:17). Have you ever heard the saying, “It is written in stone.” People cannot even change the law of the government. Only the government can change the law. On what authority can people change the law of the Almighty God of the universe who wrote his law in stone?

Me: YES AND AMEN! God is the only one who can change his own law, and he did so, on the cross. When his only son died and rose again to free us.

You: God bless Jesus Christ for taking away the curse of breaking God’s law. But does that mean he gave us a licence to break it?

Me: I’m sorry, I haven’t come across a passage that says he only took away the curse of the law? However, I have seen this:

having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)

You: Did Jesus ever teach his followers to replace the Sabbath day with Sunday? Does the Bible ever call Jesus the Lord of Sunday? When Jesus rose from the dead did he ever tell his disciples to forget about the Sabbath commandment and keep Sunday in remembrance of his resurrection?

Me: Jesus is indeed the Lord of the Sabbath. We no longer have a physical day called ‘The Sabbath’ instead, we now have Jesus Christ, wherein our eternal Sabbath rest lies.

You: After the resurrection the disciples met on varies days. They often met on Sundays and broke bread, they also met on Thursday, and one time they worshipped together seven days a week. But the Sabbath day was the day that the Jews and Gentiles kept as their holy day. They did meet on other days, but they never replaced the Sabbath.

“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” (Acts 13:42)

“On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:44)

“And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made…” (Acts 16:13)

Me: If you could expound on this a little more (include some verses), I would appreciate it. I can’t seem find the passage in the Bible which says the Apostles continued keeping the Sabbath. – As for the verses that you quoted, they all very true. Remember, the Jew’s, as a rule of thumb all met on the Sabbath in the Synagogue. Back then, it was simply custom to teach/hear sermons on the Sabbath.

I apologize that I can’t answer everything you said, I’m currently working on something else. But thank you very much for asking this question.

Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjBf7lnwvte7EdscpKFUmzLty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20111018065356AAwhW3W

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Potter and the Clay

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” (Romans 9:18-19)

Why is it God would, even though apparently made me to do something wrong, (like Pharaoh, who talks about in verse 17), how come he still counts it as sin? I was only doing what he made me to do. Surely the blood isn’t on my hands, it must be on God’s! He after all made me to do it, and I can’t change.

First, if God has made me the way I am, then why is it my sin is still counted to be on my head? … What have I done wrong? Nothing… After all, God literally made me to do it.

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory– (Romans 9:20-23)

Is this how Paul answers the question? By simply saying to bad so sad, I’m a vessel for good use and you’re one for dishonorable use. If that’s it, I don’t see how there’s any hope for anyone. After all, we can’t change. We’re only here to show God’s mercy to the vessels for honorable use, through our own destruction.

even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:24)

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 9:30-33)

I can’t do enough good to reach the standard the law puts up, I know that, it’s the very reason I’m an object of dishonorable use. I can’t change, therefore I can’t meet the standards the law puts up, and hence, the object of wrath status. But it seems this passage is suggesting another way, it seems to be saying that if I believe in a rock, I will be able to change. How does that make sense? – And looking at it that way, it probably never will make sense. The “rock” that smashes our old self to little clay bits, and then rebuilds us in his image, is called, Jesus.

Second, we need to know how change from object of dishonorable use, to object of honorable use… As I’m sure neither of us wants to stay the same way we are.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

First we have to stumble and be humbled, before we can be brought up. That’s why Paul notes that Jesus is a stumbling (humbling) block. But, after we realize that we can’t save our self, and that we will remain an object of wrath forever unless something changes, what then? How can we change? We can change by being changed by Jesus, aka, the potter, who has the ability to change what he has created.

That’s it. We’re called, we confess, we believed, we’re saved. Being transformed, is far easier than trying to transform yourself. However, some people, such as Pharaoh choose not to accept the call… This is where things can get a little confusing, but I’ll try to explain it simply… God made Pharaoh to refuse Moses, despite the many plagues, but Pharaoh chose to do so. We have free will, but that free will is being controlled by the person who made free will (as well as the person who he gives the free will to). He did that, in order to show the Israelites his mercy, in that they weren’t affected by the plagues. My point in saying all this being, everyone is called to Jesus, but some people “refuse to accept it”. To quote myself:

You choose to follow God, yet all along it’s actually God choosing you to follow him. – God isn’t a cruel God, in fact, instead he’s an extremely unjust God, in that instead of destroying us, he gives us a means of salvation. Yet people who turn down that salvation, can’t really say God is cruel God. (The Wrath of God Is Coming?!)

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

 

 

 

Abilities… And Our Stunning Lack of Them

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:14-18)

If doesn’t have the ability to obey the law, than who does? Paul was a Jew of Jews, the most zealous of the zealous, he says as much in Philippians (3:4-6), and he didn’t have the ability to carry out the law? Then it must be impossible! How can anyway be saved if even Paul doesn’t have the ability to obey the law?

First, we need to know how we can be saved! … Is it even possible, if no one can obey the law?

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:24-25)

Does it really matter if we obey the law inwardly but not outwardly? No, it doesn’t matter how much we want to do something, so long as we don’t. And vise versa. So why is Paul saying things like, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”? He seems to be reveling in his inability to obey the law!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

And that, is how we’re saved. Not by trying and completely failing to obey the law, but by believing in God’s son, Jesus’, ability to obey it on our behalf.

Second, what now?

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

Now, we set our mind on the Spirit. And how do we do that? As it happens, we don’t actually set our minds on the Spirit, instead, the Spirit sets our minds on himself.

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. (Ephesians 4:23)

Finally, there is one more point I would like to make: What now? Now, we are sons of God!

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (Romans 8:12-16)

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland