God is not 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? - Numbers 23:19 ESV

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Throughout Scripture, over and over, God reminds us that His word is fixed and secure. He assures us that when He says something, He will do it. A few of these places are Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:18, 1 Samuel 15:29, Psalm 89:34, Psalm 110:4, Isaiah 40:8, Malachi 3:6 and Luke 21:33.

So what happens if we have read a passage and think God is promising us something, but it doesn't come to pass? Here are three possibilities:

1) We have misinterpreted the promise. 

Sometimes we misapply promises in Scripture that were for a certain person or nation and wrongly apply it to ourselves.

2) God answered, but in an unexpected way and we missed His answer.

3) We gave up before God's timed response. 

Remember how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait for Isaac the child of promise?? Our timing is not God's timing and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

God is faithful and He changes not. He is not a man that he should lie. Rest in Jesus knowing that He is worthy of our trust and praise. 

When life squeezes you, what comes out?

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Scripture speaks of fire testing, refining and purifying us throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Paul explains that our work will be tested by fire at the judgement seat of Christ:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.  For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.  If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (NASB)

We still have idioms about fire in our language today. We say we "are under fire" when we feel we are being attacked or criticized harshly. We say we are "thrown into the fire" when we are thrust in the middle of a painful consuming circumstance that we don't have control over.

Likewise, during our lives our faith is also tested by fire. Peter wrote:

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1 Peter 1:6-10 NASB)

Though trials test and refine our faith, we can rest in this knowing, "that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NASB)

It's not always easy. Many times the circumstances that refine our faith are painfully difficult. There is an expression that goes something like "when under pressure and life squeezes you, what comes out is who you really are." When we squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out, when we squeeze a tube of toothpaste, toothpaste comes out. When life squeezes us and we feel the pressure from all sides, what comes out of our lips and our lives? When we are in the proverbial line of fire, do we yell and shake our fist or do we praise God anyway?

In the midst of the fire, we can remember God is with us as just He was with Daniel's friends in the fire (Daniel 3:25). He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) We, like David can call out, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I!" Psalm 61:1-2 KJV

No Fear of Death

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:11)

The first death we must endure unless the Lord should suddenly come to His temple. For this let us abide in readiness, awaiting it without fear, since Jesus has transformed death from a dreary cavern into a passage leading to glory.

The thing to be feared is not the first but the second death, not the parting of the soul from the body but the final separation of the entire man from God. This is death indeed. This death kills all peace, joy, happiness, hope. When God is gone, all is gone. Such a death is far worse than ceasing to be: it is existence without the life which makes existence worth the having.

Now, if by God's grace we fight on to the end and conquer in the glorious war, no second death can lay its chill finger upon us, We shall have no fear of death and hell, for we shall receive a crown of life which fadeth not away. How this nerves us for the fight! Eternal life is worth a life's battle. To escape the hurt of the second death is a thing worth struggling for throughout a lifetime.

Lord, give us faith so that we may overcome, and then grant us grace to remain unharmed though sin and Satan dog our heels!

C.H. Spurgeon

The meaning of the Cross: Reflections for Good Friday (Preparing our Hearts for Easter Series)

As I browsed the sea of devotions for Easter, my heart sank. I saw titles like, "What Kind of Easter People are we?" and "Why Easter is not about you." Really? Is this what modern Christianity wants? Does Easter mean pondering our "Easter peopleness"? Do we really have to be told WHY Easter is not about us? Do we really think Easter is only about new clothes, Easter egg hunts and fancy dinners?

Another article in a Christian forum informed us that we "practice resurrection" by rolling around in the grass like dogs and eating when we are hungry. 

Easter of course is not about rolling in the grass, eating when we want, and Easter is not about us. It is about Christ and the glory of His resurrection. Yes, His resurrection has MASSIVE implications FOR us as talked about in our last entry: He is Risen Indeed! What that means to you and me.

Yet, let's not strip this glory from Christ. Easter is about His resurrection three days after dying on a cross for our sin.

The cross is about God pouring out His wrath that Jesus took for our sin. The cross is not a magical instrument by which we are saved. It was an instrument of torture that thieves and murderers and criminals were tortured on and killed. It was not uncommon in that day for people to be crucified. Many people were crucified. History tells us that even Peter too was crucified. These people that were crucified did not atone for our sins. The cross itself - that is the two pieces of wood that made the cross did not atone for our sin. JESUS CHRIST, sinless and undefiled, God clothed with flesh, took the wrath WE were ordained to suffer on that cross FOR us. It was at the cross- on the cross – our sins were atoned for through Jesus Christ.

Jesus drank the cup of wrath on that cross so we would not have to.

What cup of wrath you ask? It is the cup the wicked must drink.

“For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.” Psalm 75:8 NASB

The verse below clearly shows us the need for a perfect and sinless sacrifice. This could only be God Himself. We see the need for the cross right here in Proverbs. It says:

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 17:15 ESV

Do you see the problem? God  COULD NOT go against His own word, justify you and me (the wicked) and condemn Christ (the righteous)! The only way a sinner could be justified is if that sinner was forgiven and his legal standing/status before God was changed. Justification is our right legal standing before God Almighty. Through Christ's sacrifice, His death on the cross and resurrection, when we put our trust in Him we are forgiven and justified. 

Three days after Jesus hung on the cross, died and was buried, He rose again and was seen by more than 500 people.

Paul writes: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 NASB

Our forgiveness was accomplished on the cross, and it is through Christ's death and resurrection that believers are saved. Let us rejoice together this Easter Sunday!

He is risen. He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

He is Risen Indeed: What that means to you and me (Preparing our Hearts for Easter Series)

Easter is the time we celebrate Christ's resurrection. His resurrection and appearances are recorded multiple places in Scripture. Paul testifies:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 1 Corinthians 15:3-7

What does the resurrection mean to us personally?

• It assures our future resurrection 

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ....But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

(1 Corinthians 15:13,14,20-23)

• It assures us all things have been subjected to Him and He is seated at a place of power at God's right hand. God will work all things for our good. 

[Jesus Christ] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
(1 Peter 3:22, Luke 22:69 Romans 8:28)

• There is a coming judgement to which we must answer

 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
 (1 Corinthians 15:23-27, 2 Corinthians 5:10)

• Jesus IS interceding for us 

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
(Romans 8:34)

• We now have the power to live the Christian life 

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
(Acts 2:33, Romans 8:11)

Recall these marvelous truths Christian, when you consider our Messiah's resurrection this Sunday. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

All Scripture taken from the English Standard Version (ESV)

From where do you get your food? (Preparing our Hearts for Easter Series)

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I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (John 15:1,4 ESV)

When we go shopping, we take great pains to secure the best food our physical bodies don't we? We look for the freshest vegetables and the brightest, most colorful fruits. Do we have the same discernment when it comes to our spiritual lives?

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser." The meaning of Jesus' statement recorded in John 15:1 would have been clear to His audience.

Israel was often referred to as 'the vine' in the books of prophecy and often chastised for going astray  (Isaiah 5:1, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 19:10). The Old Testament also spoke of foreign vines as well like "The vine of Egypt" or "The vine of Sodom" (Psalm 80:8, Deuteronomy 32:32)

Jesus was claiming to be THE true vine. The pure vine. The faultless vine. The Father's vine. The Jews born in Israel considered themselves to be part of the covenant community, now Jesus is claiming to be the true Israel tended by God, the covenant of which believers become a part (Galatians 6:16).

The Pulpit Commentary elaborates: "The vine" was the beautiful image of that theocratic and sacramental community, which had its center in the altar and ark of testimony and the holy place; and the fruit of the vine was conspicuous in all the symbolic relations which, through priesthood and ritual enactments, brought individual Israelites into relation with the reconciled God. 

Jesus does this for believers through His life, burial and resurrection. As a vine feeds the branches, so Christ feeds us. Juice flows through the vine into the branches nourishing them and producing fruit. Jesus is the source of all real life and strength to those that put their trust in Him and produces the fruits of holiness in our lives.

What kind of sustenance are you feeding on today? Is it the nourishment from the true vine or juice from another vine?

Blessed Saviour, may our hearts abide in your vine, attaching our affections only to you. May we grow in you and your ways, displaying your fruit wherever we go. Amen.

Straight Paths (Preparing our Hearts for Easter Series)

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 ESV)

Soon it will be Easter - the time when we celebrate our Saviour's resurrection. The days before Easter provide us an opportune time to focus on who Christ IS and who we are IN Him.

Notice our verse, "“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is the way. Scripture doesn't say "a" way - as in a possible way among many, but "the" way. His way is THE straight path:

Proverbs exhorts us, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." This is in stark contrast to man's own way: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Proverbs 3:6; 16:25 ESV)

What road are you walking today? Are you walking a road that leads to death (Romans 6:16), or a straight road leading to life?

Jesus said, For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:14 NASB)

Father, help us walk in a way that honors the sacrifice Jesus made so we could live. Thank you that He is no longer in the grave but lives that we may live. Amen

We Like Sheep.....

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"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."—Isaiah 53:6.

ERE a confession of sin common to all the elect people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all say, from the first who entered heaven to the last who shall enter there, "All we like sheep have gone astray." The confession, while thus unanimous, is also special and particular: "We have turned every one to his own way." 

There is a peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but each one with some special aggravation not found in his fellow. It is the mark of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. "We have turned every one to his own way," is a confession that each man had sinned against light peculiar to himself, or sinned with an aggravation which he could not perceive in others. This confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confession is a giving up of all pleas of self-righteousness. 

It is the declaration of men who are consciously guilty—guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Yet we hear no dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three, but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing at Christ on the cross!

-C.H. Spurgeon

Extreme Makeover! Scripture Edition

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Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. (1 Timothy 4:15)

How often do we give ourselves time to meditate on the word of God? Meditate simply means to think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time. Each day we should try to mediate upon the words that the Lord gave us in Scripture, and give ourselves wholly to them. 

The two questions remaining are "Why should we do this?" and "How should we do this?"

The text supplies us with the "why". It says,  "That thy profiting may appear to all." We are to continually grow in God's word and as a Christian so our relationship with God grows and our testimony grows. We as Christians should bring honor to Christ's name, not shame.

The second question is more difficult. "How?" How do we meditate on Scripture? There are many ways to do this. One practical way that can work even for the busiest soul, is to take just one verse that can be applicable to our lives and simply reflect on it ALL day and try to live it out. 

This can end up not only transforming our walk, but we might just end up memorizing Scripture without trying!

Here's an example:

Let's say for our mediation text today we pick Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear (NASB)

We read this in the morning and keep it in our heads all day as we try to live it out. We live it out while driving in bad traffic with rude drivers. We live it out when friends or coworkers say things that anger us. We live it out at home at the end of a long day. We speak the truth, but we do it in an edifying way, prayerfully responding to situations rather than responding in the flesh. We give ourselves WHOLLY to this truth today. We think on it, pray for God to transform us and we live it out. 

Lord Jesus, help us meditate on your word each day. Transform us through your word and your spirit. May our lives be wholly thine. Amen.