Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8 ESV)

Partiality is one area where God’s ways and our ways reveal a vast contradiction. While the LORD is the perfect, impartial judge, we have a propensity toward corrupt bias. Even when we are unaware of our decision making thought process we more than likely tend toward making decisions based on “what is in it for me?” or how we might gain a personal advantage from the outcome. We are easily swayed by partisan interests (do we like or dislike the groups involved?). We might also be swayed by fear of criticism or give too great a regard for how something might affect our standing in a social group.

The American Bar Association, in its Model Judicial Code of Conduct, places impartiality as a primary factor for what makes a good judge. Impartiality is paramount in the dispensing of the duties of a judge. When choosing a jury, impartiality is the stated goal (although attorneys for both parties may attempt to inject jurors that represent a particular bias). Even young children will appeal to the “fairness” concept when stating a case (fair to them usually means that they get their own way).

Scripture tells us that God, the ultimate judge, shows no partiality. Because He is God, He need not fear public clamor or criticism. Because He is God, He doesn’t have to attempt to impress anyone or look for personal gain. What a comfort it is to have a Judge that will evaluate every situation with impartiality. Oh, that we could learn to do the same.

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? … If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” (James 2:1-9 ESV)

“In the presence of God and Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.” (1 Timothy 5:21 ESV)

“For God shows no partiality.” (Romans 2:11 ESV)

“To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.” (Proverbs 28:21 ESV)

“It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice.” (Proverbs 18:5 ESV)

“Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.” (2 Chronicles 19:7 ESV)

“You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,  nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.” (Exodus 23:2-3 ESV)

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith,,,” Paul, a student of the Old Testament, reminds us of the need for a shield.  Ephesians 6:16  is the only direct mention of a shield in the New Testament, but numerous references regarding the shield fill the Old Testament.  

A shield assumes an enemy that wishes to do us harm.  The shield is intended to take the abuse that is planned for the one hiding behind the shield.  Paul equates ‘faith’ to the shield. ‘Faith’ is a gift from God.  We cannot work up the faith in our own strength or manufacture that faith by anything within us.  As I scoured the Old Testament references to the shield, I was overcome with the realization of who the shield is and the picture of Jesus Christ taking all of the abuse that was intended for me. The LORD is my shield!

Enjoy the following list of just a few of the verses that speak of the LORD being our shield:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1 ESV)

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph!  (Deuteronomy 33:29a ESV)

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. (2 Samuel 22:3 ESV)

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  (2 Samuel 22:31 ESV)

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  (Psalm 3:3 ESV)

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  (Psalm 18:2 ESV)

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  (Psalm 18:30 ESV)

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  (Psalm 28:7 ESV)

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  (Psalm 33:20 ESV)

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.  (Psalm 84:11 ESV)

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.  (Psalm 119:114 ESV)

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  (Proverbs 30:5 ESV)

Take up the shield; take up Jesus! He willingly blocks all of the fiery darts of the enemy.

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Jesus said, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Which ‘go message’ is for us? The ‘go and make disciples of the nations’ message was delivered to a group of men that had betrayed Him just days earlier. They knew that they weren’t worthy of being in His presence. The ‘depart from me, you workers’ message was delivered to a group of individuals that were attempting to convince Jesus that they were worthy because of what they had done in His name. They had prophesied, cast out demons, and done many mighty works.

It is not enough to be religious and to do things (mighty works) in the name of Jesus. It is of utmost importance that we know Him. In Matthew 28 Jesus also promised, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The ‘depart from me’ in Matthew 7 doesn’t come with a promise of His presence. We will hear and heed a ‘go message’ from Jesus at some time. Matthew 25 speaks of a judgment where Jesus tells people, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” This message seems to take them by surprise.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6-9 ESV)

I implore you to know that you know Jesus; none of us wants to hear Him say, “Depart from me.”

After the death, burial, resurrection, and. revelation of Jesus Christ, “the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.” These same men that rejected their master by fleeing from His presence, prior to the crucifixion, followed His directions after the resurrection. They were rewarded with another opportunity to receive instruction from Jesus as He proclaimed what we know as “the Great Commission.”

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

Part of our Christian duty will include training and sending. It should become the norm for us to be sending workers into the world to disciple the nations. As you pray, ask God if you have arrived to the place where He has sent you, or if you are just in training to go to another place.

As the Sanchez family contemplates the next chapter in their life, they have proclaimed a willingness to go wherever the LORD leads. Pray with them for wisdom (from the God who promised to give wisdom liberally to those that ask); pray for them to be unified as a family and emboldened to speak the truth to power. God’s guidance and his mighty protective hand of provision will take them on the journey of faith and trust. God truly is the author and editor of all of our lives.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (ESV)

Is reading this blog part of whatever? Is eating and sleeping and going to work part of whatever? How do we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus?

The answer to those questions must become a life-long pursuit.

Job’s trials and his dialogue with his friends brought him to a point where he began to question “why” and wonder if he could get the Almighty to answer his concerns.

When God answered Job and his “friends” He spoke with authority. I find it both humbling and reassuring that God is the One in control of all things. For four full chapters (38-41), God explains to Job that God is God, and Job isn’t God. God points out numerous accomplishments through statements and rhetorical questions.

In Job 38:8-11, God discusses the limits He set for the sea; “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt.” Humility must flow from any true meditation on the God that can control the sea, on a God that determines boundaries for all things.

When Hurricane Katrina reached land, those boundaries between sea and shore appeared to be altered without man’s permission or any explanation from God. Job never received an explanation for the devastation he experienced. The author of those boundaries can move the boundaries according to His choosing. He owes us no explanation for those occurrences. We may find comfort in the wisdom of His decisions if we are willing to lay aside our own plans or “rights” or understanding.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reminds his readers of events in Israel’s history that he says “were written down as warnings for us.” Paul follows these words with another warning, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (verse 12 ESV)

That warning is followed with the comforting words of verse 13. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” God even sets the boundaries of our temptations.

In Matthew 4, Jesus demonstrated that Scripture is a great way to resist temptation. ‘The Way’ to resist temptation is ‘The Word’. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life, and the provision to overcome temptation.

Let us stay within His boundaries.

I will build my church (from Matthew 16:18 ESV)

The antecedent for ‘I’ in Matthew 16 is Jesus. Notice that He is the one to do the building. Notice that it is His church being built. But the larger context of that Matthew 16 passage is that Jesus is instructing Peter on Peter’s part in the whole process.

Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (from Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

Of course, our portion of the plan could never be considered, would never be carried out, unless Jesus chose to be our faith-founder and faith-perfecter. As we continue in the faith that our LORD provides, let us remember who is doing the building in and through us; let us remember whose church it is that is being built.

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience… ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-16 ESV)

Thanks be to God! These verses describe Sunday’s body life at AICF from sunrise to sunset. Thank you, Choir, for guiding our hearts to the throne of God in music. Thank you, Rick, for powerfully narrating the despair of the Cross and following it up with the hope of the Resurrection and a Peace that passes all understanding. Thank you, Dorothy, for giving of yourself on the piano and drawing us into Christ’s presence. Even Cliff demonstrated a heart of love as he “got stuck with the offering.”

Today, Monday, let us continue to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly; let us continue to give thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus.

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” (Hebrews 11:32a ESV)

What should be said about Samson? How does he make it into the Hebrews Hall of Faith? An angel of the LORD announces his birth, first to his mother and then to both his mother and father. Samson is to be a Nazirite to God from the womb and he is to begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. In Contrast, An angel of the LORD announced the birth of Jesus to His mother, and then to Joseph. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

Samson appeared to be led by lust, greed, anger, vengeance, and self-centered pleasure seeking. Jesus only did what the Father showed Him to do.

Samson violated every aspect of his “set-apartness” while Jesus lived out a life of perfection and obedience.

Samson went to the grave asking God if he could take vengeance on the Philistines in his death. Jesus placed himself on a cross in order to provide the perfect sacrifice for the remission of our sins.

I cannot imagine much more contrast between two lives than we witness between the life of Samson and the life of Jesus. Samson appears to be the perfect “anti-example” of a savior. And yet, Samson’s name appears in the list of ‘so great a cloud of witnesses’ in Hebrews 11. God isn’t talking to perfect people, religious people, or reformed sinners in the book of Hebrews. He is talking to all of us – those of us that need to look to Jesus and realize that nothing we can do will perfect our faith. Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah were listed in Hebrews 11, not because of who they were, but because of who God is. He takes the weak and makes us strong, He takes the fearful and provides courage; our LORD takes the lost and becomes our “founder and perfecter of our faith.”

Praise be to God!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

Being followers of Jesus is a community activity. Even the Lord’s Prayer demonstrates the plurality of our walk; let us follow Him together.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Matthew 6:9b-13 (ESV)