Genesis 18:25 and 2 Corinthians 5:19 God is a just God but also One who is merciful

I would like to share a story that was in one of my lessons at Global University.

“Two young men went through law school as close friends. Upon graduating, their lives took strangely different paths. One became a greatly respected judge on a prominent court. But the other, facing some family disappointments, became an alcoholic and wasted his great potential.

Some years later, the unfortunate friend was arrested for a crime, charged, and brought before a judge. As strange as it may seem, the judge was the lawyer friend from university days. When the fact became known, the lawyers in the community wondered what the judge would do with his former colleague. To their surprise, the judge applied the heaviest penalty the law would allow. But the story does not end there. The judge then paid the large fine himself and set his old friend free.

We have all sinned against God and His law. When Abraham pleaded with God to spare Lot and his community from destruction, he asked, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). Like the judge in the story, God has already done right. His justice demands a penalty, and He has handed down the heaviest penalty He could—a death sentence for every sinner. But then, showing mercy, He stepped down from the Judge’s role and took the sinner’s place before His empty chair, taking the full penalty upon himself. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Notice that it was not through Christ but in Christ. It was God himself who came to earth to bring us salvation.”

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Jeremiah 17:9 Heart Transplant Needed

I feel for those who are waiting for a heart transplant since life and death may hinge on finding a suitable donor. In this passage, Jeremiah is not talking about our  physical heart but our spiritual one. The Bible speaks of our heart as the “well spring of life” (Proverbs 4:23) or the center of our being where our intellect, emotions and will reside. Before Genesis 3, this heart was in tune with God and experienced Shalom or peace with God. But because of their free will and choice, Adam and Eve made a wrong decision and “missed the mark.” They thought they knew better then God on what was best for them. Because of this decision, all of us are born with this spiritual handicap but God knew in advance what was needed. By his grace and through faith in Christ, we can experience a restoration and a heart transformation. There’s no need to be on a waiting list to receive this type of heart because this “new” heart is immediately available when we make the decision to place our faith in Christ.

James 4:1 The Battle Within

When we find our desires are focused on worldly things (James 4:4) instead of Godly things, we allow a “foothold” (Ephesians 4:27) to become established. This may cause inner turmoil and also strife with others. In Galatians 5:24, Paul speaks of our position in Christ Jesus: Our position is one where we have crucified “the sinful nature”. We need to do this daily and along with this we also need to “renew” our mind by meditating on the word. Self-centeredness needs to be replaced with the desire to serve others. We need to place others above our self. Instead of pride we need humbleness (James 4:6). This is a daily battle and we must remember that our weapons are not those of this world but are spiritual and unseen. Let us practice living in accordance with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:7), setting our mind on what the Spirit desires and not on what the sinful nature desires. When thoughts contrary to the word enter in, we must immediately do what it says in 2 Corinthians 10: 5b, “…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This word “captive” is a militaristic one indicating taking those thoughts captive as a soldier in battle would take captive a POW (Prisoner Of War). This is not a defensive measure but an offensive one. Today, we need to ask the Holy Spirit if there are any “footholds” the enemy may have in our lives. When He reveals them, we need to take them captive not allowing them any more control. Remember we are soldiers in Christ and it’s His battle. Our strength comes from Him.

How can “bad” things become “good”? Romans 8:28

In Romans 8:28, it says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”  All things include the good and the bad that happens to us.  So how can the “bad” things become “good” for us or benefit us?  In the previous section of Romans (Romans 8:18), Paul makes mention that any sufferings we are subjected to here on earth- sickness, pain, disappointments, being rejected, are not worth comparing to the glory we will experience that will “be revealed to us” in eternity.  Paul in 2 Cor. 4:17, actually refers to these troubles as “light and momentary” and even goes on to say they are for our benefit!  Our sufferings achieve for us an eternal glory that outweighs any troubles we may experience here on earth (v.17b).   Paul further advises to not focus on these troubles but look past them and “fix our eyes” on what is unseen (v18a).  He says that because he knows the unseen is more real then what is seen since the seen is temporary whereas the unseen is eternal (v18b).  Even though we experience a limited amount of glory now, the full extent of God’s glory will not be revealed to we reach our eternal heavenly inheritance.  Further more in 1 Peter 4:12, Peter says do not be surprised but actually rejoice (v.13) that we “participate” in the sufferings of Christ.  He goes even further states that you will be blessed and the Spirit of God will rest on you if you are insulted because of the name of Christ.  So remember, when you experience the “bad” things or times in life due to righteous persecution, “rejoice and be glad” because our reward will be great and will be waiting for us in Heaven (Matthew 5:12).

Advice from David when building your God given sanctuary 1 Chronicles 28:9

David’s advice to his son Solomon when building God’s sanctuary consisted of three commands: 1) Acknowledge (know) God, 2) Serve God, and 3) Seek God.  This is good advice each of us should follow when God assigns us to “build” our “sanctuary temple.”

The Hebrew word for “acknowledge” (NIV) is “Yada.”  It means “learn to know, perceive, recognize, consider and confess.”  We obey these commandments through the means of communication.  If we want to “know” God, we need to spend time listening to the Father’s heart.  Do you make time each day for Him?  Do you go to your “prayer roof,” a place where you can get alone with Him?  Do you also spend time talking  to Him?  Do you confess your sins to Him?  We learn to recognize the voice of the Shepherd by mediating on His Word and talking to Him via prayer.

One of the Hebrew translations of “serve” is “to make oneself available as a servant.”  Paul called himself a servant of Christ Jesus (Romans 1:1) and a servant of God (Titus 1:1).  Peter says we are to “live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).  Our attitude as a servant should be one of complete devotion and a willing mind.  The Hebrew thought is to have a desiring mind or one that delights and derives pleasure from the act of serving God.  God does not want us to serve or give ourselves “under compulsion” or “reluctantly” but to give ourselves to Him delightfully or cheerfully (2 Cor 9:7).  If we give half-heartedly we are not fooling God.  God will see through our mask since He searches the heart and understands every motive behind our thoughts.  Jesus also reminds us we can’t serve two masters or “either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matt 6:24).  We are a slave to whatever masters us (2 Peter 2:19) whether we know it or not so let us be a slave to God.  Let us serve Him with a joyful wholehearted devotion.

Finally, we need to seek God.  The Hebrew meaning of this word  is to seek with care, inquire or consult.  When we seek God it is comforting to know He is not far from each of us (Acts 17:27b) and when we seek Him “with care” or “earnestly” seek,  He will reward our efforts by revealing Himself to us.  Remember God never forsakes those who seek Him (Psalm 9:10) and those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10).  God also desires our attention and our love.  So much that He looks down from heaven to see if there are any who seek Him (Psalm 53:2).

Each of us has a mission, a plan (to build His sanctuary) specifically designed by God based on our talents, abilities and gifts He has equipped us with so we can carry out His Kingdom here on earth.  As David charged Solomon before he set out to build the sanctuary temple, we should take heed to also obey these commands so we can “be strong and  do the work” (1 Chronicles 28:10) when we start building ours.

Are you wearing a veil?

When Moses was in the presence of God, some of the Glory of God “rubbed” off on him when He was in His presence. So much that when he came down from the mountain, Moses had to wear a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from being overcome by His Glory even though it was wearing off (2 Cor 3:7). That same veil which concealed Mose’s face from the Israelites now covers the hearts of those without Christ. When one comes to Christ and becomes a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), a spiritual transformation into His likeness takes place and the veil that represents our darkened understanding is taken away (2 Cor 3:16). This heart change manifests itself as a reflection of God’s glory that illuminates our whole being and even reflects on our face (2 Cor 3:18)!  We have a whole new lookout on life and this reflection gets brighter and brighter as we experience the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the reading of His word. As long as we are in our earthly tent (2 Cor. 5:1), this transformation will be a partial one until that day when we will see him face to face. Only then will our transformation be complete (1 John 3:2).

Where is your prayer roof?

In Acts 10:9 it talks about Peter going up to the roof to pray. It made me think about my prayer time and if I had a prayer roof I frequented. I didn’t, so I thought what a better time then to start today-right now.  I went outside behind our new home that butts up against the woods. To the left, there’s a path that leads down to an area that the builder calls “the lookout”. It’s a lookout spot about 200 feet above a creek that runs behind our development. It’s at the top of a steep embankment that is away from everybody. This will be my prayer roof. For the next half hour I just sat and thanked the Lord for the beautiful day and observed the splendor of the mountains I could see in the distance. I listen to the birds sing songs around me. It was truly refreshing.

As I studied this topic on prayer, I discovered the New Testament Christians devoted much time to prayer. In Acts 1:14, after Jesus was taken up to Heaven, the disciples went upstairs to a room in Jerusalem and “they all joined together constantly in prayer…”.  In Acts 3;1. Peter and John prayed in the afternoon at the temple. In Acts 6:4, the church leaders constantly devoted themselves to prayer and the preaching of the Word. Paul exhorts in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers…and always keep on praying…”. (italics mine) If the NT Christ followers took their prayer time serious, so should we. So I ask you, where is your prayer roof?