Pastors Blog https://www.coltsneckchurch.com Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:51:32 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Our Good Shepherd Revealed to Lowly Shepherds https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/our-good-shepherd-revealed-to-lowly-shepherds https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/our-good-shepherd-revealed-to-lowly-shepherds#comments Fri, 01 Dec 2023 19:00:00 -0500 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/our-good-shepherd-revealed-to-lowly-shepherds I do not know what gifts you will receive this Christmas from your loved ones, but I do know the gift of God's Word is better than gold, silver, clothing, sports, entertainment or technology!

The Scriptures are a present from God that we get to unwrap not only every Christmas, but every single day. In the gift of the Word of God, in Scripture, we encounter the Word of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ! 

As Martin Luther once said, “The Bible is the cradle in which Christ is laid.” We hear about His birth in a manger because His birth is proclaimed in Scripture. The swaddling cloth that wrapped the Christ child is a reminder that our hope is wrapped up in the testimony to Christ in Scripture.

In the Gospel of Luke 2:8-12 we hear Heaven's big birth announcement! Our birth announcements in the local press or on social media tend to have the same form. For example, "Baby Jimmy was born at 7.5 lbs to the happy parents Gary and Sally at Jersey Shore Medical." This account in Luke 2 is the most significant birth announcement OF ALL TIME! Note how not a single word is wasted:

What? A birth.

When? Today.

Where? In Bethlehem.

Who? A Savior, Christ the Lord.

But there is one more essential detail… This announcement has not only a majestic proclamation, but also an unexpected twist. This birth announcement did not read, “Today in Bethlehem, to only Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, a son was born.” Instead it read: UNTO YOU! Unto who? The announcement of the birth of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, came to lowly shepherds.

As the Christmas Carol goes… The First Nowell, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.

At this point in Israel’s history, the vocation of shepherding had sunken all the way to the bottom of the social scale. Jewish mothers and fathers did not want their daughters marrying a shepherd. Shepherds were seen as smelly and friendless, untrustworthy and just odd.

In fact, a shepherd's reputation was so bad that their eye-witness accounts were not allowed in court! Uneducated and unskilled, shepherds were not only considered social outcasts, but were also considered spiritually unclean. Shepherds had to constantly care for the sheep and were not able to adhere to all the extra ceremonial laws and cleanliness stipulations that Pharisees were imposing on the people. They often felt like religious outcasts as well as social outcasts.

This is the beautiful truth and paradox of Luke 2. Not only that God’s heart is for the lowly outcasts, but we have the angelic Heavenly Host (those who abide in the perfect presence of God Himself) give this message to the shepherds (who are afraid to even step foot in a temple made by man).

God, demonstrating He does not look at what man looks at (see 1 Samuel 16:7), gives this message, “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people," to witnesses only a few will believe. This is good news for the poor Jewish girl Mary. Good news for the hard-working carpenter Joseph. Good news for the truth-seeking foreigners, the wealthy Magi. Good news FOR ALL!

Jesus Christ is a gift for people from every tribe, tongue and nation. He brings salvation for all who will believe: Jew or Gentile, Rich or Poor, Slave or Free. This birth announcement is for ALL people!

As Paul would later write in 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-5 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

 This birth was not just about the Messiah coming, but about the Mediator being born. “The Word made Flesh, He is “the exact representation of God’s being”, “the visible image of the invisible God.” The Christmas message is simply this: God became man, to bring men to God.

As Isaiah 7:14 proclaimed centuries before the first Christmas, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, (God with us)." The Lord Himself will give us a sign. What is the sign? The Lord Himself! 

Because of Christ, God is WITH us. God is FOR us. God is IN us. 

In this passage in Luke 2, it is not only important to notice who gave the message (the Angels) who received the message (the Shepherds), but also how the message was received… with fear

Luke 2:9 "And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear."

Ironically, shepherds know sheep get easily rattled; now it is they who are afraid.

Why were they filled with fear? Not only does this correct our cultural understanding of angels as pallid and ethereal creatures (Angels are mighty heavenly warriors!), but it also gives us a small window into the Holiness of God Himself.

When the holiness of God is revealed to people in the Bible, they are gripped with fear. Why? Because our God is Holy. Our God is Mighty. Our God is altogether OTHER. Holy, Holy, Holy declares the heavenly host! Powerful! Perfect! Majestic! When we step foot into his presence all of our pride falls away. All of our enlarged sense of power and will and control fades, as we fall to our faces expecting to be consumed in His Holy Wrath. When we do stand in His presence there will be no fists raised in defiance, there will be no lectures on how our lives should have gone, there will be no condescending to the One who reigns over all.

This is why another deliverer like Moses would not do.

This is why another king like David would not do.

This is why another prophet like Elijah would not do.

All those men were but mere men.

All those men were sinners like you and me.

We needed a mediator between God and man, the God man, Jesus Christ.

Friends, there is a sickness that goes deeper than any virus. There is a fate worse than COVID 19. The sickness of sin, unless we receive the remedy of Christ Jesus, will lead to death and the torments of Hell. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

When we understand the depths of our sin, we will understand the depth of God’s grace.

When we understand the reality of Hell we will gladly long for the glory of Heaven.

When we understand just how good the good news is, we will give God our firstfruits and not just our leftovers.

That is why the next truth from the angel's lips is so important. God does not leave us to die in our sin. Luke 2:10 continues, "And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

How could the Angel say those two fateful words, “Fear not”?

Because of Jesus’ birth.

Because of the incarnation.

Whereas we fear God because of His grandeur and greatness, when we believe in Christ and are saved, we no longer fear condemnation from God. ROMANS 8:1-2 says, "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." The One we feared condemnation from is now a Father whose Spirit in us cries out ABBA, Father!

Instead of shepherding sheep to safe pasture, now these shepherds are leading people to true lasting joy! God commissioned these lowly Shepherds to point people to our Good Shepherd, Jesus. A former fisherman transformed into a "fisher of men," proclaimed this in 1 Peter 2, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

According to Jewish tradition it was in the précise vicinity these shepherds were watching their flocks that the people of Israel would soon search for a lamb to be slain for their sin on the Day of Atonement. What these shepherds would later realize is in that manger they found the Passover Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world!

Even lowly shepherds who were unwelcomed and untrusted, disrespected and discarded by the world, would one day experience what 1 Peter 5 promises, When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Lastly, Luke 2:19-20 tells us, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

 QUESTIONS to PONDER:

  1. Who or what is shepherding your soul right now?
  1. Is what you are following leading you away from Christ, leading you away from church, your “flock,” leading to distrust of the pastors “the shepherds” God has placed in your life, and leading you to disregard His Holy Word?
  1. Is what you are following creating more Christ-like character in your life? Creating more Christ-infused joy in your worship? And creating more passion to share the Gospel with the people in our society who are unwelcome, untrusted, and whom we may deem unworthy?
]]>
I do not know what gifts you will receive this Christmas from your loved ones, but I do know the gift of God's Word is better than gold, silver, clothing, sports, entertainment or technology!

The Scriptures are a present from God that we get to unwrap not only every Christmas, but every single day. In the gift of the Word of God, in Scripture, we encounter the Word of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ! 

As Martin Luther once said, “The Bible is the cradle in which Christ is laid.” We hear about His birth in a manger because His birth is proclaimed in Scripture. The swaddling cloth that wrapped the Christ child is a reminder that our hope is wrapped up in the testimony to Christ in Scripture.

In the Gospel of Luke 2:8-12 we hear Heaven's big birth announcement! Our birth announcements in the local press or on social media tend to have the same form. For example, "Baby Jimmy was born at 7.5 lbs to the happy parents Gary and Sally at Jersey Shore Medical." This account in Luke 2 is the most significant birth announcement OF ALL TIME! Note how not a single word is wasted:

What? A birth.

When? Today.

Where? In Bethlehem.

Who? A Savior, Christ the Lord.

But there is one more essential detail… This announcement has not only a majestic proclamation, but also an unexpected twist. This birth announcement did not read, “Today in Bethlehem, to only Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, a son was born.” Instead it read: UNTO YOU! Unto who? The announcement of the birth of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, came to lowly shepherds.

As the Christmas Carol goes… The First Nowell, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.

At this point in Israel’s history, the vocation of shepherding had sunken all the way to the bottom of the social scale. Jewish mothers and fathers did not want their daughters marrying a shepherd. Shepherds were seen as smelly and friendless, untrustworthy and just odd.

In fact, a shepherd's reputation was so bad that their eye-witness accounts were not allowed in court! Uneducated and unskilled, shepherds were not only considered social outcasts, but were also considered spiritually unclean. Shepherds had to constantly care for the sheep and were not able to adhere to all the extra ceremonial laws and cleanliness stipulations that Pharisees were imposing on the people. They often felt like religious outcasts as well as social outcasts.

This is the beautiful truth and paradox of Luke 2. Not only that God’s heart is for the lowly outcasts, but we have the angelic Heavenly Host (those who abide in the perfect presence of God Himself) give this message to the shepherds (who are afraid to even step foot in a temple made by man).

God, demonstrating He does not look at what man looks at (see 1 Samuel 16:7), gives this message, “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people," to witnesses only a few will believe. This is good news for the poor Jewish girl Mary. Good news for the hard-working carpenter Joseph. Good news for the truth-seeking foreigners, the wealthy Magi. Good news FOR ALL!

Jesus Christ is a gift for people from every tribe, tongue and nation. He brings salvation for all who will believe: Jew or Gentile, Rich or Poor, Slave or Free. This birth announcement is for ALL people!

As Paul would later write in 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-5 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

 This birth was not just about the Messiah coming, but about the Mediator being born. “The Word made Flesh, He is “the exact representation of God’s being”, “the visible image of the invisible God.” The Christmas message is simply this: God became man, to bring men to God.

As Isaiah 7:14 proclaimed centuries before the first Christmas, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, (God with us)." The Lord Himself will give us a sign. What is the sign? The Lord Himself! 

Because of Christ, God is WITH us. God is FOR us. God is IN us. 

In this passage in Luke 2, it is not only important to notice who gave the message (the Angels) who received the message (the Shepherds), but also how the message was received… with fear

Luke 2:9 "And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear."

Ironically, shepherds know sheep get easily rattled; now it is they who are afraid.

Why were they filled with fear? Not only does this correct our cultural understanding of angels as pallid and ethereal creatures (Angels are mighty heavenly warriors!), but it also gives us a small window into the Holiness of God Himself.

When the holiness of God is revealed to people in the Bible, they are gripped with fear. Why? Because our God is Holy. Our God is Mighty. Our God is altogether OTHER. Holy, Holy, Holy declares the heavenly host! Powerful! Perfect! Majestic! When we step foot into his presence all of our pride falls away. All of our enlarged sense of power and will and control fades, as we fall to our faces expecting to be consumed in His Holy Wrath. When we do stand in His presence there will be no fists raised in defiance, there will be no lectures on how our lives should have gone, there will be no condescending to the One who reigns over all.

This is why another deliverer like Moses would not do.

This is why another king like David would not do.

This is why another prophet like Elijah would not do.

All those men were but mere men.

All those men were sinners like you and me.

We needed a mediator between God and man, the God man, Jesus Christ.

Friends, there is a sickness that goes deeper than any virus. There is a fate worse than COVID 19. The sickness of sin, unless we receive the remedy of Christ Jesus, will lead to death and the torments of Hell. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

When we understand the depths of our sin, we will understand the depth of God’s grace.

When we understand the reality of Hell we will gladly long for the glory of Heaven.

When we understand just how good the good news is, we will give God our firstfruits and not just our leftovers.

That is why the next truth from the angel's lips is so important. God does not leave us to die in our sin. Luke 2:10 continues, "And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

How could the Angel say those two fateful words, “Fear not”?

Because of Jesus’ birth.

Because of the incarnation.

Whereas we fear God because of His grandeur and greatness, when we believe in Christ and are saved, we no longer fear condemnation from God. ROMANS 8:1-2 says, "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." The One we feared condemnation from is now a Father whose Spirit in us cries out ABBA, Father!

Instead of shepherding sheep to safe pasture, now these shepherds are leading people to true lasting joy! God commissioned these lowly Shepherds to point people to our Good Shepherd, Jesus. A former fisherman transformed into a "fisher of men," proclaimed this in 1 Peter 2, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

According to Jewish tradition it was in the précise vicinity these shepherds were watching their flocks that the people of Israel would soon search for a lamb to be slain for their sin on the Day of Atonement. What these shepherds would later realize is in that manger they found the Passover Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world!

Even lowly shepherds who were unwelcomed and untrusted, disrespected and discarded by the world, would one day experience what 1 Peter 5 promises, When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Lastly, Luke 2:19-20 tells us, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

 QUESTIONS to PONDER:

  1. Who or what is shepherding your soul right now?
  1. Is what you are following leading you away from Christ, leading you away from church, your “flock,” leading to distrust of the pastors “the shepherds” God has placed in your life, and leading you to disregard His Holy Word?
  1. Is what you are following creating more Christ-like character in your life? Creating more Christ-infused joy in your worship? And creating more passion to share the Gospel with the people in our society who are unwelcome, untrusted, and whom we may deem unworthy?
]]>
Biblical Fasting in a New Year https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/biblical-fasting-in-a-new-year https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/biblical-fasting-in-a-new-year#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2020 23:00:00 -0500 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/biblical-fasting-in-a-new-year Here we are between two of our most celebrated holidays.

One holiday is based on a holy day, the birth of Christ.

Another holiday is based on the last day of the calendar year, New Years Eve.

This is the time of the year where we usually reflect on the year past and focus on the year ahead. The idea of a new year brings a sense of a new beginning. The new calendar inspires many to make resolutions to change their character.

While there has been a lot said about 2020, what transpired in the last twelve months will shape our families, our churches, our nation and our world for years to come.

Not just the political and economic fallout of the virus and subsequent lockdowns, but also the preeminent place the internet and social media has taken in our lives. 

Social Media and YouTube are two of the greatest shepherding forces on the planet right now. We make “Friends” online, we “Follow” people online, and we “Subscribe” to teachers and their doctrines online. These are not just ways to connect to others, they are ways we get shaped by others.

Pastors can effectively and passionately teach the Bible for a half hour on Sunday, but its impact is minimized throughout the week as many Christians spend dozens of hours getting shaped and guided by social media.

If the internet is the “shepherd” then the cell phone is the internet’s “Bible,” a source of seemingly endless information, stories, history, connection, all at our fingertips.

If the internet is the shepherd than Social Media is the “prayer.” Any time we get a free moment, prayers to God are not offered, communion with God is not longed for, “Being still and knowing the Lord is God,” as Psalm 46:10 says, is forgotten. Instead we naturally turn to our phones for the newest headline, the newest outrage and the newest gossip.

We are so quick to judge online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

We are so quick to condemn online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

We are so quick to lash out in anger online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

When there is violence in the streets, images and videos pass through social media faster than any virus and cities burn down.

It is powerful!

I am not against Social Media, the Internet, or YouTube, but I am seeing its power over me unless it goes unchecked.

By God’s grace, how can we keep it in check? By God’s grace, how can we live a life of greater spiritual vitality in the year ahead? Even as the challenges of 2020 overflow into 2021.

Instead of resolutions, I encourage you to fast and pray more in the year ahead.

 JOEL 2: 12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."

 The historical setting for the book of Joel is when the land of Judah was devastated by a vast horde of locusts. This invasion of locusts destroyed everything— fields of grain, vineyards, gardens and trees. Joel symbolically describes the locusts as a marching human army and views all of this as divine judgment coming against the nation for her sins.

The book of Joel is highlighted by two major events: One is the invasion of locusts and the other the outpouring of the Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).

One is God bringing his right, just judgment against His people.

The other is not only offering forgiveness to His people, but also pouring out His Spirit with power! May be so for the church in 2021! May our desire not be for more church programs, but a full reliance on the Holy Spirit’s power.

 JOEL 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

In this verse we God’s desire is not for exterior, external, vane, superficial fasting motivated by tradition, but true repentance and fasting that comes from our hearts. The heart of the problem is the problem of our hearts!

It begins and ends with heart. Return our hearts back to God so we could know the God’s heart for us! Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Why have we always rendered our outer garments and not our inner desires to God? Because it is easier to seek religious praise from men than to pursue the inner holiness that comes from true trust, dependence and passion for God.

 Sam Storms in his book, “Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God,” wrote: I want to insist that, contrary to popular opinion, fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food. We say “No” to food for a season only to fill ourselves with something far more satisfying.

This is why Jesus would say to Satan after fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

This is why Job would confess after unimaginable suffering and trials, “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12).

This is why David would proclaim at the height of his wealth, power and prestige, “More to be desired are the commandments of God than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 119:10).

Fasting’s true purpose is not to punish the flesh or starve the stomach, but to grow in greater dependency, greater hunger for and greater focus on God.

Fasting is not just CEASING, but INCREASING.

Ceasing from someTHING, so we can grow closer to someONE.

Daniel 9:18-19 begins with Daniel fasting and pleading with God for God’s people. His prayers ends with these words, “O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Daniel knew fasting and prayer go together:  Prayer is reaching out to what is physically unseeable and untouchable. Fasting, on the other hand, emphasizes on what is seeable and touchable (our body, our stomach, our tastes and our touch). Fasting is a reminder we have a hunger deeper than our stomachs. We have a hunger for something we cannot see or taste.

This realization is painful and slow. Ironically, fasting does not seem fast at all! They should call it “slowing” or “painful-ing.”

So when fasting is painful, turn that hunger into a prayer and turn that growl into praise. When the fast is over, not only with the physical food taste sweeter but so will the Word of God!

In MATTHEW 6:16-18 Jesus gave us instruction and a warning regarding fasting,“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

It is hunger that leads to both gluttony and to religious vanity.

The Bible clearly teaches both eating and fasting can magnify Christ.

ECCLESIASTES 3:13 Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

While eating and fasting has its appointed place and each has its danger:

The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift more than we love the gift-giver. Our stomachs become our master.

The danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and exalt our will. Self-righteousness becomes our master.

Sam Storms gives examples on how to to avoid hypocrisy in fasting: If at any point, while fasting, you find yourself thinking, “God will love me more… God will surely be impressed with me now!” get in your car and go eat a McDonald’s Quarterpounder!

If you are the least way tempted to believe, “God will bless me more…He will have no choice but to regard my righteousness!” go eat the biggest greasiest pizza you can find!

If it crosses your mind, “I’m better than others who don’t fast, and I sure hope they recognize it as clearly as I do!” go to an all-you-can-eat buffet!

Fasting reveals the measure a created thing’s mastery over us – whether it be food, money, entertainment, politics, sex, etc.

 

Fasting can be both our testing ground and God’s healing ground.

Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God created us in His image not to be mastered by any created thing but by our Creator. Immediately after giving us this “Creation Mandate,” God goes directly into the food he has given us to consume.

Then in Genesis 3 it is not enough for us to be made in the image of God, we wanted to be God! Sin inverted everything. Instead of the serpent serving us, it deceives us. Instead of food becoming a gift, it becomes our master.

Jesus, the Bread of Life, came to save us when we could not save ourselves, but also satisfy us when nothing else can.

Whatever we submit to again and again to becomes more and more our master. The more we gladly submit to Christ, the more we will sense the Fruit of the Spirit. The more we stubbornly submit to the flesh, the more we will taste of the world’s bitterness.

Ultimately, all of this instruction is useless unless we have been born again!

MATTHEW 9:14-17 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Jesus came eating and drinking because this was the great Jubilee of the Lord. The Lord had come! – “to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

Why did Jesus come? To be our substitute and pay the full penalty of our sin on the cross; to reconcile us to the Father; to give us new life! Fasting in old garments and old wineskins cannot and will not lead to deeper worship and true transformation.

Fasting without knowing Christ is like trying to starve a corpse. In the corpse’s current state, no amount of physical food will bring it back to life. Only a soul brought to life by Christ, nurtured by the Bread of Life, filled by the Spirit of God, and directed by the Word of God, will come to fasting and prayer with the right motive – to experience more of God’s reign and God’s love in our lives. Let us rend not just our garments to our Good God, but our all of our hearts as well.

 

 

 

 

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Here we are between two of our most celebrated holidays.

One holiday is based on a holy day, the birth of Christ.

Another holiday is based on the last day of the calendar year, New Years Eve.

This is the time of the year where we usually reflect on the year past and focus on the year ahead. The idea of a new year brings a sense of a new beginning. The new calendar inspires many to make resolutions to change their character.

While there has been a lot said about 2020, what transpired in the last twelve months will shape our families, our churches, our nation and our world for years to come.

Not just the political and economic fallout of the virus and subsequent lockdowns, but also the preeminent place the internet and social media has taken in our lives. 

Social Media and YouTube are two of the greatest shepherding forces on the planet right now. We make “Friends” online, we “Follow” people online, and we “Subscribe” to teachers and their doctrines online. These are not just ways to connect to others, they are ways we get shaped by others.

Pastors can effectively and passionately teach the Bible for a half hour on Sunday, but its impact is minimized throughout the week as many Christians spend dozens of hours getting shaped and guided by social media.

If the internet is the “shepherd” then the cell phone is the internet’s “Bible,” a source of seemingly endless information, stories, history, connection, all at our fingertips.

If the internet is the shepherd than Social Media is the “prayer.” Any time we get a free moment, prayers to God are not offered, communion with God is not longed for, “Being still and knowing the Lord is God,” as Psalm 46:10 says, is forgotten. Instead we naturally turn to our phones for the newest headline, the newest outrage and the newest gossip.

We are so quick to judge online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

We are so quick to condemn online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

We are so quick to lash out in anger online when we would be less likely to do so in person.

When there is violence in the streets, images and videos pass through social media faster than any virus and cities burn down.

It is powerful!

I am not against Social Media, the Internet, or YouTube, but I am seeing its power over me unless it goes unchecked.

By God’s grace, how can we keep it in check? By God’s grace, how can we live a life of greater spiritual vitality in the year ahead? Even as the challenges of 2020 overflow into 2021.

Instead of resolutions, I encourage you to fast and pray more in the year ahead.

 JOEL 2: 12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."

 The historical setting for the book of Joel is when the land of Judah was devastated by a vast horde of locusts. This invasion of locusts destroyed everything— fields of grain, vineyards, gardens and trees. Joel symbolically describes the locusts as a marching human army and views all of this as divine judgment coming against the nation for her sins.

The book of Joel is highlighted by two major events: One is the invasion of locusts and the other the outpouring of the Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).

One is God bringing his right, just judgment against His people.

The other is not only offering forgiveness to His people, but also pouring out His Spirit with power! May be so for the church in 2021! May our desire not be for more church programs, but a full reliance on the Holy Spirit’s power.

 JOEL 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

In this verse we God’s desire is not for exterior, external, vane, superficial fasting motivated by tradition, but true repentance and fasting that comes from our hearts. The heart of the problem is the problem of our hearts!

It begins and ends with heart. Return our hearts back to God so we could know the God’s heart for us! Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Why have we always rendered our outer garments and not our inner desires to God? Because it is easier to seek religious praise from men than to pursue the inner holiness that comes from true trust, dependence and passion for God.

 Sam Storms in his book, “Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God,” wrote: I want to insist that, contrary to popular opinion, fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food. We say “No” to food for a season only to fill ourselves with something far more satisfying.

This is why Jesus would say to Satan after fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

This is why Job would confess after unimaginable suffering and trials, “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12).

This is why David would proclaim at the height of his wealth, power and prestige, “More to be desired are the commandments of God than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 119:10).

Fasting’s true purpose is not to punish the flesh or starve the stomach, but to grow in greater dependency, greater hunger for and greater focus on God.

Fasting is not just CEASING, but INCREASING.

Ceasing from someTHING, so we can grow closer to someONE.

Daniel 9:18-19 begins with Daniel fasting and pleading with God for God’s people. His prayers ends with these words, “O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Daniel knew fasting and prayer go together:  Prayer is reaching out to what is physically unseeable and untouchable. Fasting, on the other hand, emphasizes on what is seeable and touchable (our body, our stomach, our tastes and our touch). Fasting is a reminder we have a hunger deeper than our stomachs. We have a hunger for something we cannot see or taste.

This realization is painful and slow. Ironically, fasting does not seem fast at all! They should call it “slowing” or “painful-ing.”

So when fasting is painful, turn that hunger into a prayer and turn that growl into praise. When the fast is over, not only with the physical food taste sweeter but so will the Word of God!

In MATTHEW 6:16-18 Jesus gave us instruction and a warning regarding fasting,“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

It is hunger that leads to both gluttony and to religious vanity.

The Bible clearly teaches both eating and fasting can magnify Christ.

ECCLESIASTES 3:13 Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

While eating and fasting has its appointed place and each has its danger:

The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift more than we love the gift-giver. Our stomachs become our master.

The danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and exalt our will. Self-righteousness becomes our master.

Sam Storms gives examples on how to to avoid hypocrisy in fasting: If at any point, while fasting, you find yourself thinking, “God will love me more… God will surely be impressed with me now!” get in your car and go eat a McDonald’s Quarterpounder!

If you are the least way tempted to believe, “God will bless me more…He will have no choice but to regard my righteousness!” go eat the biggest greasiest pizza you can find!

If it crosses your mind, “I’m better than others who don’t fast, and I sure hope they recognize it as clearly as I do!” go to an all-you-can-eat buffet!

Fasting reveals the measure a created thing’s mastery over us – whether it be food, money, entertainment, politics, sex, etc.

 

Fasting can be both our testing ground and God’s healing ground.

Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God created us in His image not to be mastered by any created thing but by our Creator. Immediately after giving us this “Creation Mandate,” God goes directly into the food he has given us to consume.

Then in Genesis 3 it is not enough for us to be made in the image of God, we wanted to be God! Sin inverted everything. Instead of the serpent serving us, it deceives us. Instead of food becoming a gift, it becomes our master.

Jesus, the Bread of Life, came to save us when we could not save ourselves, but also satisfy us when nothing else can.

Whatever we submit to again and again to becomes more and more our master. The more we gladly submit to Christ, the more we will sense the Fruit of the Spirit. The more we stubbornly submit to the flesh, the more we will taste of the world’s bitterness.

Ultimately, all of this instruction is useless unless we have been born again!

MATTHEW 9:14-17 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Jesus came eating and drinking because this was the great Jubilee of the Lord. The Lord had come! – “to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

Why did Jesus come? To be our substitute and pay the full penalty of our sin on the cross; to reconcile us to the Father; to give us new life! Fasting in old garments and old wineskins cannot and will not lead to deeper worship and true transformation.

Fasting without knowing Christ is like trying to starve a corpse. In the corpse’s current state, no amount of physical food will bring it back to life. Only a soul brought to life by Christ, nurtured by the Bread of Life, filled by the Spirit of God, and directed by the Word of God, will come to fasting and prayer with the right motive – to experience more of God’s reign and God’s love in our lives. Let us rend not just our garments to our Good God, but our all of our hearts as well.

 

 

 

 

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Your Prayers Are Too Small https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/your-prayers-are-too-small https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/your-prayers-are-too-small#comments Thu, 07 May 2020 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/your-prayers-are-too-small

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
 

People often view prayer in simplistic terms: Prayer is about telling God what you want and waiting for Him to give it to you. Sure, you thank Him when He does what you want, and you give Him praise to make sure He’s listening, but prayer is a magic formula to make your life better and satisfy your desires. This popular conception runs into problems when your prayers aren’t answered the way you expect them to be. The question becomes what went wrong. Was God not listening? Was your faith too weak? Is God punishing you? 

The answer is that anyone who thinks prayer works this way is working from a concept of prayer that isn’t found in the Bible. Prayer isn’t about us but about our great God. Prayer isn’t about giving God our lists of what we want but about building a closer relationship with our heavenly Father. Prayer isn’t always answered with a “yes,” but might receive a “no” or a “wait” as an answer.

Perhaps our biggest issue with prayer is that we as Christians pray prayers that are too small. Our focus is on our own needs, the needs of those around us, and gratitude for what God has given us. We miss the truth that prayer is meant to lift us out of a self-centered focus and move us to see God for who He truly is and to see how our prayers can change not only our world but the world. God gave us prayer as our way of connecting to Him as we communicate with Him. When we grasp this, an entire new horizon for effective prayer opens up and enables us to grow ever deeper in our relationship with the Lord. 

The prophet Habakkuk learned this as he contemplated the evil he saw in the nation of Judah. As he focused on the corruption and self-absorption of the nation, he asked God why He tolerated it. God answered that He did not accept it, and that he was bringing judgment upon Judah by using the Babylonians as His instrument. Habakkuk quickly changed his mind about Judah, protesting that the Lord was going to use an even more evil nation to judge His own people, whose evil hadn’t reached the same depths. The Lord replied that Babylon was a tool for His use which would receive its own judgment in due time, while the people of God would be restored in the future as they repented of their sin.

This vision was in many ways horrifying to Habakkuk. He could have recoiled and argued that it wasn’t fair for God to let a pagan nation conquer Judah or that his own life would be shaken up if the Babylonians came in. Instead, this dire warning raised Habakkuk’s vision to a higher plane as he contemplated the awesome power of God and His overarching plan for His own people and for the nations of the world. He recognized that his focus only on the problem of Judah’s sin had caused him to lose sight of how great the Lord truly is and how everything is in His hand and under His control.

This led Habukkuk to the song we read above. The Lord’s answer was not designed to soothe his nerves or to make him feel better about himself or his nation. The Lord wanted Habakkuk to see a bigger picture of the way the Lord worked and to find his comfort not in his circumstances but in his God. Habakkuk’s song caught that lesson perfectly. Even when all he saw in his own life was desolation and struggle, he was still in the hands of the Almighty. In God’s care he was able to have joy no matter what would happen, since his strength and his confidence were in the only One who was able to give him assurance that the future was in good hands. 

You may in a situation right now in which you see nothing but trouble in your present or even in your future. You may be focused on your own needs and the needs of those around you, with your prayer focus narrowing as you see the immediate concerns around you which need your intercession right now. It is entirely right to lift the needs of your family, your friends, your co-workers, and even yourself to the Lord. Our prayers can’t stop there, however; there is a bigger world in which God is working, and there are big needs throughout that world. 

This may seem to be an overwhelming prospect. How can we lift all the needs of a broken, fallen world to God? If we learn what Habakkuk learned, we find the answer to this. To pray for the world, we need to pray to connect to the God who loved this world so much He sent His Son to die to save it. We can’t touch every need in this world, but we can touch the God meets every need. Once we understand just how big our God is we are able to pray for anything, since nothing is too big for our God to handle.

We won’t always get what we want when we pray, but we will always get what God knows is best for us. He may ask us to go through difficult trials for His purposes, or we may be caught up in troubles that are the result of living in a fallen world. Even in tough and sorrowful times, we can have joy when we know that we are close to the God who loves us and the Savior who gave Himself for us. Like Habakkuk, our watching and waiting will be answered by the promise that God is there, that He hears us, and that He is with us through everything He sends our way. So rejoice and pray big!

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Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
 

People often view prayer in simplistic terms: Prayer is about telling God what you want and waiting for Him to give it to you. Sure, you thank Him when He does what you want, and you give Him praise to make sure He’s listening, but prayer is a magic formula to make your life better and satisfy your desires. This popular conception runs into problems when your prayers aren’t answered the way you expect them to be. The question becomes what went wrong. Was God not listening? Was your faith too weak? Is God punishing you? 

The answer is that anyone who thinks prayer works this way is working from a concept of prayer that isn’t found in the Bible. Prayer isn’t about us but about our great God. Prayer isn’t about giving God our lists of what we want but about building a closer relationship with our heavenly Father. Prayer isn’t always answered with a “yes,” but might receive a “no” or a “wait” as an answer.

Perhaps our biggest issue with prayer is that we as Christians pray prayers that are too small. Our focus is on our own needs, the needs of those around us, and gratitude for what God has given us. We miss the truth that prayer is meant to lift us out of a self-centered focus and move us to see God for who He truly is and to see how our prayers can change not only our world but the world. God gave us prayer as our way of connecting to Him as we communicate with Him. When we grasp this, an entire new horizon for effective prayer opens up and enables us to grow ever deeper in our relationship with the Lord. 

The prophet Habakkuk learned this as he contemplated the evil he saw in the nation of Judah. As he focused on the corruption and self-absorption of the nation, he asked God why He tolerated it. God answered that He did not accept it, and that he was bringing judgment upon Judah by using the Babylonians as His instrument. Habakkuk quickly changed his mind about Judah, protesting that the Lord was going to use an even more evil nation to judge His own people, whose evil hadn’t reached the same depths. The Lord replied that Babylon was a tool for His use which would receive its own judgment in due time, while the people of God would be restored in the future as they repented of their sin.

This vision was in many ways horrifying to Habakkuk. He could have recoiled and argued that it wasn’t fair for God to let a pagan nation conquer Judah or that his own life would be shaken up if the Babylonians came in. Instead, this dire warning raised Habakkuk’s vision to a higher plane as he contemplated the awesome power of God and His overarching plan for His own people and for the nations of the world. He recognized that his focus only on the problem of Judah’s sin had caused him to lose sight of how great the Lord truly is and how everything is in His hand and under His control.

This led Habukkuk to the song we read above. The Lord’s answer was not designed to soothe his nerves or to make him feel better about himself or his nation. The Lord wanted Habakkuk to see a bigger picture of the way the Lord worked and to find his comfort not in his circumstances but in his God. Habakkuk’s song caught that lesson perfectly. Even when all he saw in his own life was desolation and struggle, he was still in the hands of the Almighty. In God’s care he was able to have joy no matter what would happen, since his strength and his confidence were in the only One who was able to give him assurance that the future was in good hands. 

You may in a situation right now in which you see nothing but trouble in your present or even in your future. You may be focused on your own needs and the needs of those around you, with your prayer focus narrowing as you see the immediate concerns around you which need your intercession right now. It is entirely right to lift the needs of your family, your friends, your co-workers, and even yourself to the Lord. Our prayers can’t stop there, however; there is a bigger world in which God is working, and there are big needs throughout that world. 

This may seem to be an overwhelming prospect. How can we lift all the needs of a broken, fallen world to God? If we learn what Habakkuk learned, we find the answer to this. To pray for the world, we need to pray to connect to the God who loved this world so much He sent His Son to die to save it. We can’t touch every need in this world, but we can touch the God meets every need. Once we understand just how big our God is we are able to pray for anything, since nothing is too big for our God to handle.

We won’t always get what we want when we pray, but we will always get what God knows is best for us. He may ask us to go through difficult trials for His purposes, or we may be caught up in troubles that are the result of living in a fallen world. Even in tough and sorrowful times, we can have joy when we know that we are close to the God who loves us and the Savior who gave Himself for us. Like Habakkuk, our watching and waiting will be answered by the promise that God is there, that He hears us, and that He is with us through everything He sends our way. So rejoice and pray big!

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We Are the Problem https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/we-are-the-problem https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/we-are-the-problem#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2020 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/we-are-the-problem  

All of humanity is born with the innate ability to blame others for their problems. We are capable of surveying any problematic circumstance and finding someone or something to blame. Even if outwardly we profess ownership of a problem, we can find a way to justify our action or inaction inwardly. Perhaps it is not difficult for you to remember some recent issue that arose privately or publicly for which you have found a way to justify by thinking or stating that it was the fault of someone else. Indeed, if you have said, thought, or done something wrong, it must be due to another person or an external factor over which you had no control, right?

Moreover, this blaming comes so natural that even, and perhaps especially, people do it to God. They blame God for why they cannot live holy and why they do not love Him. While this statement sounds strange, think about it. How often do we hear of disobedience rationalized or justified by lowering God’s standard? Surely God would be okay with this because He knows my situation. The Bible may say that, but that doesn’t sound like the God I know. God wouldn’t want this for my/your life. This is dangerously common and all too often hidden within the dark recesses of the heart.

In the Beginning

All of mankind has engaged in this behavior since sin entered the world in the beginning. Remember that passage in Scripture, “the Fall”? God created a world that was good. He placed Adam, His Image-bearer and ambassador, in the Garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.” (Gen. 2:15). After the creation of Eve, the woman who was also made in His image, we are introduced to the serpent.  “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’’” (Gen. 3:1). As you perhaps well know, this serpent leads Adam and Eve into committing the first sin. Instead of living in eternal, perfect harmony with God in the Garden, Adam and Eve both disobey God’s one command. Let us look at the manner in which Adam and Eve respond to their disobedience: 

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:11-13

If ever there was one who was particularly skilled at passing the blame, it was Adam, the original man. Not only does he pass the blame, he does it twice! Adam begins by directly projecting the blame for the situation right back to God. “The woman who you gave to be with me…” It is really your fault God because we would not have messed up if you had never given me this woman to be with in the first place. God, you are the problem. What is happening here?! How could Adam possibly think it wise to try and turn this one back on God, the omnipotent being who had given him life and breath? Adam’s audacity is astounding.

The true, ugly reality is that Adam and Eve were the problem. God, who had given them life and an abundance of opportunity, made clear that they were the problem when He removed them from the Garden. No longer would they be allowed to live without pain or sadness, but instead, their new existence was to be enveloped by the curse. It is a curse that was issued by the almighty God, and it has ramifications that have echoed throughout history and into every corner of the world we experience today. 

Throughout Scripture

Adam and Eve, while being the first by virtue of actually being the first, are far from the only people who have attempted to blame God for their decisions. This in fact becomes a relatively common reaction to difficulties, trials, and poor decisions in the Old Testament. We need not go much further in Scripture to find another example of humanity justifying bad decisions by blaming God for their current position. We can remain in the book of Genesis for the next example:

2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” Genesis 16:2-5

Just one chapter prior to this passage, God had made a covenant with Abram, one in which He had promised that Abram would have innumerable descendants, as vast as the stars in the sky. However, he and his wife Sarai were very old and beyond childbearing years. So of course Sarai, seeing no other option to the fulfillment of God’s word, improvises by taking matters into her own hands. She must behave in this manner and take this course of action because “the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.” Sarai blamed God for her poor decisions, and Abram followed. This was just the start of a long pattern that would be visible through all of Abraham’s descendants.

The Israelite people as a whole began to blame God for their problems in the book of Exodus. All of the descendants of Abraham were enslaved by the nation of Egypt, but God heard their requests for deliverance. “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:24-25). God, with great love for His people, knew the troubles they were experiencing at the hands of the Egyptians. So long story, really short, He sent Moses as a deliverer for the Israelites. 

Once the Israelites were freed from the tyranny of the Pharaohs, they still had some significant obstacles to overcome. Rather than relying on the God who had miraculously secured their freedom from Egypt, the Israelites began to grumble and blame God for their problems. They complained that God had left them to die by the sword, had brought them into a wilderness with no food, and had led them into a land with no water. This was not how they were supposed to be living. After all, it was all His fault, through Moses, that they weren’t still in Egypt as slaves. The fact that a sentence like that can even be written is absurd. 

The list of those who have partaken in this blame game against God is long and filled with people from Scripture. Kings like Saul and David both pulled this card, and even the forefather Jacob engaged in this sort of behavior. Even prophets like Elijah and Jonah fell victim to this mindset. 

Still Today

Tragically, we also engage in this very behavior. In our humanity, we have an expectation for who God ought to be and how we ought to behave. Rather than looking at the God of Scripture and accepting the reality of who He is, we create our own god that sticks to our guidelines. Here’s the bad news: any god we make has no power, and it will never change the God who is all-powerful. Our thoughts and beliefs don’t matter if they don’t align with the inerrant Word of God.

God is the good, holy, perfect standard. This is not the problem. He is not the problem. We are the problem. We are broken sinners in need of a Savior. Let us be careful to never blame God for our disobedience or lack of love towards Him. Instead, let us look deeply upon His holiness displayed in Scripture and love Him more. Rather than seeing His holiness as some sort of obstruction to our love, let it be the very thing to which our hearts are given. In His good and perfect and holy will, He saves His people. Instead of blaming God for our inability to obey and love, let us long and strive to be just like Him.

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All of humanity is born with the innate ability to blame others for their problems. We are capable of surveying any problematic circumstance and finding someone or something to blame. Even if outwardly we profess ownership of a problem, we can find a way to justify our action or inaction inwardly. Perhaps it is not difficult for you to remember some recent issue that arose privately or publicly for which you have found a way to justify by thinking or stating that it was the fault of someone else. Indeed, if you have said, thought, or done something wrong, it must be due to another person or an external factor over which you had no control, right?

Moreover, this blaming comes so natural that even, and perhaps especially, people do it to God. They blame God for why they cannot live holy and why they do not love Him. While this statement sounds strange, think about it. How often do we hear of disobedience rationalized or justified by lowering God’s standard? Surely God would be okay with this because He knows my situation. The Bible may say that, but that doesn’t sound like the God I know. God wouldn’t want this for my/your life. This is dangerously common and all too often hidden within the dark recesses of the heart.

In the Beginning

All of mankind has engaged in this behavior since sin entered the world in the beginning. Remember that passage in Scripture, “the Fall”? God created a world that was good. He placed Adam, His Image-bearer and ambassador, in the Garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.” (Gen. 2:15). After the creation of Eve, the woman who was also made in His image, we are introduced to the serpent.  “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’’” (Gen. 3:1). As you perhaps well know, this serpent leads Adam and Eve into committing the first sin. Instead of living in eternal, perfect harmony with God in the Garden, Adam and Eve both disobey God’s one command. Let us look at the manner in which Adam and Eve respond to their disobedience: 

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:11-13

If ever there was one who was particularly skilled at passing the blame, it was Adam, the original man. Not only does he pass the blame, he does it twice! Adam begins by directly projecting the blame for the situation right back to God. “The woman who you gave to be with me…” It is really your fault God because we would not have messed up if you had never given me this woman to be with in the first place. God, you are the problem. What is happening here?! How could Adam possibly think it wise to try and turn this one back on God, the omnipotent being who had given him life and breath? Adam’s audacity is astounding.

The true, ugly reality is that Adam and Eve were the problem. God, who had given them life and an abundance of opportunity, made clear that they were the problem when He removed them from the Garden. No longer would they be allowed to live without pain or sadness, but instead, their new existence was to be enveloped by the curse. It is a curse that was issued by the almighty God, and it has ramifications that have echoed throughout history and into every corner of the world we experience today. 

Throughout Scripture

Adam and Eve, while being the first by virtue of actually being the first, are far from the only people who have attempted to blame God for their decisions. This in fact becomes a relatively common reaction to difficulties, trials, and poor decisions in the Old Testament. We need not go much further in Scripture to find another example of humanity justifying bad decisions by blaming God for their current position. We can remain in the book of Genesis for the next example:

2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” Genesis 16:2-5

Just one chapter prior to this passage, God had made a covenant with Abram, one in which He had promised that Abram would have innumerable descendants, as vast as the stars in the sky. However, he and his wife Sarai were very old and beyond childbearing years. So of course Sarai, seeing no other option to the fulfillment of God’s word, improvises by taking matters into her own hands. She must behave in this manner and take this course of action because “the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.” Sarai blamed God for her poor decisions, and Abram followed. This was just the start of a long pattern that would be visible through all of Abraham’s descendants.

The Israelite people as a whole began to blame God for their problems in the book of Exodus. All of the descendants of Abraham were enslaved by the nation of Egypt, but God heard their requests for deliverance. “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:24-25). God, with great love for His people, knew the troubles they were experiencing at the hands of the Egyptians. So long story, really short, He sent Moses as a deliverer for the Israelites. 

Once the Israelites were freed from the tyranny of the Pharaohs, they still had some significant obstacles to overcome. Rather than relying on the God who had miraculously secured their freedom from Egypt, the Israelites began to grumble and blame God for their problems. They complained that God had left them to die by the sword, had brought them into a wilderness with no food, and had led them into a land with no water. This was not how they were supposed to be living. After all, it was all His fault, through Moses, that they weren’t still in Egypt as slaves. The fact that a sentence like that can even be written is absurd. 

The list of those who have partaken in this blame game against God is long and filled with people from Scripture. Kings like Saul and David both pulled this card, and even the forefather Jacob engaged in this sort of behavior. Even prophets like Elijah and Jonah fell victim to this mindset. 

Still Today

Tragically, we also engage in this very behavior. In our humanity, we have an expectation for who God ought to be and how we ought to behave. Rather than looking at the God of Scripture and accepting the reality of who He is, we create our own god that sticks to our guidelines. Here’s the bad news: any god we make has no power, and it will never change the God who is all-powerful. Our thoughts and beliefs don’t matter if they don’t align with the inerrant Word of God.

God is the good, holy, perfect standard. This is not the problem. He is not the problem. We are the problem. We are broken sinners in need of a Savior. Let us be careful to never blame God for our disobedience or lack of love towards Him. Instead, let us look deeply upon His holiness displayed in Scripture and love Him more. Rather than seeing His holiness as some sort of obstruction to our love, let it be the very thing to which our hearts are given. In His good and perfect and holy will, He saves His people. Instead of blaming God for our inability to obey and love, let us long and strive to be just like Him.

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Reason to Hope https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/reason-to-hope https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/reason-to-hope#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/reason-to-hope But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16)

When the world seems to be falling apart, people seek hope. They are looking for something to hold on to, anything that will help them get through their crisis. They are looking not only to weather the storm but to find themselves in an even better place than they had been. Hope is a powerful motivator and comfort, enabling us to survive and endure while we wait for the better days to come.

We are currently experiencing a crisis that is truly worldwide, one that we never anticipated and one for which there seems to be no solution. Many people in this country and in others around the world face severe restrictions on their activities in order to prevent the spread of disease, yet with no idea of how long these will last or how well they will do their job. That open-ended uncertainty is leading many to lose hope and to seek their own way out this crisis. 

When people turn to the authorities for hope they get none. Here in the Northeast, one governor tells us that we have no idea how long we must remain in our “lockdown,” but he doesn’t expect it to end anytime soon. Another governor told us that God has no hand in bringing us relief from this disaster; it is entirely our own doing. While that may sound promising from a humanistic perspective, we see daily reminders of just how badly people violate rules if they don’t wish to follow them. We don’t know what will happen or when it will happen.

In contrast, Christians are hopeful even through this pandemic, as we have been through other disasters, both natural and manmade. Our hope is not in a timetable or a clever solution, nor is it in the goodness or discipline of human beings, but in Jesus Christ. We know from our own experiences and from our study and trust in the Bible that God is in control, Jesus is the King, and the Holy Spirit is with us to help us through every tribulation. Our hope is not bound to an earthly resolution, as much as we would like to live here in peace and comfort, but is focused on our relationship with Christ and on our future eternal home with Him.

Many who are not Christians see this as a hope without a foundation, a “pie in the sky by and by” wish that simply ignores reality. The Bible makes it clear that the Christian hope is anything but unreasonable. In fact, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are always to be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Our hope is not mere whim but is founded on a reasonable foundation. It is important for us to know not only who but why we believe and to be able to express that as we encounter those who question why we are able to remain hopeful in every situation. 

The world tries to hold out hope to humanity in many ways. There are promises that a stronger government, better education, more affluence, or learning to get along will make the world a better place. These solutions sound sweet but never manage to provide the kind of world we hope for very long. While the world makes these promises, people continue to look for genuine hope for their future. If they can’t provide that hope, they at least want to keep others from looking for it in what they consider to be wrong places. 

The reason that the world cannot satisfy our hopes is that our hopes were not meant for this world. Only in Jesus, who through His death and resurrection brings us back into the relationship with God we were created to have, can we find the hope that our heart instinctively craves. That is why we can have a reason to hope no matter our personal circumstances. Our hope is in the One who created and saved us and our eternal destiny is the one for which we were created.

While this hope can provide us with peace and satisfaction for our own lives, it is not meant to be hoarded. We aren’t to be like the people who went out in a frenzy at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown to buy up all the toilet paper and paper towels they could find so they would have enough for themselves. Our hope is meant to be shared, especially with those who have questions about how we can remain hopeful in this world. We are to defend our faith and hope, but do it in such a way as to win over those who both hear our words and see the way we live.

Too many Christians give their reasons for believing in Jesus in a harsh, judgmental manner that is more likely to make people wonder why Christians are so stubborn and nasty than why we are able to live at peace in a storm. The world uses the weapons of insult, anger, and emotional appeals to make its case against God. We cannot use those same weapons against them; Peter tells us to be gentle and respectful. Our hope is founded on truth and it is that truth towhich we appeal when we present our reasons for hope in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will do the rest of the convicting and convincing.

We have an excellent reason to have hope even as we journey through a world that seems hopeless. We have a hope that the world needs, one we need to let them know. Our reason may face unreasonableness, our hope may face fear, our gentleness may face harshness, but through all we face we can stand firm in our trust in our Savior and Lord. You may be asked why you are so hopeful in a time like this. Be ready with your answer!

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But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16)

When the world seems to be falling apart, people seek hope. They are looking for something to hold on to, anything that will help them get through their crisis. They are looking not only to weather the storm but to find themselves in an even better place than they had been. Hope is a powerful motivator and comfort, enabling us to survive and endure while we wait for the better days to come.

We are currently experiencing a crisis that is truly worldwide, one that we never anticipated and one for which there seems to be no solution. Many people in this country and in others around the world face severe restrictions on their activities in order to prevent the spread of disease, yet with no idea of how long these will last or how well they will do their job. That open-ended uncertainty is leading many to lose hope and to seek their own way out this crisis. 

When people turn to the authorities for hope they get none. Here in the Northeast, one governor tells us that we have no idea how long we must remain in our “lockdown,” but he doesn’t expect it to end anytime soon. Another governor told us that God has no hand in bringing us relief from this disaster; it is entirely our own doing. While that may sound promising from a humanistic perspective, we see daily reminders of just how badly people violate rules if they don’t wish to follow them. We don’t know what will happen or when it will happen.

In contrast, Christians are hopeful even through this pandemic, as we have been through other disasters, both natural and manmade. Our hope is not in a timetable or a clever solution, nor is it in the goodness or discipline of human beings, but in Jesus Christ. We know from our own experiences and from our study and trust in the Bible that God is in control, Jesus is the King, and the Holy Spirit is with us to help us through every tribulation. Our hope is not bound to an earthly resolution, as much as we would like to live here in peace and comfort, but is focused on our relationship with Christ and on our future eternal home with Him.

Many who are not Christians see this as a hope without a foundation, a “pie in the sky by and by” wish that simply ignores reality. The Bible makes it clear that the Christian hope is anything but unreasonable. In fact, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are always to be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Our hope is not mere whim but is founded on a reasonable foundation. It is important for us to know not only who but why we believe and to be able to express that as we encounter those who question why we are able to remain hopeful in every situation. 

The world tries to hold out hope to humanity in many ways. There are promises that a stronger government, better education, more affluence, or learning to get along will make the world a better place. These solutions sound sweet but never manage to provide the kind of world we hope for very long. While the world makes these promises, people continue to look for genuine hope for their future. If they can’t provide that hope, they at least want to keep others from looking for it in what they consider to be wrong places. 

The reason that the world cannot satisfy our hopes is that our hopes were not meant for this world. Only in Jesus, who through His death and resurrection brings us back into the relationship with God we were created to have, can we find the hope that our heart instinctively craves. That is why we can have a reason to hope no matter our personal circumstances. Our hope is in the One who created and saved us and our eternal destiny is the one for which we were created.

While this hope can provide us with peace and satisfaction for our own lives, it is not meant to be hoarded. We aren’t to be like the people who went out in a frenzy at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown to buy up all the toilet paper and paper towels they could find so they would have enough for themselves. Our hope is meant to be shared, especially with those who have questions about how we can remain hopeful in this world. We are to defend our faith and hope, but do it in such a way as to win over those who both hear our words and see the way we live.

Too many Christians give their reasons for believing in Jesus in a harsh, judgmental manner that is more likely to make people wonder why Christians are so stubborn and nasty than why we are able to live at peace in a storm. The world uses the weapons of insult, anger, and emotional appeals to make its case against God. We cannot use those same weapons against them; Peter tells us to be gentle and respectful. Our hope is founded on truth and it is that truth towhich we appeal when we present our reasons for hope in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will do the rest of the convicting and convincing.

We have an excellent reason to have hope even as we journey through a world that seems hopeless. We have a hope that the world needs, one we need to let them know. Our reason may face unreasonableness, our hope may face fear, our gentleness may face harshness, but through all we face we can stand firm in our trust in our Savior and Lord. You may be asked why you are so hopeful in a time like this. Be ready with your answer!

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Errant Affections https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/errant-affections https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/errant-affections#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2020 10:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/errant-affections  

Our affections are important to God. The affections we have will be determinative of our actions, both today and for the remainder of the lives we have been granted here on earth. This is why, when asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy. “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment’” (Matthew 22:36-38).  The greatest command is a command to love. “You shall love.” The object of our affection is commanded to be the Lord. The love for the Lord we are instructed to have is to consume all of who we are: heart, soul, and mind. Love for “the Lord your God” is of first importance, more important than moral hands, more important than a tamed tongue, even more important than evangelistic feet. 

Unfortunately, we rarely take seriously this command, the greatest of them all. Sure, we love God, or at the very least we would say we do. Our lives might even reflect an appearance of one who loves God. But this is not good enough. The Apostle John reveals the problem of low affection and high works through the Church in Ephesus. They did much well. 

Look at how Jesus speaks of the church, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3). Does this sound like a church in need of rebuke? On the contrary, the Church in Ephesus appears deserving of commendation and recognition. Jesus twice notes their patient endurance. Moreover, Christ acknowledges the church is enduring for his “name’s sake.” The Ephesians were doing good works! Outwardly, they seemed worthy of imitation and elevation. 

Unfortunately, the problem was not an external issue but an internal rotting. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). The affection that the church had for Christ had been abandoned at the altar of good instead of the altar of God. The condemnation of Christ was not gained by their actions but rather because of their affections.  Indeed, just as the hymnist wrote in “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” we are “prone to wander.” 

It was not as though the Church at Ephesus was in this position from the start. The people had not always been without love, as the passage itself notes. They had simply “abandoned the love [they] had at first.” Rather than growing in their love for Christ, the Ephesians had discarded it. Some did so perhaps slowly, even imperceptibly, while others may have moved away quickly, without thought or intention. They had maintained a facade of good works and right living, but their hearts had fallen into a state of disrepair. 

A Heart Unmoved

A heart that is unmoved by and unattracted to the glorious beauty of our God is certainly not a new concept. It has existed since Genesis chapter 3. Perhaps, for many who will read this, you are quite familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. You know the story of the serpent speaking with Eve, and Eve giving in to the offered temptation. Let us look again to the passage,

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6)

While many applications and much wisdom can be drawn from this text, direct your attention to verse 6. Read it again. The problem for Eve became her affections. Even more than her actions, Eve’s trouble began when her affections were taken from the God who eternally fulfills every need to the fruit that could only temporarily fulfill one need. Her heart was drawn to the fruit outside God’s will instead of the infinite God, who, within his good and gracious will, gave himself along with the entire garden of fruit. She was overwhelmed by her desire for the fruit, her affection for God was suddenly cold. The one who is the giver and sustainer of life became secondary to her desire for that which brought death into the world.

How foolish it was for Eve to sacrifice her intimacy with God for fruit! Surely her affection for the one who had given her infinite love would be greater than her desire for an inanimate, unfulfilling object. Grievously, my own heart is often given to this same capricious behavior, replacing the eternal, almighty God with something or someone never meant to become an object of my greatest affection. When we read Revelation 2:4, it is easy to see our own hearts. Have we abandoned the love we first had? Are our hearts unmoved, uncaptivated by a Father who sacrificed His Son so that we might be made righteous? 

A Heart Rekindled

I would submit to you this challenge: consider to what or whom your affections are given. What do you love doing? What excites your heart? In Creature of the Word, the authors refer to the Dallas Cowboys stadium as the largest worship venue, “With close to 30,000 parking spaces, the ability to hold 110,000 people, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a gigantic center-hung, high-definition television screen that measures 160x72 feet, it is the perfect location to gather, sing, shout, cry, clap, and feel the energy that occurs when that many souls come together with the same hope in mind.” Truly many hearts have been won to the idolatry of sports and entertainment at the doors of stadiums and arenas. Many other hearts have been won to the idolatry of success or wealth in the workplace. Yet other hearts have been drawn to the idolatry of morality at the altar of pride. So what is the solution to this deeply rooted problem of errant affections?

Thankfully, because of our gracious God, we have been given a written, authoritative Word. It directs our hearts back to the God who loves us, the only one who provides affection before we give our own (1 John 4:19). Heed the call that Christ gives to the church in Ephesus, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:5a). First, we must remember. Our affections are a result of our thoughts, and we must think about the sacrifice Christ made for us in his incarnation, his perfect life, and his crucifixion. Our affection for God cannot help but grow when we consider who he is and what he has done. Can you see why our thoughts are so important? Let our thoughts be ever directed by the Scripture that it might inform all of our thinking about God! May we say with the psalmist, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:15-16). Reading the Bible, delighting in the words of God, will not make God love you any more than he does now (he already loves you perfectly), but rather, reading the Bible causes you to love God more. Works ought not be an effort to gain his love. They are an effort to show and grow your own love and affection for him!

Secondly, Christ calls for repentance. Not only must we return to God, we must forsake that which has held captive our affections. Let us look to the example of Hezekiah in the Old Testament, 

3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. (2 Kings 18:3-6)

Hezekiah did not move the idols to another room or out of view. He “broke the pillars” and “cut down the Asherah.” He smashed the idols of his day in order to keep his heart from further wondering. Truly this is a great picture of repentance. Tragically, we all too often keep our deadly idols merely hidden from view so that they may reemerge and regain our affection. Repent by destroying the idols that have competed for your affection.

I pray that we would always be overwhelmed and awestruck by God. We have done nothing to earn his love, yet he loves us. We have pushed him away, yet he draws near. We rebelled against the glorious, omnipotent God, and so he decided to send his Son to die on our behalf. What kind of love is this? “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to  who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Place your affections fully and forever on the living God who is worthy and who is the only eternally soul-satisfying object of worship.

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Our affections are important to God. The affections we have will be determinative of our actions, both today and for the remainder of the lives we have been granted here on earth. This is why, when asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy. “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment’” (Matthew 22:36-38).  The greatest command is a command to love. “You shall love.” The object of our affection is commanded to be the Lord. The love for the Lord we are instructed to have is to consume all of who we are: heart, soul, and mind. Love for “the Lord your God” is of first importance, more important than moral hands, more important than a tamed tongue, even more important than evangelistic feet. 

Unfortunately, we rarely take seriously this command, the greatest of them all. Sure, we love God, or at the very least we would say we do. Our lives might even reflect an appearance of one who loves God. But this is not good enough. The Apostle John reveals the problem of low affection and high works through the Church in Ephesus. They did much well. 

Look at how Jesus speaks of the church, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3). Does this sound like a church in need of rebuke? On the contrary, the Church in Ephesus appears deserving of commendation and recognition. Jesus twice notes their patient endurance. Moreover, Christ acknowledges the church is enduring for his “name’s sake.” The Ephesians were doing good works! Outwardly, they seemed worthy of imitation and elevation. 

Unfortunately, the problem was not an external issue but an internal rotting. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). The affection that the church had for Christ had been abandoned at the altar of good instead of the altar of God. The condemnation of Christ was not gained by their actions but rather because of their affections.  Indeed, just as the hymnist wrote in “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” we are “prone to wander.” 

It was not as though the Church at Ephesus was in this position from the start. The people had not always been without love, as the passage itself notes. They had simply “abandoned the love [they] had at first.” Rather than growing in their love for Christ, the Ephesians had discarded it. Some did so perhaps slowly, even imperceptibly, while others may have moved away quickly, without thought or intention. They had maintained a facade of good works and right living, but their hearts had fallen into a state of disrepair. 

A Heart Unmoved

A heart that is unmoved by and unattracted to the glorious beauty of our God is certainly not a new concept. It has existed since Genesis chapter 3. Perhaps, for many who will read this, you are quite familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. You know the story of the serpent speaking with Eve, and Eve giving in to the offered temptation. Let us look again to the passage,

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6)

While many applications and much wisdom can be drawn from this text, direct your attention to verse 6. Read it again. The problem for Eve became her affections. Even more than her actions, Eve’s trouble began when her affections were taken from the God who eternally fulfills every need to the fruit that could only temporarily fulfill one need. Her heart was drawn to the fruit outside God’s will instead of the infinite God, who, within his good and gracious will, gave himself along with the entire garden of fruit. She was overwhelmed by her desire for the fruit, her affection for God was suddenly cold. The one who is the giver and sustainer of life became secondary to her desire for that which brought death into the world.

How foolish it was for Eve to sacrifice her intimacy with God for fruit! Surely her affection for the one who had given her infinite love would be greater than her desire for an inanimate, unfulfilling object. Grievously, my own heart is often given to this same capricious behavior, replacing the eternal, almighty God with something or someone never meant to become an object of my greatest affection. When we read Revelation 2:4, it is easy to see our own hearts. Have we abandoned the love we first had? Are our hearts unmoved, uncaptivated by a Father who sacrificed His Son so that we might be made righteous? 

A Heart Rekindled

I would submit to you this challenge: consider to what or whom your affections are given. What do you love doing? What excites your heart? In Creature of the Word, the authors refer to the Dallas Cowboys stadium as the largest worship venue, “With close to 30,000 parking spaces, the ability to hold 110,000 people, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a gigantic center-hung, high-definition television screen that measures 160x72 feet, it is the perfect location to gather, sing, shout, cry, clap, and feel the energy that occurs when that many souls come together with the same hope in mind.” Truly many hearts have been won to the idolatry of sports and entertainment at the doors of stadiums and arenas. Many other hearts have been won to the idolatry of success or wealth in the workplace. Yet other hearts have been drawn to the idolatry of morality at the altar of pride. So what is the solution to this deeply rooted problem of errant affections?

Thankfully, because of our gracious God, we have been given a written, authoritative Word. It directs our hearts back to the God who loves us, the only one who provides affection before we give our own (1 John 4:19). Heed the call that Christ gives to the church in Ephesus, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:5a). First, we must remember. Our affections are a result of our thoughts, and we must think about the sacrifice Christ made for us in his incarnation, his perfect life, and his crucifixion. Our affection for God cannot help but grow when we consider who he is and what he has done. Can you see why our thoughts are so important? Let our thoughts be ever directed by the Scripture that it might inform all of our thinking about God! May we say with the psalmist, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:15-16). Reading the Bible, delighting in the words of God, will not make God love you any more than he does now (he already loves you perfectly), but rather, reading the Bible causes you to love God more. Works ought not be an effort to gain his love. They are an effort to show and grow your own love and affection for him!

Secondly, Christ calls for repentance. Not only must we return to God, we must forsake that which has held captive our affections. Let us look to the example of Hezekiah in the Old Testament, 

3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. (2 Kings 18:3-6)

Hezekiah did not move the idols to another room or out of view. He “broke the pillars” and “cut down the Asherah.” He smashed the idols of his day in order to keep his heart from further wondering. Truly this is a great picture of repentance. Tragically, we all too often keep our deadly idols merely hidden from view so that they may reemerge and regain our affection. Repent by destroying the idols that have competed for your affection.

I pray that we would always be overwhelmed and awestruck by God. We have done nothing to earn his love, yet he loves us. We have pushed him away, yet he draws near. We rebelled against the glorious, omnipotent God, and so he decided to send his Son to die on our behalf. What kind of love is this? “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to  who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Place your affections fully and forever on the living God who is worthy and who is the only eternally soul-satisfying object of worship.

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What About Saturday? The Cosmic Significance of Jesus’s Day in the Tomb https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/what-about-saturday-the-cosmic-significance-of-jesus-s-day-in-the-tomb https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/what-about-saturday-the-cosmic-significance-of-jesus-s-day-in-the-tomb#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/what-about-saturday-the-cosmic-significance-of-jesus-s-day-in-the-tomb  

Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow Jesus is going to rise. But Saturday he’s in the tomb. What is the significance of today?

There’s many answers. Our God is a God of beautiful design and reasoning. This gospel plan—centered on the life, death, resurrection of Jesus—is the climatic event of all world history. So the reasons for Saturday are numerous.

Let me, though, give one reason for Saturday which perhaps you haven’t thought about much before. It has to do with the cosmic significance of his day in the tomb.

The Gospel is Re-Creation

Consider the cosmic implications of the gospel. The good news is not merely that individual people are saved. That’s gloriously true. But the gospel is grander. The good news is that God’s people and the whole creation are reconciled and restored to God forevermore. Sin is forgiven. Our relationship with God is restored. And our forever future on the renewed earth is secure. All in Christ, by grace through faith, forevermore.

This is the gospel. It’s cosmic.

And this all was accomplished primarily by what Jesus did on the cross. In order for certain people to be in that cosmic renewal, they needed their sins paid. They needed their broken relationship with God restored. So Jesus made that happen: He took God’s people’s sins and God transferred to them his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s people now and forever are on God’s side. Because our sins are forgiven on the cross, we justly can be a part of God's cosmic renewal forever.

But what about the resurrection? How does this fit into this cosmic gospel?

We usually answer with “The grave couldn’t hold him down” or “It shows Jesus is no longer dead” or “It proves that his payment was accepted.” And these are all right and true. But there’s another massive cosmic implication—and it relates to Saturday as well.

Our Cosmic Renewal Has Begun

Think of it this way: Something glorious happened to Jesus on Sunday. On Sunday he rose again. But he didn’t just rise again—it’s not like on Sunday he was merely identical to who he was on Thursday. Not at all. Something incredibly glorious happened to him. He was renewed. He was the same person, the same man, the same Christ, but different. We see this in little ways—like how he could walk through walls (John 20:19) or how Mary somehow mistook him for the gardener (John 20:15). But more important, the Bible says he was different because on that Sunday he rose as the beginning.

The beginning? Yes. An important idea for us as we consider Christ, our cosmic gospel, Resurrection Sunday, and him tomb-day Saturday.

It's a New Testament idea we often overlook. Look at, for example, Paul’s big-Jesus paragraph in Colossians 1. Many agree this is the most Christ-exalting paragraph in the entire Bible. Yet notice what Paul puts in the emphatic center of it all in verse 18:

"[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Colossians 1:15-20)

Verses 15-17 exalt Christ as the Creator and Sustainer of everything. (Yes, we get that.) Verses 19-20 exalt Christ as the one who is fully God and who accomplished redemption on the cross. (Yes, we get that.) But what’s in the middle? “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” And here’s the point we often don’t think about as much: Christ is Creator, Christ is Redeemer, but that’s not all. Christ is also the one who, after he died, then rose as the beginning of this new, reconciled creation.

It has begun. We’re now in the last days of this old creation (Acts 2:17). The new creation is here in Christ and it's coming soon to the earth. As theologians like to say, it is "here and not yet." The church is those who are part of it of the new creation, but not fully in it yet.

All this was forecasted, foretasted, and seen in Jesus’s risen flesh and bones that Sunday. Here was a man who had died and came back to life. But he’s only the firstborn. He’s the first to do this—but there’s more to come. We his people one day too will fully experience this new creation. And the entire universe will join in, too (Romans 8:22-23).

What About Saturday?

As a review: Good Friday was the day Jesus paid the sins of his people so that they could be in the new creation forever. Resurrection Sunday was the day when he, the beginning, begun and foreshadowed this new creation restoration—a restoration that will be for his people and the entire universe.

So what about Saturday?

We often overlook Saturday, but Saturday is an important day in the Bible. It’s the day God rested from creating this entire universe (Genesis 2:1-2). It was the day the Israelites were to remember God's work of creation and observe as their Sabbath (which was such a significant command it was one of their Ten Commandments). In brief, Saturday the Sabbath was the day of rest, it was a day to remember God and his work, and it was the end of the week. It was the final day of this (old) creation.

Now consider Jesus in the tomb on Saturday. What just happened on Friday? Jesus paid for sins so that his people and the universe could experience a new creation. And what happens on Sunday? This new creation begins in him—the firstborn, a foretaste, a foreshadow.

So what’s Saturday? It’s the day after the work of redemption is done. It's last day of the old creation (the last day of the "week"). And it's the day of rest before the new week begins—the day before the dawning of the new creation.

It was the midnight before the sunrise of a new world. The womb before the birth. The cocoon before the butterfly.

Or we can sum Saturday up with with stunning connections to God's original creation in Genesis:

  • In Genesis 1-2, God’s works were completed on Friday. Saturday the was a day of rest.
  • In the gospel, God’s work of salvation was completed on Friday on the cross (“It is finished”). Saturday was the day of rest. And Sunday begins the new week, the new creation. This has begun in Christ.

The Day Before It All Began

As we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, then, may we not merely celebrate individualistic salvation. This is gloriously true—I believe Christ died and rose for my sins and I now fear no punishment or condemnation forevermore.

But let’s not miss the significance of what that forevermore entails. It’s Christ’s cosmic redemption. He is a cosmic Christ. In the gospel, he reconciles his people and he restores the universe. And this happened on Friday, Sunday, and Saturday.

Friday was the day he did what was needed to be done for this new creation to rise for his people and the universe. Sunday was the day it all began in him as the firstborn. And Saturday was the Sabbath day of rest for this new creation. Saturday in the tomb was the day after God’s work was finished. It was the last day of the "week" of the old order. And, gloriously, it was the day right before this new week, this new creation in Christ—which we taste now but will inhabit soon—began.

___

Article also published on Pastor Ryan's blog www.lookingatchrist.com.

]]>
 

Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow Jesus is going to rise. But Saturday he’s in the tomb. What is the significance of today?

There’s many answers. Our God is a God of beautiful design and reasoning. This gospel plan—centered on the life, death, resurrection of Jesus—is the climatic event of all world history. So the reasons for Saturday are numerous.

Let me, though, give one reason for Saturday which perhaps you haven’t thought about much before. It has to do with the cosmic significance of his day in the tomb.

The Gospel is Re-Creation

Consider the cosmic implications of the gospel. The good news is not merely that individual people are saved. That’s gloriously true. But the gospel is grander. The good news is that God’s people and the whole creation are reconciled and restored to God forevermore. Sin is forgiven. Our relationship with God is restored. And our forever future on the renewed earth is secure. All in Christ, by grace through faith, forevermore.

This is the gospel. It’s cosmic.

And this all was accomplished primarily by what Jesus did on the cross. In order for certain people to be in that cosmic renewal, they needed their sins paid. They needed their broken relationship with God restored. So Jesus made that happen: He took God’s people’s sins and God transferred to them his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s people now and forever are on God’s side. Because our sins are forgiven on the cross, we justly can be a part of God's cosmic renewal forever.

But what about the resurrection? How does this fit into this cosmic gospel?

We usually answer with “The grave couldn’t hold him down” or “It shows Jesus is no longer dead” or “It proves that his payment was accepted.” And these are all right and true. But there’s another massive cosmic implication—and it relates to Saturday as well.

Our Cosmic Renewal Has Begun

Think of it this way: Something glorious happened to Jesus on Sunday. On Sunday he rose again. But he didn’t just rise again—it’s not like on Sunday he was merely identical to who he was on Thursday. Not at all. Something incredibly glorious happened to him. He was renewed. He was the same person, the same man, the same Christ, but different. We see this in little ways—like how he could walk through walls (John 20:19) or how Mary somehow mistook him for the gardener (John 20:15). But more important, the Bible says he was different because on that Sunday he rose as the beginning.

The beginning? Yes. An important idea for us as we consider Christ, our cosmic gospel, Resurrection Sunday, and him tomb-day Saturday.

It's a New Testament idea we often overlook. Look at, for example, Paul’s big-Jesus paragraph in Colossians 1. Many agree this is the most Christ-exalting paragraph in the entire Bible. Yet notice what Paul puts in the emphatic center of it all in verse 18:

"[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Colossians 1:15-20)

Verses 15-17 exalt Christ as the Creator and Sustainer of everything. (Yes, we get that.) Verses 19-20 exalt Christ as the one who is fully God and who accomplished redemption on the cross. (Yes, we get that.) But what’s in the middle? “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” And here’s the point we often don’t think about as much: Christ is Creator, Christ is Redeemer, but that’s not all. Christ is also the one who, after he died, then rose as the beginning of this new, reconciled creation.

It has begun. We’re now in the last days of this old creation (Acts 2:17). The new creation is here in Christ and it's coming soon to the earth. As theologians like to say, it is "here and not yet." The church is those who are part of it of the new creation, but not fully in it yet.

All this was forecasted, foretasted, and seen in Jesus’s risen flesh and bones that Sunday. Here was a man who had died and came back to life. But he’s only the firstborn. He’s the first to do this—but there’s more to come. We his people one day too will fully experience this new creation. And the entire universe will join in, too (Romans 8:22-23).

What About Saturday?

As a review: Good Friday was the day Jesus paid the sins of his people so that they could be in the new creation forever. Resurrection Sunday was the day when he, the beginning, begun and foreshadowed this new creation restoration—a restoration that will be for his people and the entire universe.

So what about Saturday?

We often overlook Saturday, but Saturday is an important day in the Bible. It’s the day God rested from creating this entire universe (Genesis 2:1-2). It was the day the Israelites were to remember God's work of creation and observe as their Sabbath (which was such a significant command it was one of their Ten Commandments). In brief, Saturday the Sabbath was the day of rest, it was a day to remember God and his work, and it was the end of the week. It was the final day of this (old) creation.

Now consider Jesus in the tomb on Saturday. What just happened on Friday? Jesus paid for sins so that his people and the universe could experience a new creation. And what happens on Sunday? This new creation begins in him—the firstborn, a foretaste, a foreshadow.

So what’s Saturday? It’s the day after the work of redemption is done. It's last day of the old creation (the last day of the "week"). And it's the day of rest before the new week begins—the day before the dawning of the new creation.

It was the midnight before the sunrise of a new world. The womb before the birth. The cocoon before the butterfly.

Or we can sum Saturday up with with stunning connections to God's original creation in Genesis:

  • In Genesis 1-2, God’s works were completed on Friday. Saturday the was a day of rest.
  • In the gospel, God’s work of salvation was completed on Friday on the cross (“It is finished”). Saturday was the day of rest. And Sunday begins the new week, the new creation. This has begun in Christ.

The Day Before It All Began

As we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, then, may we not merely celebrate individualistic salvation. This is gloriously true—I believe Christ died and rose for my sins and I now fear no punishment or condemnation forevermore.

But let’s not miss the significance of what that forevermore entails. It’s Christ’s cosmic redemption. He is a cosmic Christ. In the gospel, he reconciles his people and he restores the universe. And this happened on Friday, Sunday, and Saturday.

Friday was the day he did what was needed to be done for this new creation to rise for his people and the universe. Sunday was the day it all began in him as the firstborn. And Saturday was the Sabbath day of rest for this new creation. Saturday in the tomb was the day after God’s work was finished. It was the last day of the "week" of the old order. And, gloriously, it was the day right before this new week, this new creation in Christ—which we taste now but will inhabit soon—began.

___

Article also published on Pastor Ryan's blog www.lookingatchrist.com.

]]>
Relationships: Released and Restored https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/relationships-released-and-restored- https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/relationships-released-and-restored-#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/relationships-released-and-restored-  

"Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (John 19:25-27). "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last"(Luke 23:46).

For many people, family ties are very important. The connection that we have with our parents, our siblings, our children, or other relatives is one we do not want to lose. Even where the whole family isn’t very close, we usually have one or two family members with whom we share a special bond. When a family relationship is broken, we are devastated. If we are able to restore our relationship with a family member, there is a joy and satisfaction that is like no other we have in life.

As Jesus hung on the cross on that first Good Friday, despite all the pain and suffering, He had His family relationships on His mind. In His final statements from the cross, known as the Seven Last Words, Jesus makes two statements that directly address His family connections. In one, He released a relationship He had on earth. In the other, He restores a relationship He had in glory.

1. A relationship released: “Woman, behold, your son. Behold, your mother.”

Jesus had been abandoned by His disciples in the garden and gone through His trial and abuse at the hands of the authorities alone. He bore His cross through the streets of Jerusalem alone, with a stranger enlisted to help Him. Now as He hung on the cross, two of His family members appear at the foot of the cross. One was John, the beloved disciple, who was probably a cousin of Jesus. The other was Mary, His mother.

Over thirty years ago an old man in the Temple, Simeon, had prophesied to Mary that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” This, she thought, was that sword. She had to watch as her son, whom the angels had proclaimed the Savior and Lord, was rejected by the people around the cross, including the religious leaders. She saw Him bleeding, suffering, and dying, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Jesus looked down and saw her there with John. As the eldest son of the family, He was responsible for his mother’s care. While his earthly brothers had cared for her during His ministry, Jesus knew that they did not believe in Him. Mary needed someone to care for her who shared her knowledge and belief in who her miraculous Son was. At the same time, Jesus was about to take on the sin of the world as the perfect sacrifice, God and man, and His earthly relationships were coming to an end.

If Mary thought she was already experiencing that sword through her soul, Jesus’ next words may have been an even deeper wound. While Jesus shows mercy and care for his mother, his words create a separation between them. The term “woman” was not one of disrespect but by using it instead of “mother” Jesus was reminding Mary that she had no more claim on Him. Jesus’ earthly life was about to end, and with it His earthly connections. Losing this bond with her firstborn Son, about whom she had thought and pondered so much, was another thrust of the sword.

Jesus did not leave Mary alone, however. Even from the cross He ensured that she would have the care she needed. John stood there with her, so Jesus entrusted him with the care of Mary. His word created a new relationship. Mary was now to consider John as the son who would care for her, while John took responsibility for Mary as for his own mother. John took Mary to his home, apparently at that moment so that she would not have to witness Jesus’ death. 

Mary’s painful experience serves as an example to us that no relationship, however good and natural it may be, can stand in the way of our relationship with the Lord. Family and friends cannot stop us from following in the footsteps of Jesus. When it is time to make a decision to do and to be what Christ calls us to be, we must be willing to release all earthly connections that would stand in the way of obedience to Him.

Having cared for His earthly mother, Jesus now turned to His heavenly Father.

2. A relationship renewed: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

On the cross Jesus experienced for the first time separation from His Father. We have no way of understanding or explaining how this could be; all we know is that Scripture tells us that it happened. In His anguished cry of “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Jesus expresses the horror of a broken relationship with God. In that moment Jesus suffered for us the infinite gap between God and sin, so that He could take the wrath of the Father and the judgment for sin on our behalf. The only thing that could separate Jesus from His Father was sin; He had no sin, so it was ours that turned the Father away from His Son.

That relationship may have been broken for a moment, but it would not remain so for long. The work of redemption finished, Jesus utters His final word from the cross. In that word, He indicates that His relationship with His Father is intact and strong. Jesus trusts that God the Father will receive Him and accept His sacrifice for sin. He does not simply drift off to death, but consciously places Himself in the hands of His Father to end His life. This is a confidence born of a full and complete knowledge and trust in the Father with whom He had been connected from all eternity.

In His experience of separation and restoration, Jesus fulfilled the judgment of God on sin. We who deserve eternal, infinite separation from God are able to have our sin forgiven and be reconciled to God through the work of Jesus. His own restoration to the Father after taking on our sin gives us hope that we too can be restored despite our sin. Watching Jesus on the cross reminds us of the terrible price that must be paid for sin and of the amazing grace of God in sending His Son to take His wrath in our place. Through faith in Jesus our relationship to God is restored to what He created it to be. 

While our earthly relationships are important, our heavenly relationship with God is far more significant. Our sin and rebellion breaks that relationship, and only through the work of Jesus are we able to be brought back into the family of God. No other relationship we have can take the place of being a child of the almighty God. On the cross, Jesus showed us the way to God. Let us take the steps necessary to come to the Father through faith in the Son and to build that connection on into eternity.

]]>
 

"Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (John 19:25-27). "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last"(Luke 23:46).

For many people, family ties are very important. The connection that we have with our parents, our siblings, our children, or other relatives is one we do not want to lose. Even where the whole family isn’t very close, we usually have one or two family members with whom we share a special bond. When a family relationship is broken, we are devastated. If we are able to restore our relationship with a family member, there is a joy and satisfaction that is like no other we have in life.

As Jesus hung on the cross on that first Good Friday, despite all the pain and suffering, He had His family relationships on His mind. In His final statements from the cross, known as the Seven Last Words, Jesus makes two statements that directly address His family connections. In one, He released a relationship He had on earth. In the other, He restores a relationship He had in glory.

1. A relationship released: “Woman, behold, your son. Behold, your mother.”

Jesus had been abandoned by His disciples in the garden and gone through His trial and abuse at the hands of the authorities alone. He bore His cross through the streets of Jerusalem alone, with a stranger enlisted to help Him. Now as He hung on the cross, two of His family members appear at the foot of the cross. One was John, the beloved disciple, who was probably a cousin of Jesus. The other was Mary, His mother.

Over thirty years ago an old man in the Temple, Simeon, had prophesied to Mary that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” This, she thought, was that sword. She had to watch as her son, whom the angels had proclaimed the Savior and Lord, was rejected by the people around the cross, including the religious leaders. She saw Him bleeding, suffering, and dying, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Jesus looked down and saw her there with John. As the eldest son of the family, He was responsible for his mother’s care. While his earthly brothers had cared for her during His ministry, Jesus knew that they did not believe in Him. Mary needed someone to care for her who shared her knowledge and belief in who her miraculous Son was. At the same time, Jesus was about to take on the sin of the world as the perfect sacrifice, God and man, and His earthly relationships were coming to an end.

If Mary thought she was already experiencing that sword through her soul, Jesus’ next words may have been an even deeper wound. While Jesus shows mercy and care for his mother, his words create a separation between them. The term “woman” was not one of disrespect but by using it instead of “mother” Jesus was reminding Mary that she had no more claim on Him. Jesus’ earthly life was about to end, and with it His earthly connections. Losing this bond with her firstborn Son, about whom she had thought and pondered so much, was another thrust of the sword.

Jesus did not leave Mary alone, however. Even from the cross He ensured that she would have the care she needed. John stood there with her, so Jesus entrusted him with the care of Mary. His word created a new relationship. Mary was now to consider John as the son who would care for her, while John took responsibility for Mary as for his own mother. John took Mary to his home, apparently at that moment so that she would not have to witness Jesus’ death. 

Mary’s painful experience serves as an example to us that no relationship, however good and natural it may be, can stand in the way of our relationship with the Lord. Family and friends cannot stop us from following in the footsteps of Jesus. When it is time to make a decision to do and to be what Christ calls us to be, we must be willing to release all earthly connections that would stand in the way of obedience to Him.

Having cared for His earthly mother, Jesus now turned to His heavenly Father.

2. A relationship renewed: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

On the cross Jesus experienced for the first time separation from His Father. We have no way of understanding or explaining how this could be; all we know is that Scripture tells us that it happened. In His anguished cry of “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Jesus expresses the horror of a broken relationship with God. In that moment Jesus suffered for us the infinite gap between God and sin, so that He could take the wrath of the Father and the judgment for sin on our behalf. The only thing that could separate Jesus from His Father was sin; He had no sin, so it was ours that turned the Father away from His Son.

That relationship may have been broken for a moment, but it would not remain so for long. The work of redemption finished, Jesus utters His final word from the cross. In that word, He indicates that His relationship with His Father is intact and strong. Jesus trusts that God the Father will receive Him and accept His sacrifice for sin. He does not simply drift off to death, but consciously places Himself in the hands of His Father to end His life. This is a confidence born of a full and complete knowledge and trust in the Father with whom He had been connected from all eternity.

In His experience of separation and restoration, Jesus fulfilled the judgment of God on sin. We who deserve eternal, infinite separation from God are able to have our sin forgiven and be reconciled to God through the work of Jesus. His own restoration to the Father after taking on our sin gives us hope that we too can be restored despite our sin. Watching Jesus on the cross reminds us of the terrible price that must be paid for sin and of the amazing grace of God in sending His Son to take His wrath in our place. Through faith in Jesus our relationship to God is restored to what He created it to be. 

While our earthly relationships are important, our heavenly relationship with God is far more significant. Our sin and rebellion breaks that relationship, and only through the work of Jesus are we able to be brought back into the family of God. No other relationship we have can take the place of being a child of the almighty God. On the cross, Jesus showed us the way to God. Let us take the steps necessary to come to the Father through faith in the Son and to build that connection on into eternity.

]]>
“I Thirst” & “It is Finished”: Hope for Satisfaction and Rest https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-i-thirst-----it-is-finished--hope-for-satisfaction-and-rest https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-i-thirst-----it-is-finished--hope-for-satisfaction-and-rest#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2020 10:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-i-thirst-----it-is-finished--hope-for-satisfaction-and-rest  

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

These verses contain two of Jesus’s last seven sayings as He hung on the cross. They are the shortest of the sayings, consisting of only five words combined (and only two words total in the original Greek). But do not mistake the brevity of these sayings with having a shallow meaning. Rather these two words from Christ have profound meaning and implications.

What does Jesus mean when He says, “I thirst” and “It is finished”? For each saying we can see both a surface-level, physical meaning as well as a deeper, spiritual sense. 

“I Thirst”

When Jesus says, “I thirst” (John 19:28), there is no doubt that He is utterly parched from the events that transpired against Him. He has been beaten and flogged. A crown of thorns was pressed into His head. He was forced to carry His cross on His flayed, exposed back. And then nails where driven through His hands and feet. Jesus then hung there on the cross for six hours (Mark 15:25, 33), experiencing loss of blood, severe exhaustion, and excruciating pain. In the midst of the torture, Jesus was desperately thirsty. Jesus’s cry for a drink was not calm and composed, but a cry of agony. His physical thirst was indicative of the physical torment that He was experiencing.

But it was also a fulfilment of prophecy. Though the particular text Jesus was referring to is not mentioned, it is likely either Psalm 62:21 or Psalm 22:15. In either case, what is clear is Jesus’s unwavering commitment to order His life around the Scriptures, even in the midst of suffering. In His final moments of agony on the cross, Jesus was still faithful to fulfilling the Scriptures. May that be said of us as well in times of suffering and crisis.

Yet there is something deeper and more profound than physical thirst in this cry from Jesus. Jesus was also crying out about His spiritual thirst as He hung on the cross.

The five other instances in which the word “thirst” is used the Gospel of John all refer to spiritual thirst (John 4:13,14,15; 6:35; 7:37). In the first three instances, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well that He can offer her living water (John 4:7-15). If she were to drink of this water, she would “never be thirsty again,” and the living water will become a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Later, after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). And finally, on the last day of the Feast of Booths, Jesus cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). All usages of the word “thirst” in the Gospel of John point to a spiritual thirst, not merely a physical thirst.

What is this spiritual thirst? A longing for God’s presence. A longing for our hearts and souls to be satisfied with God.

Jesus, who from eternity past enjoyed perfect intimacy with the Father, was for the first time ever experiencing the painful absence of the Father’s presence. This is why He cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus’s soul is in agony. His soul is parched.

Jesus experienced physical thirst. Yet His thirst was more profound than just that. He experienced a deep spiritual thirst for God who had separated Himself from Christ as He bore our sins. 

“It is Finished”

After receiving the sour wine, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). This could be understood as merely the pronouncement of the end of His life. He was dying. But we would be remiss to think that this is all that is communicated. Just as with His statement about being thirsty, this last saying of Christ also has a profound spiritual component. 

Jesus’s prayer the night before His crucifixion gives us some insight into what’s really going on when he says, “It is finished.” In His prayer to the Father, Jesus had said, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). The Greek verb translated here as “accomplished” is the same verb used by Jesus when He said, “It is finished.” On the cross, then, Jesus is declaring that the work that His Father gave Him to do is now finished.

The Father’s work for the Son was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God. The Lamb that would be slain so that believers would be safe from the wrath of God at the final judgment (John 1:29; 3:36). Jesus was sent to pay for the sins of others. One sin against an infinite holy God yields a debt of infinite proportion. It is utterly futile to think that we can somehow pay down this debt with good works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-8). We can’t. And because God is a just God, He could not just sweep this debt under the cosmic rug. The debt had to be paid for.

This is why we need Jesus, the God-Man. The only one who is truly God and truly human. The only one who could bear the wrath of God towards sin and thus effectively pay off the debt that we owed. Jesus’s job was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) by putting their sins upon His shoulders and dying in their place.

This act of propitiation—that is, appeasing and satisfying God’s wrath towards sin—is the work that Jesus came to do (Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10). He came to purchase our salvation with His blood. He came to save us from the terrifying storm of God’s final judgment by being crushed by God’s wrath for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4-6). This work he declared “It is finished.”

Satisfaction and Rest

How do we live in light of the reality of these sayings from Christ? Though many applications can be made from these two words, I will briefly mention two.

First, Jesus became thirsty for us so that our spiritual thirst for God may be quenched. We can experience eternal soul satisfaction only because Jesus experienced the agony of separation from the Father—only because he declared “I thirst.” We find our spiritual thirst forever quenched when we drink of the living water that Christ offers.

Second, Jesus finished the work on the cross so that we can find our rest in Him. We trust not in our work, but in Christ’s work. We do not need to work in order to curry God’s favor or pay back our debt. Instead, we trust in Christ alone and the work that He did on the cross to secure our salvation. We believe “It is finished.”

May we each rejoice in the salvation and soul-satisfaction that was purchased with the precious blood of Jesus.

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After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

These verses contain two of Jesus’s last seven sayings as He hung on the cross. They are the shortest of the sayings, consisting of only five words combined (and only two words total in the original Greek). But do not mistake the brevity of these sayings with having a shallow meaning. Rather these two words from Christ have profound meaning and implications.

What does Jesus mean when He says, “I thirst” and “It is finished”? For each saying we can see both a surface-level, physical meaning as well as a deeper, spiritual sense. 

“I Thirst”

When Jesus says, “I thirst” (John 19:28), there is no doubt that He is utterly parched from the events that transpired against Him. He has been beaten and flogged. A crown of thorns was pressed into His head. He was forced to carry His cross on His flayed, exposed back. And then nails where driven through His hands and feet. Jesus then hung there on the cross for six hours (Mark 15:25, 33), experiencing loss of blood, severe exhaustion, and excruciating pain. In the midst of the torture, Jesus was desperately thirsty. Jesus’s cry for a drink was not calm and composed, but a cry of agony. His physical thirst was indicative of the physical torment that He was experiencing.

But it was also a fulfilment of prophecy. Though the particular text Jesus was referring to is not mentioned, it is likely either Psalm 62:21 or Psalm 22:15. In either case, what is clear is Jesus’s unwavering commitment to order His life around the Scriptures, even in the midst of suffering. In His final moments of agony on the cross, Jesus was still faithful to fulfilling the Scriptures. May that be said of us as well in times of suffering and crisis.

Yet there is something deeper and more profound than physical thirst in this cry from Jesus. Jesus was also crying out about His spiritual thirst as He hung on the cross.

The five other instances in which the word “thirst” is used the Gospel of John all refer to spiritual thirst (John 4:13,14,15; 6:35; 7:37). In the first three instances, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well that He can offer her living water (John 4:7-15). If she were to drink of this water, she would “never be thirsty again,” and the living water will become a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Later, after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). And finally, on the last day of the Feast of Booths, Jesus cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). All usages of the word “thirst” in the Gospel of John point to a spiritual thirst, not merely a physical thirst.

What is this spiritual thirst? A longing for God’s presence. A longing for our hearts and souls to be satisfied with God.

Jesus, who from eternity past enjoyed perfect intimacy with the Father, was for the first time ever experiencing the painful absence of the Father’s presence. This is why He cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus’s soul is in agony. His soul is parched.

Jesus experienced physical thirst. Yet His thirst was more profound than just that. He experienced a deep spiritual thirst for God who had separated Himself from Christ as He bore our sins. 

“It is Finished”

After receiving the sour wine, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). This could be understood as merely the pronouncement of the end of His life. He was dying. But we would be remiss to think that this is all that is communicated. Just as with His statement about being thirsty, this last saying of Christ also has a profound spiritual component. 

Jesus’s prayer the night before His crucifixion gives us some insight into what’s really going on when he says, “It is finished.” In His prayer to the Father, Jesus had said, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). The Greek verb translated here as “accomplished” is the same verb used by Jesus when He said, “It is finished.” On the cross, then, Jesus is declaring that the work that His Father gave Him to do is now finished.

The Father’s work for the Son was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God. The Lamb that would be slain so that believers would be safe from the wrath of God at the final judgment (John 1:29; 3:36). Jesus was sent to pay for the sins of others. One sin against an infinite holy God yields a debt of infinite proportion. It is utterly futile to think that we can somehow pay down this debt with good works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-8). We can’t. And because God is a just God, He could not just sweep this debt under the cosmic rug. The debt had to be paid for.

This is why we need Jesus, the God-Man. The only one who is truly God and truly human. The only one who could bear the wrath of God towards sin and thus effectively pay off the debt that we owed. Jesus’s job was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) by putting their sins upon His shoulders and dying in their place.

This act of propitiation—that is, appeasing and satisfying God’s wrath towards sin—is the work that Jesus came to do (Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10). He came to purchase our salvation with His blood. He came to save us from the terrifying storm of God’s final judgment by being crushed by God’s wrath for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4-6). This work he declared “It is finished.”

Satisfaction and Rest

How do we live in light of the reality of these sayings from Christ? Though many applications can be made from these two words, I will briefly mention two.

First, Jesus became thirsty for us so that our spiritual thirst for God may be quenched. We can experience eternal soul satisfaction only because Jesus experienced the agony of separation from the Father—only because he declared “I thirst.” We find our spiritual thirst forever quenched when we drink of the living water that Christ offers.

Second, Jesus finished the work on the cross so that we can find our rest in Him. We trust not in our work, but in Christ’s work. We do not need to work in order to curry God’s favor or pay back our debt. Instead, we trust in Christ alone and the work that He did on the cross to secure our salvation. We believe “It is finished.”

May we each rejoice in the salvation and soul-satisfaction that was purchased with the precious blood of Jesus.

]]>
“Father, Forgive Them" https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-father-forgive-them-or-they-know-not-what-they-do- https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-father-forgive-them-or-they-know-not-what-they-do-#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.coltsneckchurch.com/pastors-blog/post/-father-forgive-them-or-they-know-not-what-they-do-  

34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" (Luke 23:34-35)

On the cross, suffering for the sins of the others, Jesus never forgot his mission. He came to fulfill the promise that had been given to Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:15), the words that had been given to the prophets, and the hope that had been in the hearts of God’s people. Jesus, speaking to Zacchaeus, spoke clearly about his Father-mandated mission, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). 

Therefore, when we arrive at Luke 23, while we will undoubtedly be overcome with gratitude and love for the Savior, we need not be surprised by his words. Christ was always about the work of his Father (John 8:28-29), and his time on the cross was no different. He was even concerned about those who were killing him. Christ did not forgive in spite of these people, Christ forgave because of them.

Christ gives us much to think about in these two verses:

Forgive people in hopes of repentance.

Peter acknowledges the ignorance of those who crucified Christ, the ignorance of those that Jesus prayed for, in the book of Acts. “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17). While acknowledging their ignorance (which does not absolve them of responsibility), Peter also hopes that their response will be repentance. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). We should pray for and forgive others in the hope that they will know and follow Jesus. The goal of forgiveness is not to make ourselves feel better or to receive glory by showing how good we are, #humblebrag; the goal is to bring glory to God and the Gospel to others.

We don’t have insight into how this prayer impacted others. We may never know to what extent others were impacted, or how many people, because of this one prayer, were given hearts of flesh. James writes, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). Therefore, make no mistake about it, when Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of others, it was full of great power. JC Ryle, noted pastor and author, wrote, 

Perhaps this prayer was the first step toward the penitent thief’s repentance. Perhaps it was one means of affecting the centurion, who declared our Lord ‘a righteous man’ (Luke 23:47), and of moving the hearts of all the other people who witnessed  the crucifixion and who beat their breasts and went away (Luke 23:48). Perhaps the 3,000 converted on the day of Pentecost, some of whom may have been among our Lord’s murderers, owed their conversion to this prayer.

Suffer like Christ suffered.

The people, those for whom Jesus had just prayed, would go on to insult him in the very next verse. Their immediate response was not repentance but a hardening of heart. “And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’” (Luke 23:35). 

Take note of exactly how backwards they had all of this. They cried mockingly that Jesus should save himself to prove he was truly the Christ. Jesus knew that because he was the Christ, he must die. His suffering was for God’s glory and the salvation of those who would believe. In order for Christ to save others, it would be because he did not save himself.

Are we willing to suffer like this? Are we willing to pray for and ask for the forgiveness of others who seek pain and harm against us? 

As a culture the answer to this question is pretty clear. We often elevate those who “punch back,” as if this is some kind of godly trait that we should admire. Indeed, we have become a culture that automatically punches back on social media, hoping for the right words or statement that can shut down a conversation. We sense persecution at the sight of disagreement. Rather than using it for Christ, we strive to attain the glory by showing others how pithy and “wise” we can be; it is a glory that was never meant for us.

I pray that we would not allow the church to follow this cultural pattern. Instead, we must follow the pattern that Christ set for us. We must suffer like Christ suffered. I am not stating that everyone should be tortured or die on a cross; our response to suffering should be like Christ’s. When we are persecuted, either perceived or real, our aim should be for the glory of God and the salvation of others. Wherever we are suffering, let us always look to Christ’s suffering as our pattern.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:21-24)

Forgive like Christ forgives.

This is the most straightforward application of this statement from Christ. In following Christ’s example, we must be willing to forgive others. Even when it is difficult, perhaps especially when it is difficult, we must forgive those who have done wrong to us. Paul expected this from those who followed Christ: 

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Can we honestly say that this passage is descriptive of the way that we live? Are our lives marked by humility and a willingness to bear with one another? Scripture commands that we must forgive as the Lord has forgiven. There is no sin that has been committed against us that is more heinous than our sin against God. Yet, he forgives us. Nehemiah, speaking of God’s people, writes this about our gracious God, 

17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. (Nehemiah 9:17)

How sweet it would be if that world looked at the Church and described her this way. Let us “abound in steadfast love” towards those who do not deserve it. Let us “not forsake them” though they sin against us. Let us be “ready to forgive” no matter the wrong. Let us look to Christ and follow his example, his good, perfect, and lovely example, so that all we do may glorify the God who forgave us.

]]>
 

34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" (Luke 23:34-35)

On the cross, suffering for the sins of the others, Jesus never forgot his mission. He came to fulfill the promise that had been given to Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:15), the words that had been given to the prophets, and the hope that had been in the hearts of God’s people. Jesus, speaking to Zacchaeus, spoke clearly about his Father-mandated mission, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). 

Therefore, when we arrive at Luke 23, while we will undoubtedly be overcome with gratitude and love for the Savior, we need not be surprised by his words. Christ was always about the work of his Father (John 8:28-29), and his time on the cross was no different. He was even concerned about those who were killing him. Christ did not forgive in spite of these people, Christ forgave because of them.

Christ gives us much to think about in these two verses:

Forgive people in hopes of repentance.

Peter acknowledges the ignorance of those who crucified Christ, the ignorance of those that Jesus prayed for, in the book of Acts. “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17). While acknowledging their ignorance (which does not absolve them of responsibility), Peter also hopes that their response will be repentance. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). We should pray for and forgive others in the hope that they will know and follow Jesus. The goal of forgiveness is not to make ourselves feel better or to receive glory by showing how good we are, #humblebrag; the goal is to bring glory to God and the Gospel to others.

We don’t have insight into how this prayer impacted others. We may never know to what extent others were impacted, or how many people, because of this one prayer, were given hearts of flesh. James writes, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). Therefore, make no mistake about it, when Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of others, it was full of great power. JC Ryle, noted pastor and author, wrote, 

Perhaps this prayer was the first step toward the penitent thief’s repentance. Perhaps it was one means of affecting the centurion, who declared our Lord ‘a righteous man’ (Luke 23:47), and of moving the hearts of all the other people who witnessed  the crucifixion and who beat their breasts and went away (Luke 23:48). Perhaps the 3,000 converted on the day of Pentecost, some of whom may have been among our Lord’s murderers, owed their conversion to this prayer.

Suffer like Christ suffered.

The people, those for whom Jesus had just prayed, would go on to insult him in the very next verse. Their immediate response was not repentance but a hardening of heart. “And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’” (Luke 23:35). 

Take note of exactly how backwards they had all of this. They cried mockingly that Jesus should save himself to prove he was truly the Christ. Jesus knew that because he was the Christ, he must die. His suffering was for God’s glory and the salvation of those who would believe. In order for Christ to save others, it would be because he did not save himself.

Are we willing to suffer like this? Are we willing to pray for and ask for the forgiveness of others who seek pain and harm against us? 

As a culture the answer to this question is pretty clear. We often elevate those who “punch back,” as if this is some kind of godly trait that we should admire. Indeed, we have become a culture that automatically punches back on social media, hoping for the right words or statement that can shut down a conversation. We sense persecution at the sight of disagreement. Rather than using it for Christ, we strive to attain the glory by showing others how pithy and “wise” we can be; it is a glory that was never meant for us.

I pray that we would not allow the church to follow this cultural pattern. Instead, we must follow the pattern that Christ set for us. We must suffer like Christ suffered. I am not stating that everyone should be tortured or die on a cross; our response to suffering should be like Christ’s. When we are persecuted, either perceived or real, our aim should be for the glory of God and the salvation of others. Wherever we are suffering, let us always look to Christ’s suffering as our pattern.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:21-24)

Forgive like Christ forgives.

This is the most straightforward application of this statement from Christ. In following Christ’s example, we must be willing to forgive others. Even when it is difficult, perhaps especially when it is difficult, we must forgive those who have done wrong to us. Paul expected this from those who followed Christ: 

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Can we honestly say that this passage is descriptive of the way that we live? Are our lives marked by humility and a willingness to bear with one another? Scripture commands that we must forgive as the Lord has forgiven. There is no sin that has been committed against us that is more heinous than our sin against God. Yet, he forgives us. Nehemiah, speaking of God’s people, writes this about our gracious God, 

17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. (Nehemiah 9:17)

How sweet it would be if that world looked at the Church and described her this way. Let us “abound in steadfast love” towards those who do not deserve it. Let us “not forsake them” though they sin against us. Let us be “ready to forgive” no matter the wrong. Let us look to Christ and follow his example, his good, perfect, and lovely example, so that all we do may glorify the God who forgave us.

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