January 31st in the Year of Our Lord 2021

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” (Romans 10:1)

To whom it may concern,

I have heard someone say, “Go to hell!” Or, “I wish they would just go to hell!” I may have said one of these myself, though I do not recall at the moment, but the Lord knows all things. These are not statements of love, but of hatred for another person. It is against the Law of Christ that anyone would desire hell for another person.

The apostle Paul was under persecution from the Jews, yet his heart’s desire, and his prayer to God for them was for their salvation. Jesus said, “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)

I confess that I am angry that my children have chosen to go their own way. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) I know that there is no universal salvation. God is saving people from every tribe, from every tongue, from every nation and from every people on the earth; however, there is no salvation apart from repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, he is Lord of heaven and earth and sea, all that is in them.

Why do some people have children who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, but my children are wayward? I have been asking this question of God and to myself a great deal lately. I do not find fault with God, for there is no injustice with God, is there? (Romans 9:14) God shows mercy to whom he will show mercy, and God shows compassion to whom he will have compassion. (Exodus 33:19)

During one of my post last week I asked, “What must I do for my children to be saved?” The answer for the individual who asks, “What must I do to be saved? The answer is to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the answer for those whom we desire to be saved is not so simple. The apostle Paul wrote that it depends on God who has mercy. (Romans 9:16) Therefore, I shall never cease praying for God’s mercy for my children, as long as I draw the breath of air.

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 30th in the year of Our Lord 2021

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mt. 10:37)

To whom it may concern,

The above text, which was part of my reading this morning, has come apparent in our lives. We are facing a real decision between following all that the word commands and having a relationship with our daughter. 

I had contracted covid-19, sars, a few days before Christmas. I awoke at 5:00am on Christmas morning alone. My wife and I were isolated away from family and friends because of my illness; she was sleeping in another bed. Darlene and I have been married for 30 1/2 years and have always slept in the same bed but because of my illness she was sleeping in another room. 

On Christmas morning I awoke at 5:00am to two messages on my phone: One a message from the clinic confirming that I had covid-19, sars. The other a text message from our daughter, our daughter is 27 years old. I expected Merry Christmas but what I got has changed our lives. The message was a picture of my daughter and another girl that we have never meet embraced. There was an engagement ring on my daughters finger. I replied, “What is this picture about, can you explain.”

I knew that it would be sometime before I got a response because she is a late riser; however, I did not know that she would ignore all of my request for an answer until the evening of December 27th. I had not told Darlene about the picture as I wanted to save her from the worry that I was going through, at least until I received an answer from our daughter. On the evening of December 27th a message from our daughter came to both of us:

So I’m assuming you guys are wondering what the picture dad was sent was about. The picture was sent on accident. I have something to tell you guys and I have been avoiding saying it because I’m scared to change our relationships. I am gay. I have been in a relationship with Kaylee for awhile now and Christmas Eve she proposed to me and I said yes. I am very happy where I am in life and I hope you can accept that. I have always been this way and nothing you can say or do can make me change who I am. I’ve been through a lot to be happy with myself. God loves me the way that I am. And if you think differently I honestly hope you can keep it to yourself because no matter what you say and do will make me think differently. It will only hurt me if you say differently. I don’t expect you to change your beliefs but I do hope you can still love and support me as your daughter. I’m very happy now and I hope you can accept my happiness. I don’t expect you to come to my wedding or something even though I would love if you did. I hope you can still support me as your daughter. I love you both and I hope this doesn’t change anything between us or how you view me.

Unless she repents, this has and will change our relationship going forward. The apostle Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” As I write, our daughter is choosing an unrighteous relationship with this girl rather than a relationship with us. Our daughter is welcome in our home and we desire a relationship with her. She knows the truth but is unwilling to listen to reason. I have told her that she is welcome in our home but her unrighteous relationship with this girl is not welcome. 

I do not know what the Lord has in store for the days ahead but I am trusting in the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am trusting as Paul wrote to the Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We covet your prayers!

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 29th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

This morning I read Isaiah 18-22. This year I have decided to read a different genre everyday of the week. On Friday I am reading from the prophets; therefore, the reading on Friday is the longest of the week. When I was working on my masters degree, I took a class called, “Evangelism and Discipleship.” In one assignment, we were to read an assortment of gospel tracts from varying ministries and evaluate them. The best tract by far came from the Billy Graham school of missions, evangelism and ministry, at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

This tract used the word GRACE as an acronym:

• G stands for God
• R stands for rebellion
• A stands for atonement
• C stands for conversion
• E stands for eternal life

It is a really thorough tract covering the entire biblical text. However, they are a little expensive to give away. They can be obtained through the SBTS book store. I have some of these tracts, but I would only give one to someone whom I have had a discussion thorough discussion.

Reading Isaiah reminds me of this tract because Isaiah follows a cyclic pattern of creation, fall, judgment, redemption and restoration. What I find interesting in Isaiah, is not that God redeems and restores Israel, but that in the restoration, Israel’s enemies are included with the people of God. 

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 28th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

Lately, I feel like Job and wonder what I am hear for. Our children have departed from us and they are not following the Lord Jesus Christ. I work, I come whom, I rest and I do it all over again. My life is like the rising and the setting of the sun, but this will not go on forever. Someday, I will not rise and go to work. Someday, God will judge the world in righteousness through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Regarding my children, I have no comfort, and like job’s friends, our friends are of little comfort. I think that people mean well by what they say, but their words cause pain. I trust in the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ and that scares me. Why does the goodness of God scare me? The goodness of God scares me because he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Like the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; (Ex 34:6-7) “He (The Lord Jesus Christ) is the radiance of His (The Father’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, but for the unrepentant there is a fearful expectation of judgment. I am worried for my children and I do not know what to do or say to them.

The apostle paul, quoting the apostle Joel 2:32, wrote in Romans 10:13, “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’” Then he begins to ask a series of rhetorical questions, (Romans 10:14-15) How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will the preach unless they are sent?

Our children were raised in the church, not their whole lives; our daughter was nine and our son thirteen when we became members of the church. They both made professions of faith and were baptized before the congregation. My wife and I became workers with the youth of the church and taught the ninth graders in Sunday school. Our son (31) now outright rejects the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Daughter (27) now claims to believe in Jesus, but a different Jesus than revealed in the text of Scripture.

The Phillipian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” They answered him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31) I do believe but my whole household was not saved; therefore, I have a different question than that of the Phillipian jailer. What must I do for my children to be saved? I believe that I am saved from the wrath of God for my sin, through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith. What must I do for my children to be saved?

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 27th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

The Lord God has changed my heart, my mind and my will. In times past my will was to please myself, but now I will to live a life pleasing to the Lord our God, creator of heaven and earth. He took out my heart of stone and put into me a heart of flesh. He put his Spirit in me and he has written his law upon my heart. My desires have changed from serving myself to serving the Lord. 

Three days a week I work in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care seeing to the needs of others and I spend the other three days a week reading. I love the word of God and I love the church; therefore, I study the word of God and church history. Prior to going to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I loved the scriptures and desired to take courses for that reason. However, I really enjoyed studying church history. All of the history if the world relates in some way to church history. I enjoy history because it is the record of the Spirits work in the world. 

We cannot go back to what was, ours is what lies ahead, but it comforts me to see how God worked in the lives of others. When I see the bad things going on in the world today, it comforts me to know that bad things happened in the past, yet the Lord did not forget his people. So, if you are feeling discouraged or lonely, read the word of God, but do not stop there; read history because in reading history you can be comforted that God is as much at work for the past two-thousand years as he was during biblical times.

In Christ alone,

Mike Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 26th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

Yesterday, I spent the day caring for two persons, both of whom were recovering from a surgical intervention: a man who had undergone coronary bypass surgery and a woman whom a recovered from a video assisted thoracotomy. I do not love what sin has done to the images of God but I love caring for my neighbor. The profession of nursing is difficult. The things that we see and the things that we do in caring for others is difficult. Nursing is ministry despite anything else mankind has decided it to be. Nurses are as much ministers as the pastor who preaches on Sunday morning.

I have decided to bring back a gospel tract that I wrote eight years ago. I have written a few tracts since but I have never improved upon that original tract; therefore, I decided to bring it back. 

 

This morning I read Joshua 16-20. I had never thought about it before but realized while reading the text, the land of Canaan was essentially divided between the sons of Joseph to the north and the sons of Judah to the south; Benjamin was placed between these two tribes. What I find interesting is that Judah was Leah’s son and Joseph was Rachel’s. So, all the way back to Genesis we have the beginnings of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. It would be the tribe of Judah whom the Lord would choose to bring forth his Son. “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.” (Rom 9:13) I do not know why God chooses persons and not others but he does what he wants to do, however he wants to do it. The Lord God told Moses, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” (Ex 33:19) I do not know why God is gracious and shows compassion to anyone at all given our sinning against him. Should we, therefore, find fault with God who chooses to whom he will be gracious and to whom he will show compassion?

January 25th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may, concern,

Jesus said to his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) This is the last recorded words of Jesus, in the gospel of John, before he was arrested. Between his teaching the disciples and his arrest is the high priestly prayer. 

This morning, I recited John 16 and read Genesis 12-15. It always amazes me how these things come together. In Genesis 12-15, God promises Abram and in John 16 the Lord Jesus promises the disciples. “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Gn 15:6) Both Paul (Rom 4:3, 20-22; Gal 3:6) and James (James 2:23) quote this passage when talking about salvific faith in the Lord.

We must trust the Lord while living in a world in which there is much trouble. We cannot see the promise of the Lord but must trust his word. We must trust that the Lord has defeated all of our enemies: Satan, the world, sin and death. We must trust that no matter how bad things might become in this present world, that ours is the kingdom of God. This is not our home, we are pilgrims on a journey to the celestial city. 

Yesterday, on the Lord’s day, our pastor Phillip, preached on Psalm 1 and what a wonderful message it was. I needed to hear that message for my own sake but it also makes me worried for my children because I can see in it the wrong way that they are going. They have listened to the counsel of the wicked, they are standing in the way of sinners and I am afraid that they have crossed over to sitting in the seat scoffers. (Psalm 1:1) 

Yes, I believe that my children are on the way that leads to destruction. Our daughter is 27 and our son is 31; neither of whom will listen to the counsel of their parents. I know that God causes all things to work together for good. (Rom 8:28) Therefore, I am trusting in the word of the Lord despite the tribulations in this world. 

In Christ alone,

Michael Peel

The Nurse Theologian

January 24th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

I have been thinking about our salvation. There are essentially two salvations: a spiritual salvation and a physical salvation. God is Spirit but we are physical beings. We have been spiritually redeemed, we have a relationship with God by which we call him Abba! Father! But we are waiting for our physical redemption, the redemption of our bodies, the resurrection from the dead on the last day of this present world. The already aspect of spiritual redemption and the not yet aspect of physical redemption is present in both Scripture and in the world. There are people who are not walking according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, yet the redeemed and the unredeemed alike physically die.

One aspect of my profession that I do not like, in fact I hate it; that is keeping a body alive beyond the bodies ability to live. However, most aspects of critical care nursing is good. Take for instance one of the patients that I cared for yesterday. This man developed pneumonia from covid-19. He spent many weeks on the ventilator because his dependency on a ventilator became lengthy; he received a tracheotomy, a tracheotomy is a hole placed in the neck by which a person might be ventilated and breath rather than having a tube in the mouth. He also received a tube through the wall of his abdomen into his stomach, by which he might be feed. His lungs remain damaged. He has a hole in one of his lungs; therefore, he has a tube in his chest to allow the air to escape, otherwise the lung cannot function. In the past, this man would have died but now he is alive and talking because of these medical interventions and the nursing care that he received for the past two months. Then there are others who are in multi-organ failure and their tissue is rotting but the interventions are giving an appearance of life when there really is not. The person is essentially dead except that we are able to keep the heart beating by extreme measures and the family hangs on hoping that they get better.

This is not the hope that Paul spoke of in his letter to the Romans or in any of his letters. Our hope is not in this world but in the world that is to come. The resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Our hope is a new body, as spiritual body, a body that is not subject to disease and death. There is a spiritual redemption now but we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies.

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 23rd in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

This morning I read the great sermon, “The Sermon on the Mount.” (Matthew 5-7) I have thought about it for a long time, and I have determined this year to write down every commandment given by Jesus in the gospels. I am reading a section from the gospels every Saturday morning. The sermon on the mount is full of the commandments of Jesus. In fact, this morning, I wrote down nineteen commandments given by Jesus from the sermon on the mount. There are many sub-principles in the teaching of these commandments. Several of these commandments covered several verses; therefore, I summarized them into a single sentence. I shall not go through these commandments this morning, for I do not have the time to do so, but I plan to write about all that Jesus commanded when I have completed this project.

It came to mind to do this while reciting the gospel of John. It Just so happens that the passage that I speak of came from my recitation of John this morning. (John 14:15) “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Given that the Lord said that, is it not important that we know what he commanded? The great commission includes both evangelism and discipleship. Discipleship is teaching the disciples made through evangelism all that Jesus commanded the first disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20) 

Yesterday I had the day off from work; therefore, I spent the day reading on a subject that has greatly effected our household. Then in the evening, Darlene and went to the home of our brothers and sisters in Christ; there we fellowship with two other couples in the Lord. We have not done this in many months because of covid-19. What a wonderful time it was. Today I am scheduled to work in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. I do not know whom I will be caring for but I do know that they are of great value because they were created in the image of God.

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian 

January 22nd in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

The text that I read this morning was Isaiah 12-17. The apostle Paul said, when he preached on Mars hill: (Acts 17:30-31) “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Isaiah 12 begins with thanksgiving for the salvation of the Lord, then chapters 13-17 speak about the coming day of the Lord. in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed. (Isaiah 16:5)

“A throne will even be established in lovingkindness,

And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David;

Moreover, he will seek justice

And be prompt in righteousness.”

Mankind does not like to hear of the judgment of God. Modern man has painted God is a grandfather who laughs at sin, pats on the head and gives out candy. However, the God of the Bible is abounding in grace but he is angry about unrepentant sin. There is forgiveness of sins but you must repent (turn from sin) and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I do not understand the indignation of man who refuses to listen to the word of the Lord or change the word of the Lord to mean what they want it to say or mean what they do not want it to say. You cannot read the word of God and ask of the word; “What is this saying?” Without reading grace for the repentant and wrath for the indignant. The Lord God forgives sin but he will not leave the guilty unpunished. (Ex 34:6-7) Jesus said, (Luke 13:3) “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian 

January 21st in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

Job was a man given a great deal by the Lord. He had a wife from whom came severn sons and daughters. He had many positions and he was healthy. However, the Lord God allowed Satan to take away all that Job had. Job did not know the reason for his calamity. His friends made the assumption that Job did something wrong. They told him to confess and forsake his sin. However, Job knew that he had done nothing wrong, yet this calamity came upon him. He had not sinned in the way that his friends assumed. Job wanted ask God what have I done to deserve this calamity?

I have seen a great deal of human suffering during my years as a Critical Care Registered Nurse. Early in my career, I made the assumption, like Job’s friends did, that the individual had done something to bring this calamity upon themselves. However, this just does not fit with reality. All die but some people suffer a great deal more than others and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for it. 

The son of God, Jesus the Christ came from God, he suffered, he died for our sins, he was buried and he rose again the third day. Repentance for forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed in his name to all the nations. All authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth; so why is there suffering now? Why is it that evil persist on the earth? Throughout the history of mankind, men have suffered and all have died. Nothing changed after the resurrection and ascension of Christ to the righthand of the Father; men have continued to suffer and all still die. It makes one ask, what is God waiting for? If Jesus is on the throne, why has evil continued to reign on the earth? Sin, suffering and death have not been done away.

It is not for us to understand why but to trust in the goodness of God. He has promised in his word, a resurrection of the body and life everlasting in a new heaven and new earth, for all who have repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This has been understood throughout church history as an already not yet reality. So, hold on, continue to trust in the word of God, even when suffering and your love ones die.

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 20th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

To whom it may concern,

Psalms 6:1

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your wrath.

These are the words of David, as he prayed to the Lord for mercy during time of trouble. 

It seems that this past year has been nothing but trouble. The life that I was living became disrupted in March of last year and it has never returned to the same. I spend all of my time at work or in my home. I have not eaten out with my wife or spent time in fellowship with my friends since. Others do not understand this because they do not see the things that I have seen, people suffering on a ventilator and much death. Our church, for a time, did not hold corporate worship but that returned in the fall of last year; you cannot really fellowship with others in a worship service, as all eyes are forward and we are separated to every other pew.

During the last week of the year, I was infected with Covid-19 Sars, contracted from a patient. I was fairly ill but not like many other people; I still to this day, one month after contracting the virus, do not have any since of smell. During Christmas, my wife and I were at home alone, without family or friends, isolated because of the virus. On Christmas morning, I received a picture of one of my children that has broken us. I am not going to tell you what it is about but it has caused us a great deal of pain and has devastated our hearts. This morning, I learned that a ministry partner is sick, possibly covid, he is in a country where he may not get the care that he needs and I have trouble seeing how that ministry could possibly continue without him. The presidential inauguration, for the office of the president of the United States of America is today. Earlier this month, there was rioting at the capital regarding this transition of power. Transition of power in the U.S.A had historically been peaceful.

I do not know what the Lord is doing, or not doing for that matter. However, I know that the Lord is aware of these things because he is all knowing. I know that the Lord is all mighty; he can do whatever he wants, however, he wants to do it. And I know that the Lord is righteous, all things are working together for good. I have trouble seeing good in these things but I must trust the Lord and pray for the Lord’s will to be done.

In Christ alone,

Michael Peek

The Nurse Theologian

January 19th in the Year of Our Lord 2021

Today I read a lengthy portion of Scripture, Joshua 11-15; the defeat of the kings of the land of Canaan and the apportioning of the land among the tribes of Israel, except the tribe is Levi. Joshua 13:33, “But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them.”

This blog is my journal. I do not know who if anyone reads the things that I write in it. I use to have a Facebook account and would post on that account the articles that I wrote in this blog. Even though I tried, I really could not get anyone to follow my blog. Over a year ago, I deleted my Facebook account but I have continued to write in this blog, not knowing if anyone reads it and I doubt if anyone that knows me reads it; therefore, I thought this morning, why not truly write as a daily journal.

My life is not what it ought to be. In fact I have been struggling a great deal for the past year. Being that I am a Critical Care Registered Nurse, working in that field has become more and more difficult and I have felt more and more isolated and life in general has become more difficult. Therefore, I need to express myself and write the things that are on my heart and mind to someone, even if I do not know who might read it. 

I feel as though I have no inheritance in this world; the Son of God is my inheritance as he promised his disciples. I have never seen God but I can see the magnificence of his creation. I have never seen the Son of God, Jesus the Christ but I believe in him through the testimony of the Spirit and the apostles. I have never seen the Spirit but I can see his work when I read history, for this reason I enjoy reading history.

I do not know what I will write in this blog going forward but I can tell you that I have love for the God of Scripture, his Christ and the church in his name. I am a man who feels like he has lost everything in this life that was precious to him. My portion is in Jesus the Christ the Son of God.

Historical Record

What shall I write today? What do I have in my heart and on my mind to say?

I just read Genesis 8-11, which gives us the historical record from Noah to Abram and Lot the son of Abram’s brother Haran. They moved with their father Terah to a city, Haran, near to the land of Canaan. Canaan was the son of Ham whom Noah cursed because Ham saw his father’s nakedness and did not cover him up.

Do you believe that Genesis is history and if not history what? The book of Genesis must be taken as history because it is a historical record but should be read understanding its purpose. The purpose of this historical record is to point to God as the author of life and to trace the historical record of a people Israel. However, the historical record will not end with the people Israel. The record will continue to the birth of the Son of God and the birth of the church of Jesus Christ. We are now living in the historical record between the inauguration of Christ as Lord and his returning to sit down on his glorious throne to judge the earth. I love history because the finger of God is all over it. You can see God in history and see where he is guiding mankind when you read history. 

God commanded Noah and his sons and his daughter’s in-law to be fruit and multiply and fill the earth. However, they congregated in one place, in the area that is the country Iraq today. They were not spreading out on the earth as the Lord had commanded. They built a tower to heaven to show how great a people they were; therefore, God confused their language, so that they could not communicate and work together, causing man to spread out over the face of the earth. After this, the historical record traces Noah’s son Shem’s family line to Abram the son of Terah.

My family line came from one of the sons of Noah, probably Japheth given what the historical record indicates. Of Japheth’s descendants, Genesis 10:5, “From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.”

I am not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob but Jesus came to redeem a people for himself; people from every tribe, tongue and nation on the earth. We are the people of God in Jesus Christ.

May it Never Be!

Text: Romans 5-6

I am awed by every word in this letter to the church in Rome. The theology that Paul is expressing in this letter turns all other theology preached by men on its head. Picture men standing on their heads and this is the theology of the world’s religion. That form of religion died when man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The form of religion that I am speaking of is earning your way to heaven through righteous deeds and law keeping.

We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We were all hopeless, only facing eternal separation from the Father in death. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 

In Christianity everything is reversed. We begin unrighteous and are declared righteous when we repent and believe in Jesus. However, it does not stop there. We are actually becoming righteous through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is how to tell if we have truly been set free from slavery to sin. Are you being sanctified? Are you a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness? I am not saying do you or have you sinned, but to whom are you a slave?

 

If you have repented and believed in Jesus Christ, you have been saved from the penalty of sin, you are being saved from the power of sin and will be saved from the presence of sin. As long as we are living in the presence of sin, the Christian will be tempted and may fall into sin. The difference between the believer and the unbeliever is this; do you sin successfully? What do I mean by successfully?

There is a movement in our society today: “Gay Pride!” The sin of homosexuality is spoken against throughout the word of God. In the Old Testament law, it is called, “an abomination.” (Lv 20:13) In the New Testament, it is called, “degrading passions and unnatural.” (Rom 1:26) There are people who take pride in this unrighteous act, yet the apostle paul wrote that no homosexual will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6:9) Does that mean that someone who is tempted by homosexual sin is excluded from the kingdom of God? Does it mean that someone who commits the act of homosexuality is excluded from the kingdom of God? I used homosexuality as an example because it is prevalent in our society today and being promoted as good. There are many other sins like it. The apostle Paul gives a list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. 

The difference between the believer and the unbeliever who is tempted by homosexuality and all immorality: Do you confess it to be sin or are you pursuing it? The question that the follower of Jesus Christ should be asking: Am I to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (Rom 6:1) The answer that Paul gives in his letter to the Roman church, “May it never be!” (Rom 6:2)

Emulate and Observe Christ

Reading: Matthew 3-4.

Before the ministry of Jesus began, John the Baptist was preaching repentance and baptizing in the Jordan. Jesus came to be baptized by John. After he was baptized and came up out of the water, the Spirit of God descended on him and God the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Then Jesus goes into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights to be tempted by the devil. Three times the devil tempted Jesus and Jesus always answered from Scripture. Then Jesus came into Galilee, he moved from Nazareth and settled by the sea in Capernaum as his base, which fulfilled the word of Isaiah 9:1. From that time on Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus called Peter, James and John from their occupations as fishermen by saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When Jesus called them, they immediately left everything and followed him. Lastly, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” The people were coming to him to be healed.

In this text there are three examples of Christ to emulate:

1. Jesus was baptized in the water by John before beginning his ministry. Baptism is the outward expression of an eternal calling. It was time for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry; therefore, he was baptized by John at the beginning of his ministry.
2. Jesus answered the lies and the tricks of the devil from Scripture. Even when the devil used Scripture, Jesus knew that the devil was misquoting Scripture because he knew what the Scripture  truly says; therefore, we should know the word of God.
3. Jesus went throughout all of Galilee teaching about the kingdom of heaven and healing people of their various diseases; therefore, we should be preaching about the kingdom of heaven and seeing to the needs of the people.

In this text there are two commandments of Christ to observe:

1. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is turning away from what you are presently doing. It is a change of course and a change of mind.
2. Jesus called Peter, James and John saying: “Follow me.” Peter left his fishing business, James and John left their father and followed Jesus.

So, repent and follow Jesus Christ. Emulate his example and observe all that he commanded. 

Like Skipping Rocks

Reading: Isaiah 7-11

I think that Bible prophecy and the way that Scripture is canonized is very interesting. Beginning with the first full week of this year, I began reading the Scriptures in a different way: Sunday Epistles, Monday Law, Tuesday History, Wednesday Psalms, Thursday Poetry, Friday Prophets and Saturday Gospels/Acts. 

It is very interesting reading the Scriptures in this way because every week there is a build up to Jesus Christ and the Church. It is very vivid as you quickly go through Scripture. By reading the Scriptures in this way I am able to take my time and really absorb what the word of God is saying but quickly progress and see how all of Scripture points to the incarnation of God in human flesh and the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ. 

One interesting thing that I read this morning is seeing how Bible prophecy has more than one meaning. Bible prophecy is like skipping rocks on a lake. The rock is thrown and it touches down on a spot in the water but then lifts off again to touches down in another spot. The rock may touch down and lift off a few times before reaching its destination. Bible prophecy does the same thing. Take for example, (Isaiah 7:14) “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” 

This prophecy had an immediate meaning in the days of Isaiah the prophet and in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Isaiah approached his bride and she became pregnant. (Isaiah 8:3-4) “So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” The prophecy concerning the virgin was fulfilled with the birth if Isaiah’s son but there was an additional meaning.

Isaiah 9:6

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

We know from reading reading the birth of the Messiah in both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels that the child that Isaiah prophesied was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ but this fulfillment is already not yet because while the believer has peace with God, peace has not yet fully come to the earth in all of its glory.

The Innocent Do Suffer

Job 3-4

Job did not charge the Lord with injustice or with evil but he did lament the day of his birth and wished that he had never been born. He thought, aren’t the dead better off than the living and are not all equal in death. The wicked no longer do harm in death and the suffering are at rest. 

I confess that I have thought this way myself. I do not think that I have ever wished that I had never been born. However, nurses and especially ICU nurses see a great deal of suffering. I have seen suffering that haunts my very heart, mind and soul. People also want to put to death criminals because in death they can no longer do any harm.

Is it true that the dead no longer suffer and the wicked can no longer act wickedly? Is it true that the suffering are better off dead than living? The Christian hope is not death but the resurrection and eternal life in the kingdom of God. 

Job’s friend Eliphaz begins to lay out a case that Job is suffering because he has done some kind of evil. Eliphaz believes, as many eastern religions do, that evil begets evil. That if you see someone suffering it is because they have done something wrong. This is the idea of Karma; that if you do good, you get good but if you do bad, you get bad. The problem is that bad things do happen to good people.

Theologically speaking, there are none righteous, not even one; therefore, we all deserve eternal punishment in hell. We should also keep in mind that those who have come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are declared righteous by God. Followers of Jesus Christ are righteous in the eyes of God. So, why do followers of Jesus Christ suffer?

The truth is that people who are doing what is right do suffer in this world. Not only do people of eastern religion and philosophy think that people suffer because they have done something wrong but nurses do also. Nurses often use the word un-complient, believing that the disease process is because of un-compliance. This happens often with congestive heart failure patients and diabetic patients who have frequent hospitalizations. Neither of these patients asked for the disease that they have, nor did they do anything different than a great number of persons who do not have these diseases. Things are not equal in this world. Some people suffer a great deal more than other people. Some people live long lives free of disease. Some people live for many years, suffering a chronic illness.

The apostle Paul wrote, (1 Corinthians 15:19) “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Both believer and unbeliever alike suffer unequally in this world. The Christian hope is not to be free of suffering and death in this world but in the world that is to come after the resurrection.

Trust in the Lovingkindness of the Lord

My reading this morning came from Psalms 3, 4 and 5. The world is full of wickedness and evil men but the psalmist trust in the lovingkindness of the Lord his God.

Lawlessness and evil men seem to be increasing on the earth. Either there has been a change on the earth or there has been a change in my perception. I do not know which it is and it could be a combination. The antics of the politicians, law makers and people are bothering me a great deal. I understand but I do not understand. I understand that man chose to rebel against the commandment of God but I do not understand why men choose to rebel against the will of God.

At the U.S.A. capitol, last week, there was protest that turned into rioting. For some reason, the president of the country refuses to succeed the election result. He was making accusations of fraud and these people believed what he was saying. It seems that they thought that the right course of action was to storm the capitol and stop the law makers from certifying the election. The president had petitioned the law makers of his political party to not certify the result but they followed the law set forth in the constitution. 

The law makers are now making things worse by trying to remove the president from office or impeach him during his last week in office. I do not understand! Why can they not let things rest? I understand that the persons who rioted should be prosecuted but why make things worse by removing the president from office early. 

Come Lord Jesus! Make things right on the earth. Vanquish Satan from causing trouble among men. All that I can do is pray, do what is right according to the commandment and trust in the lovingkindness of God. God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hack the Enemy to Death

My reading this morning was of Joshua 6-10. How should Christians understand the conquest of Canaan? We are not a nation like Israel. We are people from every tribe, tongue and nation on earth. We are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus taught his disciples to not hate their enemies but to love them. (Matthew 5:43-48) So how should a Christian understand the conquest of Canaan, where the sons of Israel hacked to death the inhabitants of the land and did not allow any to survive?

The history of Israel is real history but there is a lesson for the Christian in it. The church of Jesus Christ is not a physical nation as Israel was but a spiritual people. We are guided by the Word and the Spirit. Our home is not this world but in the world that is to come; therefore, we should remember that the historical books are written about a historical people but the Scriptures themselves are Spirit. There is a message for the Christian in the text of the historical books.

Jesus came to save his people from their sins. Salvation from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin. Sin is the enemy of mankind. Jesus defeated sin and death in a human body. Our salvation from sin is already but not yet. Our home is in heaven but we continue to walk on the earth. While walking on the earth the enemy continues to abound. The Christian should not coddle the enemy but should hack the enemy to death. Sin is the enemy of the Christian; therefore, the enemy must be put to death. If there is sin in your life put it to death.

The apostle Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

All sin must be put to death. Sin must not be allowed to live in the Christian’s life but must be put to death. I am not speaking about the sin of other people but of ones own sin. If there is sin in your life hack it to death. Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Earth is Corrupt with Violence

My reading this morning comes form Genesis 4-7. Cain killed Abel because he was jealous. Cain’s line was followed for a while but then a third son from Adam and Eve by the name of Seth was born. This family lines descends to Noah and his sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The Lord God destroyed all life on the earth with a flood, except Noah and his wife, with their sons and their wives, and the animals that were taken aboard the ark. The Lord God destroyed the earth because the earth had become corrupt in his sight, for the earth was filled with violence because of man.

I do not think that I will ever understand men who claim the name of Christ, yet promote or sanction violence. Jesus taught peace, not only peace with God but peace among men. Men think that evil is the answer for evil. “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Evil cannot be overcome with evil. The only way to overcome evil is with good.

My favorite television show is “The Andy Griffith Show.” It was a television show from the 1960’s. My favorite character is Andy’s deputy Barney Fife. Barney is not very smart and he is prideful. The things that he says and does are for the sake of comedy but they also expose the way that men really think. In a certain episode, Barney asks a group of young boys a rhetorical question: “How do you fight fire?” The boys answer, “With a hose!” Barney says, “No, no no! You fight fire with fire.” The intention was comical and the mess that Barney winds up in because of fighting fire with fire is comical but men really do this when attempting to fight evil with evil.

Fighting evil with evil only causes evil to abound. Evil will never defeat evil, you can only defeat evil with good. The earth was destroyed with a world wide flood because the earth had become corrupt in the sight of Lord because of the violence of man. After the flood and men spread out on the earth, violence returned to the earth. Jesus taught his disciples to not resit an evil person (Matthew 5: 39) and he demonstrated what he taught at the cross.

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

Justification By Faith

Justification by faith is one of if not the most important doctrines in all of Scripture, because it is in this doctrine, that all other doctrines come together.

This morning I read Romans 3 and 4. I have to tell you that this is my most favorite passage in all of Scripture because it gave the answers that I was seeking. I did not grow up in a Christian home but when I was about thirteen years old our mother took us to a Methodist church. By this age, I had already done many things that I was feeling guilty about. I had reached puberty and had much lust. I heard in this Methodist church that God forgives sin but I did not understand how. I went along with it because I had meet many friends in the youth group and it became my place for socialization. During my last two years of high school I found other friends and other ways of filling my lustful desires. When I graduated high school, I joined the army and left my boyhood home and never attended a church until I was married and had children of my own.

I could not understand how a just God could forgive my sin and be righteous. If God forgives sin, he is gracious but he is not just. If God condemns sinners he is just but he is not gracious. How can God be just and justify the guilty. I knew that I was guilty of sin. I was told that God forgives sin. I did not believe because I knew that if he forgave my sin he would be an unrighteous. Only an unrighteous judge justifies a guilty criminal. 

I spent my teen years in a church that said God forgives sin. However, I saw this as injustice, therefore, I did not truly believe but hoped for forgiveness. During my young adult years I heard sin, righteousness and judgment preached but when I sought to find out how I might be saved, I was told: “Repeat after me this prayer and you will be saved.” I did not really believe that I could be forgiven by reciting a repeated prayer, so I departed the church again. Our son had reached the youth group age and began to attend a local Baptist church’s youth group with some friends. I became part of a small group that was reading a book by Rick Warren called, “The Purpose Driven Life.” Again, I read that God forgives sin and if you pray this prayer and receive Jesus, you will be saved. 

After reading that book, I decided that I would read the Bible. It was Romans chapter 3 that helped me to understand that God can be just and justify me because of the sin sacrifice of Jesus Christ. “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25) Justification is the free gift of God, given by his grace alone, received through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, as it is written in Scripture alone. (Romans 3:21-26)

What About Dreaming

Today I began reading from the gospels. On Sunday, January 3, 2021 I started a fifty-two week reading plan in which I will read a different genre of Scripture on each day of the week: Sunday - epistles; Monday - Law; Tuesday - history; Wednesday - Psalms; Thursday - poetry; Friday - prophets; Saturday - the gospels and Acts. It is very interesting reading the Scriptures in this way. When I saw the reading plan, the format appealed to me because it is the way that I studied the Scriptures in the Bible survey classes at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

This format allows me to see the entire canon of Scripture as a whole during a week. Some genres are much longer than others; therefore, my reading on some days is brief (Psalms) and other days (history and prophets) much longer. Today I read the birth of the Messiah in Matthew 1-2. Having read from the other genres during the week, coming to the birth of the Messiah had a fuller meaning. One thing that I caught but had read many times before was how a messenger (angel) or God himself spoke to persons in their dreams. An angel spoke told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the child conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. An angel spoke to the Magi in a dream to not return to Herod. An angel told Joseph in a dream to flee with Mary his wife and the child to Egypt. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream to tell him to return to Judea and he was warned by God in a dream; therefore, he settled with Mary and the child in the region of Galilee and raised him with their other children in a city called Nazareth. 

I talk to the Father every morning. When my earthly father was on his death bed at the start of 2014 I began writing the Father a letter in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. However, he speaks to me in his word and has never spoken to me, that I know of, in a dream. Not only did this occur in the gospels but there are several instance in the early church, recorded in Acts, where God or an angel speaks to his servants in their dreams. 

I am guided by the word and the Spirit. The word is actual language but the Spirit leads by urging. Could God speak to his people in dreams today? Sure, God can do whatever he wants, however he wants to do it but is it needed? The apostle Paul wrote his apprentice Timothy to fix his mind on the sound doctrine of the word and not worldly fables. This will discipline him and others for godliness. (cf. 1 Ti. 4:6-10)

So how should we take this? One of the things that I noticed about these dreams in Matthew 1-2, each of them were connected to the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture. Therefore, be careful to know the word of God before making any decision or listening to a message. 

Commissioned

This morning, my reading came from Isaiah 1-6. The Lord through Isaiah said that a animals know their masters but the Lord’s people do not know him or understand. They are very religious. They offer many sacrifices and observe the feasts but they do not know the Lord their God. Isaiah then spends five chapters laying out what the Lord has against them and explaining what the Lord wills. Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of his disciples: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) 

So, the questions is not do we know of God or know of Jesus Christ but do we know the Father and the Son. Jesus said that know one knows the Father except the Son and to whom the Son reveals him. (Luke 10:22) Jesus is God in human flesh. The writer of Hebrews said that he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature. (Hebrews 1:3) Jesus said to his disciples, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:7) Jesus came for two very important reasons: that we may know God and to save us from our sin. 

In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah sees the Lord seated on his throne and falls down face first saying,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Isaiah’s eyes had seen the Lord of glory and all pride fell away. The Lord justifies him, declaring Isaiah clean in his sight. Then Isaiah is commissioned to preach the gospel among his people. Isaiah want to know for how long and the Lord said until all is complete.

The church has been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Triune God, and teach them to observe all that he commanded until his return. (Matthew 28:18-20)

In Adversity, Can You Say, Blessed is the Name of the Lord?

This morning I read Job chapters 1-2. Job was a rich man with much integrity who worshiped the Lord God. Satan made accusations against God, that the reason that Job worshiped the Lord was because of the good things that the Lord does for him. Therefore, the Lord allowed calamity to befall Job’s possessions and children but did not allow Satan to harm Job. Four men came and reported Job’s losses. However, through all of this Job did not sin nor blame God. 

Satan then returned to accuse, saying that the reason that Job holds his integrity is because he was not harmed. That a man will give anything for his life. The Lord gave it to Satan to harm Job but not take his life. Satan smote Job with boils that covered his body. Job sat on the ashes of what he once had and scraped his boils with a potsherd. Job’s wife came and said to him, “Curse God and die.” However, Job said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”

I have been thanking about this lately because I have had much loss during the past year. I have by no means lost everything but I have lost much of what is dear to me. My wife and I spent many years raising two children, neither of whom are following the Lord. I wore a mask at work and when I went into a store. I avoided public gathering, accept I went to the church on Sunday mornings. My wife and I sat on a pew separated from others and would depart after the service with very little contact with others. I spent the year feeling alone and isolated. Despite all of this, I became infected with covid-19 sars and was at home isolated from family and friends on Christmas day. 

“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”

How shall I give thanks to the Lord when I have loss. It is not because I contracted covid-19 that I lament but it is the isolation and my children being worldly that I lament. Shall I follow the advice of Job’s wife, “Curse God and die.” Or shall I say, “Naked I came into this world and naked I leave. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed is the name of the Lord?” 

The Lord is sovereign, he is on the throne of God no matter what is occurring in our lives. It is easy to give thanks and say, “Blessed is the name of the Lord,” when all is going well, but can you say it during adversity?

Take Refuge in Him

The righteous and the wicked are contrasted in Scripture. (cf. Psalm 1:1-6) It is easy to read this text and say to oneself. I am righteous, I read the word of God daily, and I seek to obey his will; however, that other guy over there does not even go to a church. 

Let us not forget what the apostle Paul said in Romans 3:10-12, 

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

If the righteous are like a tree firmly planted beside streams of water and the wicked are like chaff which the wind blows away, who is righteous on the earth? We compare persons with other persons, or to some standard that we conceive, but the Scripture calls a person obedient to the word and will of God righteous. Have you been perfectly obedient to the word and will of God?

Psalms 2:11-12

Worship the LORD with reverence

And rejoice with trembling.

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

The answer is to have repentance towards God and faith in his Son, Jesus Christ the Lord! There is forgiveness of sins for those who who have repentance towards God and faith in his Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Plant yourself in Jesus Christ and observe all that he commanded. Take refuge from the wrath of God in the Son, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Joshua

Joshua 1:10-11

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.’”

Joshua, יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Yehoshua or יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yehoshua; “the LORD is salvation,” Moses’ successor, also the name of a number of Israelites. (NASB Strong’s Dictionary) 

The Lord is salvation is his name. Yehoshua was the name of a number of Israelites in Israel’s history. It is also the Hebrew name that was given Jesus by the angel, Matthew 1:21, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus is the English rendering of the Greek Ἰησοῦς Iēsous ; Jesus or Joshua, the name of the Messiah, which is the Greek rendering of הוֹשׁוּעַ Yehoshua or יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yehoshua. 

I find this to be very interesting because Joshua told the officers, twelve appointed men, one from each tribe, to pass through the midst of the people and proclaim, “Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.”

Luke 18:31-33, Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”

The apostle John wrote, John 1:17, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the salvation of the Lord, for he came to save his people from their sins. This salvation is threefold: Jesus has saved us from the penalty of sin, already not yet; “For the penalty for sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) All die but we have been saved from the lake of fire, which is the second death. We are presently being saved from the power of sin through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. We will be saved from the presence of sin at the resurrection. All things will be made new. We will be able to eat freely from the tree of life. All sin will be done away!

Whom Do You Choose to Follow

God created the heaven and earth and sea and all that they contain. God created everything that exist in orderly fashion. God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. God gave to them marriage, to populate the earth, to subdue the earth and rule over the creatures of the earth. God gave the man and woman the fruit of the trees as food. God put them in a garden to cultivate it and keep it. In the garden were many trees that grew fruit but there were two special trees; the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mankind was commanded by God to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, though they could eat from any other tree in the garden, including the tree of life. However, they choose to disobey the command of God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They choose what would kill them rather than life.

It has been theorized by many as to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What was its fruit? What was original sin? I think that these are the wrong questions. It was not a particular sin as we know but a choice to rebel against the command of the Lord our God. It is a deciding for oneself what is good and what is evil. It is making oneself Lord rather than listening to the word of God. We should remember that Genesis 1-3 was written by Moses through whom the law was given.

The man and woman were to have children and multiply. They were to fill the earth and subdue it. They were to rule over the creatures of the earth. However, they choose to listen to the creature, rather than the creator. They choose to do what they wanted to do rather than have eternal life in the garden. The apostle John said in 1 John 3:4, “Sin is lawlessness.” 

Lawlessness is transgression of the law. The apostle Paul wrote, Romans 5:18-21, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Moses said at the conclusion of his writing, Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.” Whom do you choose to follow: The disobedient man or the obedient man? Adam or Jesus Christ?

Bond-Servants

The apostle Paul believed himself to be a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and so doing, he served all of mankind. He had been given a mission by the Lord to preach the gospel to the Jew first and also to the gentile. For this reason he became known as the apostle to the gentiles. The word gentile means non-jewish person. Romans 1:14, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.” 

His obligation was not to serve Greeks and barbarians, or the wise and the foolish as they saw fit, but as commanded by the Lord. Paul was sent by the Lord to preach the gospel to the nations. His obligation was to tell the truth and the truth often hurts. The word sin as Paul used it means a violation of the divine law in thought, word or act. In his epistle to the Romans, chapters 1-2, he shows that both gentile and Jew have violated the divine law. 

Paul agrees with his jewish brethren that the way gentiles were living was heinous, and he gives the reason for their error. Romans 1:25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” 

In the United States of America, where I live, this happens all of the time. People typically do not make an idol out of wood or metal, and bow down to worship what they have created, but make an idol of persons. Entertainers and politicians are worshiped in the United States of America. The depraved passions and the depraved way of thinking that is seen in the U.S.A is a result of idolatry. This is not just among the unchurched but it is often among the churched. 

A Christian is not one outwardly, who attends a church, but is one inwardly; he has repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. The outcropping of belief will cause him to fellowship with other believers, to gather with other believers for preaching and teaching of the word. However, a Christian is not one who is seen outwardly but he is known inwardly by the Lord. A Christian is a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, obligated to preach the gospel in the world. 

No Other Name Given Among Men

(Luke 24:45-49)

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

There are four facts concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Luke gives us these four facts in orderly account. First, there was a tomb and Jesus dead body was placed in that tomb by a man named Joseph, a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus and after preparing his body for burial by Jewish custom, placed his body in a new tomb. The women took note of the tomb, prepared spices and rested on the Sabbath per the commandment. (Luke 24:50-56)

Second, early in the morning, on the first day of the week, the tomb was found empty. Luke gives four witnesses by name to this fact, and said that there were others. “Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.” (Luke 24:10) The apostle and the others with them did not believe but Peter went to the tomb and saw that it was as the women said. (Luke 24:12, 24)

Third, Jesus appeared to the disciples bodily resurrected from the dead. Jesus appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus and explained the Scriptures concerning him. They did not recognize him until he broke bread with them. Jesus appeared to Peter and he related his appearance to the other disciples. Last of all Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles and other disciples who were with them bodily resurrected from the dead. They did not believe but thought he was a Spirit. He showed them that he had flesh and bone. He ate a piece of broiled fish in their presence. (Luke 24:13-43)

Fourth, and this is the most convincing of all, the disciples believed that Jesus bodily rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. The proof, they became unwavering witnesses, proclaiming throughout the known world, beginning at Jerusalem, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, bodily resurrected from the dead, and proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name. (Luke 24:44-49)

It is this unwavering witness of the apostles that convinced me that Jesus bodily rose from the dead. If Jesus bodily rose from the dead then he is who he believed himself to be, the Christ the Son of God. If Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, then there is forgiveness of sins in his name for all who repent and believe as Jesus promised the disciples. Therefore, I repented of my sin and put my faith in Jesus Christ and I am doing so today. “There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

The Innocent for the Guilty

Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him... And he released the man [Barabbas] they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:13-14, 25)

The righteous for the unrighteous, the innocent for the guilty. This is what happened on that fateful day that we call “Good Friday.”

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus was accused by the chief priests and the rulers and the people of being one who incites the people to rebellion, but having examined him, Pilot found him to be innocent. However, a man who was guilty of this very crime was released and Jesus was sentenced to death on a cross. Jesus was crucified between two men, both of whom were guilty and receiving a just penalty for their crimes. One of these men hurled abuses at Jesus but the other rebuked the man who hurled abuses, confessed that he himself was deserving of punishment and believed that despite being hung on a tree, Jesus would come into his kingdom. Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Barabbas was a guilty criminal allowed to go free, yet Jesus, an innocent man, took his place in death. Two men were crucified with Jesus, one on his right and one on his left. Both of whom deserved punishment and death. One hurled abuses at Jesus, the other confessed and put his faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Barabbas represents Adam and original sin. The two men on the cross represent those who will go to heaven and those who will go to hell. All deserve hell but the man who is repentant and believes in Jesus will be in the paradise of God, while the unrepentant will be in hell. Do you believe that you are a sinner, deserving death and hell? Do you believe that Jesus is righteous and will come into his kingdom? Do you believe that all who trust in Jesus will be in the paradise of God, (Revelation 2:7) but the unbelieving will go into the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death? (Revelation 21:8) 

We are all Barabbas, guilty sinners deserving death for whom Jesus took our punishment. Which criminal are you, the criminal on the right or the criminal on the left?