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For June 22, 2019
Matthew Chapter Four tells how after John the Baptist baptized him, our Lord Jesus Christ went into the wilderness and fasted forty days. There the Enemy met him with a challenge to transform rocks into bread to satisfy His ravenous hunger. The Enemy also challenged the Lord by showing Him “all the glory” of the kingdoms of the world, and offering them; with the provision  He bows down and worships him. Succumbing in both instances would have meant a renouncing of His divine calling as our Redeemer to fulfill a selfish want, need, or desire.

Parenthetically, it is unfortunate how so many people choose to worship the “god of this world” even today as men and women, both young and old, “sell their souls” to obtain wealth, fame, and/or power.¹ Although, the Lord—the Creator and Possessor of all world has to offer—was challenged to follow a similar path, He resisted the temptation to do so. We are forever grateful He prioritized our redemption over His self-gratification. Hallelujah!

Undaunted, the Enemy tried another strategy by misquoting a section of a Bible passage depicting the Lord’s watchful care over His children using unforgettably stunning imagery:

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” Psalm 91 (NLT)

In His reply, the Lord cited Deuteronomy 6:16 to remind the Enemy that God is never to be tempted (by the misuse of Scripture).²

Our God is to be loved and obeyed because we are always in His care; even to the extent that He maintains a full inventory of each follicle of hair on our heads³, we are assured of His bountiful mercy and faithfulness forever.

This does not mean that we have carte blanche and get everything we want. But, it does mean He always has a better perspective and will do what is best in every situation. His is a better view because His thoughts are infinite, transcendent and flawless. His perspective is loving and omniscient. With goodness and mercy, He acts in our best interest. The Lord gives “good gifts” to those who ask in harmony with His will, which is best for all concerned.

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus teaches how parents instinctively give good gifts to their children, and yet our Heavenly Father surpasses our capacity to give. He provides us with the things that accomplish His perfect will when we ask with a sincere, humble, reverent, selfless, confident, and Christ-honoring disposition. When we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we can find true peace, comfort, joy, along with the satisfaction that He will meet our needs as well.⁴

God has always desired to have a loving, eternal relationship with us. Through Adam, we lost that relationship, but Jesus Christ has restored it by His death and resurrection. Through faith in Him, we can experience His love, forgiveness, and restoration. Now as a result, His Holy Spirit comes to live inside us to watch over and provide for us while the Lord dispatches His angels to guard us from all danger as well.

We are certain to experience some form of adversity in this life. And as did the three Hebrew Boys presented in Daniel 3, we too may find ourselves in a “fiery furnace.” During those perilous moments, we may experience strong feelings of doubt and fear, which may cause us to doubt the Lord’s presence and/or His faithfulness towards us.

Nevertheless, He has not abandoned us. He remains with us; faithfully providing the extraordinary “measure of grace” allowing us to “count it all joy,” knowing our final reward is not on earth—it is in Heaven! In other words, hardships are not indicators of the Lord’s desertion, nor do they negate His abundant love, grace, and mercy. As Romans 8 tells us, nothing can separate us from His love,⁵ and He causes “all things” to work together for our good.⁶ Amen!

Our human suffering is a reminder of the presence of sin in our world, which contrasts the magnificent splendor of His glorious Kingdom. There, all memory of toil and suffering will be obliterated by our first glimpse of the Lord in His majestic splendor.

Because He has promised to be with us—through adversity as well as through success—unto the end in Matthew 28:20, we can be sure our Lord, Savior, Creator, and Sustainer shall keep us safe and keep His promises.

What a wonderful Savior!

 

For June 15, 2019
Jerusalem is located approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. In antiquity, travelers would lift their eyes unto the hills as they neared Jerusalem or “Mount Zion,” as Psalm 121 (KJV) attests:

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

The Jerusalem Temple represented the Lord’s earthly abode. Association with Him guaranteed shalom (peace), protection and providence.  Thus, the Psalmist asks and answers the central question: “Where does my help come?”  “From the LORD, who made Heaven and Earth!”

For the People of God, looking up evokes great anticipation and comfort because:

• • The Lord is the omnipotent and omnipresent Creator of Heaven and Earth.
  • The Lord is our solid foundation who will not be shaken by our adversity.
  • The Lord is the Keeper who preserves His people forever.
  • The Lord never sleeps while keeping His people secure.

We Christians “lift our eyes” to the cross of Jesus Christ. Because there He reconciled us to God and purchased our eternal peace, protection, and providence:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:14-18 (NIV)

In 1913 George Bennard, noted for his work with the Salvation Army and the Methodist Episcopal Church, had an experience that made him look at the cross of Jesus in light of Philippians 3:10: “fellowship of His suffering.”¹ From that experience, he wrote a very popular hymn that raises Jesus’ cross from a trivial religious symbol to the very heart of the Gospel for so many of us today:

The Old Rugged Cross

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.

On that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me; For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary.

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see; For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear; Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away, where His glory forever I’ll share.

Chorus:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV) reads:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Keep looking up!

 

For June 9, 2019
Normal, everyday living often provides so many distractions that we fail to see and appreciate the astounding eternal, transcendent reality that awaits us. For we who believe in in the Lord Jesus Christ and have committed our lives to Him can expect the fulfillment of His wonderful promise:

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:1-3 (NIV)

Although many have speculated about the precise moment of our Lord’s return over the past two thousand years, no one really knows when it will happen.

In the meantime, Jesus admonishes His followers to be vigilant and watchful, as if we are “on guard,” until He returns in glory. At that precise moment, He will call us from our labor on earth to our reward in Heaven, and we will experience the pinnacle of His redemptive work; clothed in new immortal bodies that will enable us to share in His eternal glory—in full measure!

This is the glorification recorded in Romans 8:28-31 (KJV):

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Exodus 33 and 34 illustrates what happened when Moses requested to see the Lord’s full glory. The Lord warned Moses that no one can see His full glory and live. However, the Lord did allow Moses to see His “back side” briefly. Yet, that brief glimpse illuminated Moses’ face to such a degree he had to cover his face to avoid frightening the other people.

No human can endure God’s full glory in natural bodies and live. Instead, God has to transform our bodies to insure our safe, eternal co-existence. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NLT) describes this transformation:

What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Christians everywhere anxiously await the Lord’s descent from Heaven when He will create a new Heaven and earth free from sin, Satan, or anything defiled. There, we will experience eternal bliss with Him forever (in bodies free from sin, pain and disease) in the company of other believers—past, present, and future—and experience His love, glory and majesty forever.

Today, the Lord is preparing our special place where we will have His eternal peace, rest, and comfort (from all toil, pain, and sorrow) just as Revelation 21: 3-4 (NIV) attests:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

At that time, a final separation of the Righteous and the Wicked will occur. Our qualification or disqualification will not be based on our “good works” but on the  redeeming work of Jesus Christ performed at Calvary. (It is our gratitude for His gift of grace that compels us to commit our lives to the Lord by performing good deeds that point others to Christ.)

Through Jesus’ vicarious death and resurrection, God provides a full payment for sin, and those of us who trust in Him will experience this benefit. As a result, God will deem us as the Righteous,  and we will share eternity with Him in Heaven.

Unfortunately, those who do not trust in the merits of the Lord’s redeeming work will be disqualified since they have no payment for sin. Deemed as the Wicked, they will experience God’s eternal separation in Hell.

1 Peter 1:3–5 tells us how we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation—ready to be revealed in the last time. Only humble, reverent, and sincere faith in Christ will assure us eternal life in glory, which is truly our hope and peace. What a wonderful Savior!