April 12 – All He Did For All

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—” – Isaiah 52:13-14 (ESV)

This is a good passage for an after-Easter consideration so that we do not let the importance of what Christ was willing to do and did for us be quickly forgotten.  His resurrection is so important because his death is so very important to our lives. Today, if you have a moment, take it and read Isaiah 52:13-53:12. The Isaiah 53 is well known for its prophecy of the torture, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. However the section begins in Isaiah 52:13. These are some of the words describing what Jesus went through in order to pay the price of our sin. In Isaiah 53 there are 29 words or combination of words which describe the suffering Christ did.  Words like: despised, rejected, esteemed not, grief, sorrow, smitten, pierced, crushed, wounds, oppressed, and slaughter.  After all this torture at the hands of the Romans and others, Jesus was so marred he was unrecognizable. The last verse in the chapter is our promise too,  “yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. After all he did, he became our intercessor before God the Father. That is a promise that fills our heart with joy. 

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October 18 – It’s All From Him

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  Acts 17:24-25  (ESV)

Understanding context is important. When the apostle Paul spoke these words he was in Athens, Greece.  He was standing on the Areopagus (Romans called it Mars Hill). This is where the Athenian supreme tribunal and “court of morals” was held.  Paul has been invited to speak to the wise ones. Today we look at a bit of what he said and a couple of promises which Paul was proclaiming to the Athenians.  First, God made the world and everything in it. Temples made by human hands were not where God lives. The same is true today. We worship God in buildings and we might call them God’s House but God’s House is all of Creation. We also think of the things we do as a means of providing what God needs. But the promise is that He Himself provides for us and He needs nothing from us. God has no needs. God calls us to worship Him, to give glory to Him and His Name, to Praise Him, to Love Him and His Word, and to Obey His commandments. We need to do those things and others out of obedience and not out of God’s need of them. 

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September 2 - Patiently Knows

“And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 34:31 (ESV)

This is a common comparison made throughout the Bible between those who believe in God the Father and His Son as our shepherd and us as His sheep. It is understandable because sheep ranching was a major means of making a living.  Jesus calls us His sheep as recorded in the Gospels but today's verse is from the Old Testament prophecy given to Ezekiel. The promise given to us is that God loves us even though He knows that we are not perfect.  He knows us just as He knew His people in Old Testament days. What the Lord told His followers in Ezekiel’s day can be applied to us today. He knows who we are. He knows where we came from. He says we are his people and what he means is that we are human.  Just as sheep left without a shepherd and on their own, will wander off and get lost or even killed by wild animals, God knows we make mistakes and sometimes fail Him. But in spite of our weaknesses or failings, He is patient with us and loves us.  He still wants us to remember that He is our God and we belong to Him. He is our shepherd and He is not ashamed to be known as our God.

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December 11 – Receiving What Is Done

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”  2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (ESV) 

It is well for us at Christmas to remember some of the deeper truths about the birth of Jesus and why He came to earth in the form of a human.  Our verses today state clearly the reason why Jesus came to live as a human being here in this world.  It was God's way of bringing the people of this world back to Himself.  We were all going our own ways, doing our own thing, not thinking about the reason why God had created us and placed us in the world He created for us.  The coming of Jesus was God's way of showing His love for His creatures and He is still working on this project.  People in the world, even people right around us are still going their own way, doing their own thing and rejecting God's truth.  God still loves them and still wants to reconcile them to Himself.   This is true all around the world.  Let's help to get out the message now at Christmas that God has done the work of reconciling the world to Himself in Christ.  All one has to do is believe and receive in faith this work of reconciliation that has been done for all.  

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May 22

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:13-14 (NIV)

These words remind us of one reason why God has a special feeling for us who have become His children by faith. It is because He knows where we are coming from. He has been watching us since the very beginning just like an earthly father watches his child from the day of its birth. Yes, our Lord knows each of us and has been watching us since before we were born. He knows we are human with human weaknesses. Still He loves us and is patient with us when we make mistakes and when we fail to grow. “The Lord has compassion.”