What marks a Christian for what they have become? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:3-6a,

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you."

I see the juxtaposition of faith, love and hope in this passage from Paul. He says faith and love "spring from the hope" that those of faith have. That hope is the promise of eternal life for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, the hope that is offered through the gospel message that Paul speaks of. 

The love of these Colossian believers, about which Paul heard, was the confirmation, the expression, the manifestation of the nature of the true faith of these believers. The apostles taught that love expressed is the confirmation of true faith in a believer. John tells us, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death." 1 John 3:14. Also, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8. So certain was John of love as a manifestation of faith and salvation, he says, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:12.

Paul had not met these believers in Colossae yet, but his confidence in their new-found faith lay in his hearing of all three - the faith, hope and love these Colossians exhibited.

These three characteristics of a believer are found in several places in Scripture. Paul makes an observation in his chapter on love, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13. He makes a very fascinating use of these three in his letter to the Thessalonians, "We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:3. In that letter, he finds these three characteristics as the accouterments of spiritual warfare in the life of the believer. He says, "Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8.

God's promise of eternal life is the hope we have if we place our faith in Jesus Christ. Love is the manifestation that we have done so. Why would we expect anything different, given it is our wonderful God of many-splendored perfections who has made it so?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What do you know about Jesus Christ? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 2:9,

"In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form..."

Here is an amazing comment Paul makes about Jesus Christ. He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Paul reveals much about the amazing person of Jesus Christ in this letter.

What do you know of Jesus Christ? Can you list things you know for sure of him? Here are twenty things I have gleaned from Paul's letter to the Colossians. I think we should all be aware of them... after all he is the one we love and have placed our faith in... Next time anyone asks you about Jesus Christ, you have at least twenty things you can say!

1. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." 1:13-14. It is in Jesus Christ and only him that we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.

2. "The Son is the image of the invisible God..." 1:15a.

3. "The Son is...the firstborn over all creation." 1:15b. This tells us Jesus Christ is heir of all creation. (And we are his co-heirs! Romans 8:17.)

4. All things have been created in, through and for Jesus Christ, 1:16.

5. "He is before all things..." 1:17a.

6. "...in him all things hold together." 1:17b.

7. He is the head of the church, 1:18a.

8. "...he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." 1:18b.

9. "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him..." 1:19.

10. "God was pleased... through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." 1:20.

11. "[God] has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight..." 1:22.

12. "... the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 2:2b-3.

13. "...in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" 2:9

14. "He is the head over every power and authority." 2:10b.

15. "God... raised him from the dead." 2:12b.

16. "God made you alive with Christ." 2:13b.

17. "[God] disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." 2:15.

18. "...where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." 3:1b.

19. "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." 3:4. He is coming for us!

20. "It is the Lord Christ you are serving." 3:24b.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What is this "spiritual circumcision"? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:11-12,

"In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."

Paul tells us of a mysterious "circumcision not performed by human hands." What is this circumcision? Is it only for the boys? This circumcision is something performed in the life of every believer (girls too!) at the point they embrace Jesus Christ in faith. It has to do with our sinful nature.

Our understanding of the absolute tyranny of our sinful natures over us prior to conversoin to Christ, in fact our identity as a sinful-natured person is something we may not fully comprehend. As the Lord observes mankind, his analysis is, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" In Romans 3:23 Paul tells us all have sinned. In quoting Psalms 14 and 53 he tells us, "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Romans 3:12. Paul also points to that indwelling sinful nature, using himself, as a law-abiding Pharisee prior to his conversion, as an example in Romans 7:14-19 (he speaks in present tense language to make vivid his past experience in sin), "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." This is our condition before embracing Jesus Christ in faith - we are under control of our sinful nature.

As Paul found his deliverance from the domination of his own sinful nature over himself, so we find it as well. His conclusion in the matter is found at the end of his observation, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24-25a. This is that "circumcision not performed by human hands." In addition to our eternal salvation, there is a "cutting away" of that domination of our sinful natures. We are no longer enslaved to it. We are free to live a new life.

Paul discusses that new life in Romans 6:1-4, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." In speaking to the Jews regarding this new life, Paul says, "No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God."

Although we may still commit sin (we are not perfect yet), we are no longer subject to our sinful natures as masters over us. I like what Paul says in Romans 6:22, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Here is the great benefit of that "circumcision not performed by human hands." As God's holy people, we are no longer enslaved to sin, but have been freed to live a life pleasing to our Lord who has loved us so much.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Religion cannot Restrain Sensual Indulgence - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 2:23,

"Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."

While considering the new life we have in Jesus Christ, Paul makes an interesting observation about religious do-gooders. He tells his readers that the religion these folks peddle is worthless in its stated goal - it cannot restrain sensual indulgence. All religion is predicated on the idea that humankind is flawed, and its adherents maintain their religion can fix it. 

Paul had apostolic insight into the massive religion industry that has been developed and refined over the centuries since Paul penned these words. He knew what all these religious do-gooders really know from their own experience. If we are concerned about sin in our lives as believers, religion simply won't get the job done.

Sin, and the temptation that brings it, is existential. When we are confronted with the temptation to sensual indulgence, it needs to be met and dealt with in that sphere. Theology and theories just won't do, as they are ineffective in the reality of where life happens, where the rubber meets the road. This is perhaps why I simply have no use for do-gooders. While they may be well-intentioned, they are people promoting useless religion that has no hope of accomplishing what they so confidently claim. Religion does not work for both the do-gooder and his initiates.

Here is Paul's more complete comment on what the religious do-gooders have to offer: "Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Colossians 2:20-23.

However, Paul does go on to tell us how to deal with restraining sensual indulgence. He says, "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." Colossians 3:1-3. Rather than promoting religious sanctions against all the evils we are drawn to, Paul tells us to set our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ. When we do so, when we are awed by his many-splendored perfections the view provides, the Lord himself impacts us in ways that the "thou shalt nots" never can.

Recall the last time you were caught up in meaningful, passionate personal worship of the Lord. As your view of him was vibrant and alive, how much of a struggle were you experiencing with sin at that moment? Paul invites us to extend that moment into a lifestyle. In another letter Paul tells us of the escape God provides us during temptation, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13. How does God do it? Through Jesus Christ! 

In that we all continue to struggle with sin following our conversion to Jesus Christ, in that we still have to deal with that sinful nature until we leave these bodies behind, (and, by the way, all the do-gooders struggle with sin just as the rest of us), this becomes very important to us as we desire live our lives in a manner pleasing to the Lord. I heartily endorse Paul's perspective: forget about religion and set your heart and mind on Jesus Christ. 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Why do we need God when we have... - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in 2:8,

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."

We don't need a Creator who maintains the creation: we have a "global warming" movement that will keep the polar caps from melting, keep the polar bears safe, and an environmental movement to manage the spotted owls and protect the snail darters. We don't need a Creator who gives life and takes it: we have abortion and we will decide who lives and who dies. We don't need a Creator who designed us: we have an LGBT movement and we will decide if we are male or female or something else. We don't need a Creator who blesses a country with a prosperous bounty: we have "Progressive" elites who will manage our economy in their own image. We don't need a God to bow to or a God to protect us as a people: we'll manage our own affairs as a nation in a new "global community." We don't need a God to tell us how to live our lives: we have our own political correctness, our own "morality of diversity", our own ACLU driven agenda to keep God from the public square, our own race-baiters with their cottage industry to tell us how to live our lives. We don't need a God to provide for us, we have federal anti-poverty programs, we have SNAP (food stamps), we have Medicaid, we have welfare, we have a "safety net".  We don't need a Creator to help us understand where we came from, where we are going, why we are here, how to find fulfillment in life: we have Darwin, we have Richard Dawkins, we have Stephen Hawking and we have pop culture.

It is my perspective that a person's politics are arrived at and driven by his spiritual condition, his spiritual instincts, not by his intellect. Never think for a moment that on a personal level, politics is ever severed from spirituality. Our personal politics emanate from our spiritual outlook. Political arousal in formative years springs not from intellectual arousal but spiritual arousal, whether godly or ungodly.

Nothing new here. We read about folks millenia ago who attempted to establish and define life on planet earth in rejection of God - an attempt at displacing God in favor of their own great ideas. So lofty was their fascination with themselves, they set about building a structure that would reach into heaven itself, an edifice that would reflect their status of godhood. Read about it in Genesis 11:1-9. Today, the building resumes. On every front we see the same kind of folks, folks belonging to various "interest groups", who really have nothing in common, and yet locking arms around a singular purpose: remove God, displace God, establish themselves as the masters of their own destiny and so demonstrate they are, in fact, their own god.

Paul tells us not to be taken "captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ." As believers we need to insure we are not sucked up into the very thing Paul warned us of. It will not do to be unfamiliar with the Scriptures, to be taken in by these kinds of things. As we read in Proverbs 14:15, "The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps." And, as Paul says, "My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments." Colossians 2:2-4.

May we all reject what the world offers and grow into the maturity God intends for us, having our hearts and minds trained and shaped by the wisdom God provides. It is Jesus Christ who is the repository of all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Our focus needs to be on him. Again, as Paul says in Colossians 3:1-2, "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."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

"Only one is proclaimed! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:28,

"He [Jesus Christ] is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ."

When it comes to God, there is one and only one message that is to be proclaimed, the message of Jesus Christ! Paul said "He is the one we proclaim..."

I don't see Buddha here, I don't see Joseph Smith here, I don't see the Pope here, I don't see Confucius here and I don't see Muhammad here. Jesus Christ is the one Paul proclaimed.

I don't see the Baptist church here, I don't see the Lutherans here. I don't see Oral Roberts here and I don't see the folks on the PTL channel here. I don't see Augustine here and I don't see Calvin here. I don't see Jacobus Arminius here and I don't see Mary here. Jesus Christ is the one Paul proclaimed.

It is the gospel message, and that message alone that has the power to save. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." Romans 1:16. That message is not about a religion, it is not about politics, it is not about some alleged "spiritual diet", it is not about your church or mine. The gospel is about a person - one person and one alone, Jesus Christ. Faith in him and faith in him alone brings eternal life, a place at God's table in the next life.

We have all kinds of things to detract from the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ. Some tell us you have to do it this way, others tell us we have to do it the other way. It is my perspective we tune out all the surrounding fuzz and buzz and distractions and focus on the only one Paul proclaimed: Jesus Christ.

When you have Jesus Christ, you don't need  anything else!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What do you trust in? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:3,

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus..."

Paul was thankful to God in hearing of the Colossian's faith in Jesus Christ. The folks in Colossae heard the gospel message through Epaphras. Paul came to hear of the response the gospel had in Colossae and so he wrote this letter, letting these Colossian believers know of his prayers for them and providing them guidance in their new-found faith. This short four-chapter letter is full of good, solid apostolic teaching.

I note the Colossian's faith was in Jesus Christ. God the Son. The One who paid the price for their sins. Their faith was not in a church. Their faith was not in a denomination. Their faith was not in a pastor, a priest, a rabbi, a guru or a shaman. Their faith was not in anyone's doctrinal distinctive. Their faith was not in a church-building program, a youth ministry or a Sunday school. There faith was in Jesus Christ.

Many find excuses to avoid the issue of embracing Jesus Christ in faith. They look at the money-grubbing TV evangelists looking to ensnare viewers into their scams and shut out any notion of embracing Jesus Christ in faith. They look at "Christians" who seem to be hot for the Lord on Sunday, and then hot for other things the rest of the week. As they view the hypocrisy, they shut out any notion of embracing Jesus Christ in faith. They may visit a church, and when the pastor is done begging for donations for the new church building fund, they shut out any notion of embracing Jesus Christ in faith. They see church leaders who lecture the rest of us about gambling, sexual immorality, drinking, drugs, tobacco and pornography and then witness these same church leaders ensnared with someone else's wife or the other things they lectured us about. They shut out any notion of embracing Jesus Christ in faith.

The gospel message is not about placing our faith in scam artists, hypocritical do-gooders, misguided churches and all the rest who would claim to be representatives of Jesus Christ. The gospel is about Jesus Christ, his payment for our sins that we might be forgiven them, and his invitation to us to join his kingdom, his family. It is about placing our trust in him, our sinless Savior, the God-man who is without stain or wrinkle, the perfect One who loves us.

No one will be granted a "pass" in God's court for mistakenly looking to others as a reason not to embrace Jesus Christ. No amount of belly-aching over some pastor caught in adultery will prevent an unbeliever from being cast into that horrible fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Something to think about... we all believe in something. Even if it might be our own judgment to reject the gospel. What (who) do you trust in?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Give peace a chance! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:19-20,

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [God's Son, Jesus Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

Just how did God reconcile to himself all things? How was it he brought about peace through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on that cross? Merriam-Webster defines "reconcile" as to restore to friendship or harmony. God effected peace by establishing a reconciliation between himself and all who are willing through the gospel message.

Some have a mistaken notion that God brought peace on earth when he sent his Son here on Christmas Day two millennia ago. We find it in our Christmas carols and cards. The heavenly host that heralded the birth of Jesus Christ with their praise is referred to. However, when we look at what they said, we find it was not peace among men, an absence of hostilities between peoples that was proclaimed, but peace between God and those who have embraced him in faith. "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14. In this proclamation the peace on earth is for those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, those upon whom God's favor rests. Only those who embrace the Lord in faith possess God's favor. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Having been reconciled, those who have embraced the Lord in faith experience peace with God.

What is this hostility that required reconciliation? It is found in a comment Paul makes, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior." Colossians 1:21. That evil behavior that all have engaged in at one time or another (some of us a lot of the time) brings God's judgment upon us. It is that foreboding judgment that incurs the alienation, the need for reconciliation, for peace with God. Unfortunately, some would rather cling to their sin than to be reconciled to God. Any mention of God in their presence is a reminder of the unwise choice they have made and brings rise to a hostility within them. Any mention of Jesus Christ, any mention of anything Judeo-Christian brings offense, ire and an intolerant (and at times belligerent) reaction.

We are told that God elected to save from his judgment all those who would place their trust in him. Man's sin separates us from God and subjects us to his judgment in a fiery lake of burning sulfur. God's love has made a way for us by providing us forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. His death on that cross was payment for our sins. When we embrace him in faith we have his payment for our sins credited to our account in God's court.

What a peace! What a reconciliation!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

 

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

In the family? What does that get you? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:13-14,

"For he [God the Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Paul reminds his readers of the wonderful truth that God has rescued all who embrace him in faith, bringing them into "the kingdom of the Son he loves." In 1 Thessalonians 4:10 Paul refers to this kingdom as "God's family." In 1 Timothy 3:5 he calls it "God's church." Peter refers to the "family of believers" in 1 Peter 2:17. Jesus often used the phrase, "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God". Matthew refers simply to "the kingdom", Matthew 9:35. Again, Jesus makes reference to the Son of Man's kingdom in Matthew 13:41, also, "my Father's kingdom", Matthew 26:29.

In our culture, I suspect we more readily identify with the "family of God" as opposed to the "kingdom of God", but no matter how it is referred to, this family, this kingdom is what our existence on earth is all about. God is busy building this family, this kingdom in this life, in this world. It is here in this life, not in the next, where new lives, new souls are brought into being. It is here in this life, not in the next, where out of all those souls, God is populating his family, his kingdom. He has elected that all who will respond in faith to the gospel message will be rescued from the "dominion of darkness", that is, this world that is lost, fallen, estranged and in rebellion to God. From this corrupt "family of man" God rescues all who will embrace him in faith by bringing them into his family.

Paul mentions that it is in God's Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. God has a keen sense of justice and it requires that all sin be paid for. When Jesus Christ died on that cross, he provided payment to God's court for all the sins of all mankind for all time. Those who embrace him in faith have that payment credited to their account there. Here is where redemption is found. Jesus' death is payment for all of us who trust in him, buying our freedom to enter his family, his kingdom. Because believer's sins are paid for by Jesus, they are forgiven them.

Some have it confused, thinking if they don't sin, they will make it into heaven. If that were possible, there would have been no need for Jesus to die on that cross. The reality is that we all sin and we all need forgiveness of those sins. Responding to the gospel in faith brings us that forgiveness. The very moment one embraces Jesus Christ in faith, he or she is immediately brought into God's family. All sins are immediately forgiven and the destination following this life becomes heaven. All this at the very moment faith is expressed in the Lord. It doesn't come later, it doesn't take place at some point after our physical death. Entering into God's kingdom is an immediate transaction in this life that finds its fulfillment in the next.

Entering into God's family is an amazing thing. We become quickened spiritually, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives. While we remain in this life we are placed on a path of growing into the likeness of Jesus' wonderful qualities, what we call "spiritual growth". We become connected with other brothers and sisters in this family who are gifted by God to aid us in this new family, as we are likewise gifted by God to aid in their participation. We look forward to a time when this age comes to an end and those in God's family who still remain will be caught up with him in the air when he returns to earth. For those of us who pass on before his coming, we look forward to joining him directly in heaven and await resurrection day when we will receive transformed bodies like his "glorious body." When we enter into God's family we immediately become spotless and blameless before God, such that we enter into his family, not as a "black sheep" due to whatever sins we may have engaged in in this life, but "he [God] chose us in him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight..." Ephesians 1:4. We become adopted by God, Ephesians 1:5, and so share in all that Jesus Christ inherits from the Father, Romans 8:17. We gain direct access to God when we enter into his family to receive God's help when we need him, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16.

So much can be added to this list of what becomes ours when we are brought into God's family. Can you think of a few more? (I left out a few to tease you.) 

I can't imagine why anyone would want to pass this up!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address, I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Knowing God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:9-10,

"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..."

I note the concern Paul has for his readers, that they grow "in the knowledge of God." This brings to mind that, in the perspective of God's transcendence, we will grow in our knowledge of him throughout our lives here, and beyond into the next. We will never plumb the depths of a complete "knowledge of God." He is simply too big for us to be able to apprehend all there is to know of him. I am convinced his wisdom, his intellect, the passion of his emotions, his creativity, his love, his justice, all extend so far beyond us, we can learn of him for an eternity and still never plumb the full depth of all there could possibly be in knowing God.

I am also convinced that angels continue in an ongoing quest in their knowledge of God. They express it in their fascination with God's redemption of mankind. Peter says of them, as he considers the interest of the prophets in the circumstances and timing of the salvation God provides, "Even angels long to look into these things." 1 Peter 1:12. God is so big, so vast, so transcendent, we will forever be learning of him.

Paul expresses a concern that growth in the knowledge of God is currently taking place in the hearts and minds of believers he has yet to meet in Colossae. This growth in knowledge is important in the healthy spiritual life of all believers as it is connected with things like living a life "worthy of the Lord" and pleasing him, "bearing fruit in every good work", and "being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience", 1:10-11. Important things. And, when it comes to thick-headed folks like me, there is a concern that we are growing in our knowledge of him today, here and now.

The writer of Hebrews speaks to the importance of this in Hebrews 5:11-6:3, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so."

Knowing God is the most rewarding thing anyone can do in this life. He who has come to know God is certainly blessed. And, no matter how well we might know God, there is so much more to know of him. Today I ask myself, how well do I know him? Am I doing all I can to know more of him? It will simply not do for me to sit on my hands and assume I know what I need to of him. If I think I know all I need to of God, it simply exposes my own lack of knowledge of him.

We all have 168 hours this week. We will be spending each and every one of those hours doing something. Why not invest a few of them in something that will bring more than the greatest reward that could possibly be expected? Time spent in the Scriptures will certainly add to our knowledge of God.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Paul's epicenter - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 2:1-5,

"I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."

Paul spoke of his goal with those he wrote to. "My goal is..." He makes clear that all he did was centered on Jesus Christ. It was his concern that believers were encouraged in heart and united in love. For what purpose? That these believers have successful marriages, good careers, raise wonderful children and have two cars in the garage? Not at all. Paul's efforts were centered squarely on the purposes of Jesus Christ. Paul's concerns were that God's people be encouraged and united so they may have the "full riches of complete understanding", that they might know the mystery of God, Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus Christ that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge reside." 2:3.

Earlier in 1:27 Paul says God had elected to make known among the Gentiles a glorious mystery: "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." It was for this purpose, he says in 1:25, that he became the servant of the church. He says his commission from God was to present the word of God in it's fullness. Faithful to his commission, he says, "I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me." 1:29.

There are a lot of religions in the world. The universal precept among them are that we, as humans, are flawed. Based on the flavor of the religion, there are a variety of ways to deal with the flaws. Buddhists have one way, Hindus another. Scientology has one way, Mormons another. Even within Christianity there are a variety of approaches to "Christian" religion. These are not the things that captured Paul's interest. For Paul, there was one single and clear focus for hot pursuit: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into this life to save sinners for a kingdom he is building in the next and Paul focused all his efforts squarely on that pursuit. All about Jesus Christ. All about Jesus Christ's agenda, all about Jesus Christ's purposes, all about Jesus Christ's interests. Jesus Christ is the objective for Paul, Jesus Christ is the focus, Jesus Christ is the end-game plan, Jesus Christ is who to pursue, Jesus Christ is who to strive for.

I don't see anything about the "American Dream" here, I don't see anything about immigration reform here, I don't see anything about "social justice" here, I don't see anything about the "green economy" here, I don't see anything about global warming here or trade balances with other nations or an Arab Spring or saving Jewish settlements or... All I see in Paul is his unfettered and focused pursuit of Jesus Christ. I don't see anything about doctrinal "distinctions" amongst the denominations here. I don't see anything about vestments, liturgies, arguments over how to "do it right" whether its communion, baptism, the order of service or who gets to participate on the "worship team" here. What I do see is an uncluttered singular pursuit of Jesus Christ and his agenda.

In this letter, Paul tells us what his perspective is on Jesus Christ, "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." 1:15-20.

If that doesn't take your breath away, you're not breathing!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Mysterious and mystical wisdom from God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:9b,

"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives..."

What is this "wisdom and understanding" the Spirit of God gives?

Paul speaks of the wisdom the Holy Spirit imparts to believers in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16. In that passage he says this wisdom is not "the wisdom of this age or of the rulers [the leaders] of this age", verse 6. It is wisdom of another order, it is wisdom from God, verse 7. In fact, this wisdom is so different from that of this world, the leaders of our world are incapable of understanding it, verse 8. This wisdom is a "mystery" that has been hidden and predestined by God for the glory of believers, verse 8.

In verses 9-10, Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4 and tells us that God has revealed to believers what he has prepared for "those who love him", something no human mind has conceived. In the Isaiah passage that Paul refers to, Isaiah calls out to God to come from heaven and reveal himself to his enemies so they would "quake" before him. Although God does not reveal himself to unbelievers, at least not in terms of the mystery Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 2:7, he does so to believers.

Paul goes on to say that it is the "deep things of God", verse 10, that the Spirit "searches" or knows of, and that is what believers receive from the Holy Spirit, verse 12. The intent is that believers may understand what it is God has given them. Paul explains that his teaching is not what comes from human wisdom but what the Holy Spirit teaches, verse 13, and that the spiritual realities Paul speaks of are cast in Spirit-taught words, verse 13. Paul also tells us that those who do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them consider what the Holy Spirit teaches as foolishness-- they cannot understand it, verse 14. Paul points out that we have the "mind of Christ" and therefore access to these deep things of God.

The reality of this wisdom that God imparts to believers is mysterious and mystical. It is something people do not arrive in God's family with, but having embraced the Lord in faith and having the Holy Spirit indwell them, it is something the Holy Spirit reveals to them in a startling and meaningful way as they mature in the Lord. Paul points out that it is to the "mature" he instructs in this wisdom the Holy Spirit provides, verse 6. As the writer of Hebrews says, "solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil", Hebrews 5:14.

In considering these things, a passage about wisdom comes to mind, a reminder of what we can do if we feel the spigot of God's wisdom is not what it should be in our lives, 

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 

for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:1-7.

There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. I strongly encourage all to read the chapter for the day of the month. Nothing could be more profitable than gaining the wisdom that comes from God!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Can I lose my salvation? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:21-23,

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel."

Notice that "if" in the above passage? This passage is a statement about salvation. It is a statement about eternal life. It is a statement about who goes to heaven and who does not. A very important statement, wouldn't you say? Here is another example of such a statement, "We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end." Hebrews 3:14. "If" this, then "that". If we continue in our faith, if we remain established and firm, if we do not move from the hope held out in the gospel, if we hold to our original conviction firmly to the very end, then we are reconciled, then we have come to share in Christ.

Many have misread statements from Scripture such as this that appear to speak to a conditional approach of believers keeping themselves in a "saved condition". They have concluded that if they don't "keep themselves in the faith", if they "backslide" in an episode of sin, if they allow themselves to be sidetracked, they can or have lost their salvation. Many have fretted over the notion of, "Might I lose my salvation?" In angst over insuring such an horrific outcome doesn't take place, many have immersed themselves, enslaved themselves, in good works and mighty personal efforts in the anxiety such a prospect produces. Tied in knots and consumed with "keeping themselves saved" they become side-lined and unproductive for God's great plan of redemption. They fail to move past a certain point in their relationship with God, having stalled out on a needless diversion. A good trick on the other side of the spiritual war we are all engaged in.

Paul is not addressing the conditional terms of salvation in this passage, nor is he teaching we can lose our salvation. Neither is the writer of Hebrews in 3:14. What they are pointing to is the manifestation of what salvation looks like. Someone who is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ is established, does not move from the hope held out in the gospel. Someone who has come to share in Jesus Christ holds their conviction firmly to the end. It is not their effort in doing this, it is due to God's faithfulness in his promise to us. If we embrace him in faith, he will faithfully keep us to the end. When we embrace the Lord in faith as a response to the gospel, it is done. My salvation was determined in 1968 and nothing I have done in my life will change that. What does change is my life here, now that the Holy Spirit resides within.

How do we know this? "He [God] will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9. God's faithfulness keeps us firm to the end! Where some are fooled into attempting this on their own, as if their salvation depended on it, God has already taken the responsibility to keep all who have embraced him in faith safely to the end of their earthly existence for their participation in eternal life.

This was so foundational in apostolic teaching that the apostle John used this truth to cast light on false teachers who were disrupting the church, men who were never saved. "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1 John 2:19.

Does this mean we will never sin, that we will never have episodes of turning our backs on God, that we will never disappoint God and others in our lives? Not at all. The Scriptures teach us that our sinful natures remain with us to the end of our earthly lives, when we leave these bodies behind. Until then there is conflict, a conflict that resides inside us between the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence within us and our sinful natures. Paul speaks to it, "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." Galatians 5:16-17. If and when we may sin, John tells us, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." 1 John 2:1. The reality is that when believers like me sin, we feel an overwhelming discomfort, guilt, over it, the conviction of the Holy Spirit that dwells within. It drives us to our knees. We find ourselves in prayer asking for God's forgiveness, just as David in Psalm 51. Afterward we get up, dust ourselves off, and set about our challenges with renewed commitment to our God who was redeemed us from all sin.

I'm certainly not advocating room for sin in a believer's life. It is my conviction that none of us have to sin, that we are somehow in an environment where sin is inevitable. Paul tells us, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." What I am saying is that if and when sin may enter into the life of the believer, the resolution is not to despair over a perceived loss of salvation, but to go to our knees and get right with God.

It is God's grace all the way. He is faithful and he will do it!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Who's in the boat? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:15-16,

"The Son [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."

Among other things, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the creative member of the Trinity. Here Paul tells us of his participation in the creation, "all things have been created through him and for him."

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [Jesus Christ], whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:1-3.

The apostle John puts it this way, "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." All mankind!

Perhaps this helps to inform us of the confession we need to make when we initially embrace Jesus Christ in faith. As Paul speaks of our response to the gospel that brings salvation, he says, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10. When we declare, confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, what is meant is that Jesus Christ, as our creator God, sits in his position within the Trinity at the right hand of God the Father: He is Lord!

All that exists, what we call the "creation" or the "cosmos" was created through the Son of God, for the Son of God. 

As Jesus stilled the storm while in the boat with his disciples, and as they trembled in great fear and stunned astonishment at having just witnessed the storm obey his command, they asked "Who is this?", Luke 8:22-25. Can you imagine the further stunned astonishment they may have further felt, understanding fully they were in that boat together with the One through whom the universe was created? How might you feel?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Insightful prayer - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:9-12,

"Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light."

Paul had not met these believers yet and so, in his letter to them, he attempted to establish a personal link with them to enhance his effort in encouraging them in the things of God. No better way to do this than to tell the Colossian believers about his prayers for them. In praying for them and telling them of it, Paul communicates his concerns for them and his willingness to expend himself, on their behalf, on his knees. Our benefit of Paul's telling of his prayers for the Colossian believers is that it provides us an apostolic perspective on those things deemed important by Paul. What is insightful in Paul's prayer is the focus on things that, at times, we don't see in prayer today as outcomes sought.

A couple of initial observations from Paul's prayer is that he understood it was from the Holy Spirit that wisdom and understanding is given. It is through that wisdom and understanding that knowledge of God's will is unveiled. How many times have you heard someone pray for God's will? Perhaps Paul provides us insight here... I also note that Paul continually prayed for these believers, "we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God..." Here is an apostolic example of Jesus' teaching on persistent prayer lived out, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1. The parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8 is very instructive on prayer. Consequently, we find Paul continually praying for these Colossian believers.

What I see as outcomes Paul is looking for in his prayers for the Colossian believers include the following seven (maybe you can see some I am missing - I left at least one out just to tease you):

Living a life worthy of the Lord.

Pleasing the Lord.

Bearing "fruit" in every good work.

Growing in the knowledge of God.

Being strengthened with "all power according to his [God's] glorious might."

This strength leading to great endurance and patience.

Giving joyful thanks to God the Father (because of our wonderful inheritance in the resurrection!).

Can you find at least one I left out?
 

These outcomes are important. Perhaps I should check my own prayer list to see if it reflects these things in my prayers for others I have concern for.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

An amazing message! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:3-8,

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."

Paul had heard about the folks in Colossae. He had heard of their faith and love: faith in Jesus Christ and love for God's people. Paul understood that the Colossian's faith and love could only "spring" from the hope they had, stored up for them in heaven. So Paul recognized the gospel had come to them, brought to them by Epaphras. It was only through the gospel message that the Colossians apprehended, understood God's grace, "since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace".

These days it is often taught just backwards. Some say that it is some kind of special enduing by God's grace that provides an ability to apprehend, understand the gospel. God appoints one to understand the gospel and not another. If one does not respond to the gospel, we are to shrug our shoulders and say "God just didn't tap this one." This would be news to Paul. It was clearly his perspective that the gospel message itself is unique, and very powerful. It is a message God wants all to hear, all to consider, all to respond to. The message speaks of God's grace in that we, who deserve God's judgment for our sins, can be forgiven if we embrace Jesus Christ in faith. This is grace! God's grace provided the means and the message to find our way into his family, and it is our response to that message that brings God's grace to us.

Why is this important? If we limit our understanding that the gospel message is an incomprehensible message, unless preceded with some kind of fanciful enduing from God, we miss entirely how the gospel mission has been designed and deployed by God. Additionally, if we reduce God's grace to some kind of "roofie", as if God dropped something in our drink when we were not looking, we miss the transcendent nature of God's grace. God's grace is his expression of love for us, a love that extends beyond our ability to apprehend. Nevertheless, he expresses his love in providing us an opportunity we do not deserve. He has made a way for all mankind into his family, into eternal life-- if we embrace Jesus Christ in faith! This love of God is expressed by Jesus Christ dying on that miserable cross for our sins, suffering the judgment we deserve. This love of God is expressed in communicating to us through a message of his own device, the gospel, brought to us by those he himself has prepared. He doesn't manipulate us into believing - he provides us the opportunity to do so. This is God's grace!

Paul considered the gospel to be the power of God for salvation. He says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes", Romans 1:16. In another place he says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message [the gospel], and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. This is not an issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism. It is much broader than that, as it transcends Calvinism, Arminianism, Semi-Palegianism, etc. The theological debates between these schools provide the wrong presumptions, the wrong premises, and frame their debates improperly. It is an issue of current-day theology that finds its origins in the teachings of the sixth-century Augustine (a wonderful believer and teacher) brought forward through the reformers - at odds with Paul, with the Scriptures. These theological schools all contain much truth, contain much of what Scripture has to say and we are indebted to the adherents of these schools who have promoted much needed reforms in the church over the centuries. However, as is often the case, it is in the "distinctives" that we often run into those "troubling" passages of Scripture that seem to provide frustration.

Scripture is sacred ground. Theology is not. It is my firm belief that when we enter in to the pages of Scripture, we best check our theology at the door. How difficult that is to do so! I struggle as much as anyone!

Nonetheless, I celebrate with Paul the amazing power of the gospel! So powerful a message, it provides the opportunity for any of us to enter into God's family!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A psalm that really moves me! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 29:1-11,

"Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
       ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
       worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
       the God of glory thunders,
       the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
       the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
       the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
       Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord strikes
       with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
       the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
       and strips the forests bare.
       And in his temple all cry, 'Glory!'
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
       the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
       the Lord blesses his people with peace."

I love this psalm! Out of the twenty-four lines, comprising eleven verses, I count exactly no first person personal pronouns. There are no "I", "me", "my", "mine" kind of words here because this psalm is all about the Lord! Its focus is on the Lord, his power, his glory, his splendor, his holiness, his majesty. "Lord" is used eighteen times and "God" once! Six times pronouns are used to represent him!

I'm not saying there is anything wrong in using first person personal pronouns in worship. Just look at the following psalm, Psalm 30. It is rife with "I", "me" and "my". Psalm 30 is just as inspired as Psalm 29 and just as important. It is just that Psalm 29 moves me differently, and I think that difference is due to its focus on the Lord. I think both of these psalms have their place as the Lord has provided both to us through David. I just have to say that Psalm 29 moves me in a way worship should find its expression.

I notice other instances of worship in the Scriptures where the consuming focus is on the Lord and him only. Consider some of the passages of worship in the book of Revelation: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelation 4:8,11. Also, Revelation 5:12-13, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" So many examples could be offered here!

I think there is much to be said about this kind of passage in Scripture. I find it takes my hand and leads me before the Lord to gaze on his wonderful attributes, his breath-taking beauty, the splendor of his majesty, the brilliance of his holiness! As David says in Psalm 27:4, "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

 

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Redemption, what's that? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Titus 2:11-14,

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

Jesus Christ "gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness". What does that mean? To "redeem" is not a word used these days as much as it had been when I was a child. (We had S&H Green Stamps back then.) Merriam-Webster defines "redeem" as "to buy back", "to win or get back", "to free from what distresses or harms: as to free from captivity by payment of ransom", "to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental", and "to release from blame or guilt".

When Jesus Christ redeems us, from what or to whom is he making payment, that is, "to buy back" or "to win or get back", to free us from what? What is that "something detrimental" we are saved from?

Paul mentions "all wickedness." As we spend time in the Scriptures we find that the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23. As sinners, we will face God in his court, and his justice for all the sinful things we have said, thought or done requires a penalty to be payed. In Revelation 20 we read of the penalty for sins: cast into a lake of fire for an eternity! It is this certain future we face as sinners that we are redeemed from, when we embrace Jesus Christ on the cross.

When Jesus, a man innocent of any and all sin, died on that cross, he was taking our place, our punishment upon himself, to make payment to God the Father's justice for my sins and your sins. In this sense he has redeemed us from "all wickedness." I note that Paul says it was not for some of our sins, but for all - all wickedness. When Jesus died on that cross, he brought a huge payment in to God's court. A payment that was large enough to cover all people's sins for all time. Some attempt to limit the payment Jesus made in their theology - they fail to see that what Jesus Christ suffered on that cross was payment enough to cover all sins for all people for all time.

In order for Jesus' payment to cover our sins, all he asks is that we trust in him, that we embrace him in faith, "to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12.

It is in this sense that Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness.  

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! 

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

"What kind of man is this?" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Titus 2:12-14,

"It [the grace of God] teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

Here Paul calls Jesus Christ our "great God and Savior". It was Paul's inspired understanding that Jesus Christ was not just a mere man, but God in the flesh. Yes, he is a man, fully a man. Yet, he is also God in flesh at the same time, fully God. Not half and half, but fully both together. Theologians, who love to invent fancy lingo to ply their trade, call him the Theo-anthropic person in hypostatic union. That is, Jesus Christ exists as fully human and fully God all at once in the same person. This, of course, is a mystery and applying a label to it brings no relief in our understanding of it. It simply clarifies what is being said.

I am reminded of a stunned observation made by his followers "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" Matthew 8:27. On one occasion Jesus asked his followers, "Who do you say I am?" Matthew 16:15. The answer to this question is important as Paul tells us, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. Our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, is a very important issue if we claim his is "Lord".

Paul told his Colossian readers, "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form", Colossians 2:9. John tells us he is the Creator God, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-3. Several verses later he tells us who he means in his reference to "the Word", "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14. In speaking of the Jews, Paul said, "Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!" Romans 9:5.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:1-3. This is a wonderful introduction we are provided about who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus himself made clear he was God as well. In John 5:18 we read, "For this reason they [the Jewish leaders] tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

So much could be cited as evidence that the man Jesus Christ was, in fact, God in the flesh. Miracles, fulfillment of prophecy, the things he said and did all attest to his deity. He was no mere gifted teacher, although he was. He was not just a prophet, though he was. He was no mere leader of a new movement that would establish itself as "The Way" to God and his kingdom, though he was. He was not just a moral and spiritual guide, though he was. God the Son, existing eternally, was born of a virgin and is Jesus Christ.

Of himself he says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. Who do you say he is?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's Magnanimous Mercy! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Titus 3:4-5,

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."

There is one reason, and one reason alone that anyone is heaven-bound: God's mercy. It certainly is not due to "righteous things we had done". Anything we have done will not bring us eternal life, only God's mercy. It is not because we have been selected by any particular church, or tapped by some priest, pastor or elder, only God's mercy can. It is not due to following spiritual disciplines, good church attendance, regular offerings placed in the plate, only God's mercy. We can study religious books (not speaking of the Bible here), we can attend spiritual convocations, we can sit at the feet of the most famous swami - anyone who is heaven-bound is headed that way solely because of God's mercy.

Why is it only by God's mercy? Simple: none of us deserve heaven, none of us deserve God's presence in our lives. We have all sinned, including you and me. What we all deserve is God's judgment. And he has a judgment for those who have sinned - a fiery lake of burning sulfur. We can read about it in Revelation 21:8. God has a keen sense of justice and that justice is clear and straightforward. With this keen sense of justice and an unfathomable love in his heart for each and every one of us, he provided payment for all the sins anyone might ever commit. God the Father sent his Son to die on that cross to pay for our sins to satisfy his own justice. This made a way for us and this is why it is said that God saved us out of his mercy. His mercy will be extended to all who will embrace him in faith.

Merriam-Webster defines mercy as, "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power." Certainly God's mercy flows from his love for us. So fascinating is this aspect of God's character, we are told even the angels long to look in to the unfolding of God's redemption on earth, "Even angels long to look into these things." 1 Peter 1:12.

Why does God have mercy on us? I don't know. Why does he love us? I don't know. I do know that our God tells us there are two attributes that drive him in his affairs with mankind: his justice and his love, "Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness [his love], justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." Jeremiah 9:24. Likewise, John tells us that God's love is so consuming, he defines God as "God is love." 1 John 4:8,16.

As I say, I have no idea why God loves us, particularly when I consider what mankind has become in the exercise of his own devices, compelled by a sinful nature born of his rebellion against God. Nevertheless, he does. He tells us so, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...", and he has demonstrated so by Jesus' horrific death on that cross.

God's mercy is a mystery to me. The resolution to that mystery certainly resides in the breath-taking, awe-inspiring, and overwhelming heart of our merciful God. As I await that time I might gain better insight into it, I celebrate it today. 

How wonderful the mercy of God! How wonderful the heart of our God!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com