God Works Through Us in Spite of Us - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 3:12-13a,

"Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus."

Peter healed a lame man at the temple and a crowd began to gather in astonishment. The above is how he began what he had to say to them.

The account provides something fascinating about God to me. Peter heals a cripple and then tells the mob that gathers that it was not due to his "own power or godliness". 

It appears to me that God uses folks for his purposes to accomplish his will and his desires apart from them having arrived at a level of "power" or "godliness". While Peter had become an amazing apostle and carried within him the fullness of the Holy Spirit that led to his involvement in the miraculous, the prophetic, the production of the inspired Scriptures and the spread of the gospel, he confessed it was not him or any level of spirituality he had attained. God had done it!

I sense there may be some among us who calculate their spiritual bona fides on the basis of how God uses them. Peter's observation here should cure us all of such notions. While I certainly appreciate the faithfulness and desire of many who serve God and do amazing things for the kingdom of heaven, it is God who does it!

God uses us in our foolishness, weakness and inabilities. That God involves us at all in his purposes is just amazing and that he doesn't require a level of accomplishment in our life to be used by him is even more amazing. As I think about how God works in this way I realize he gets the glory instead of some knucklehead like me.

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!

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Jesus Responds to Us by Sending His Spirit! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 2:33,

"Exalted to the right hand of God, he [Jesus Christ] has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."

Here is something I find just fascinating! Peter tells the crowd that gathered when the Pentecost event took place, that what they were witnessing was something Jesus Christ was doing in heaven at that exact time. What Jesus was doing in heaven was manifesting itself on earth! 

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to come and physically dwell within the actual hearts and lives of each of the disciples. Since that time, as we learn in other passages such as Ephesians 1 and 1 Corinthians 12, each one of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have had Jesus send the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives as well.

Our experience may not be the same as what these disciples had on the day of Pentecost, but just as with them, our Lord in heaven did something very personal for each one of us that impacts us here on earth: at the time we embraced Jesus in faith, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us!!

Simply astonishing!!

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!

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Many Convincing Proofs - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 1:3,

"After his suffering, he [Jesus] showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

Following his predetermined and planned sacrificial death on the cross to take the penalty of God's justice for our own sin, Jesus came back from the dead. Prophesied in many places in the Scriptures and foretold by Jesus himself, it came to pass just as he said it would. "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40.

All four gospels provide the account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

Death is the penalty for sin. God told Adam that if he sinned he would die. All people are born with the certainty of facing both physical and spiritual death. That Jesus Christ rose from the dead demonstrates God's satisfaction with the ultimate payment for sin. We still face physical death, and we all do until resurrection day, but none of us have to face certain spiritual death any longer. The resurrection of Jesus Christ authenticates all he said and did while here and is the seal of God's satisfaction with his payment for our sin.

Did God have to prove his satisfaction of Jesus Christ's payment for our sin by revealing him to us in his resurrection? Wasn't it enough that the Lord foretold these events, brought them about and following, couldn't he have just ascended into heaven? But he stayed here for a period of forty days providing "many convincing proofs that he was alive."

As always, our loving and merciful heavenly Father provides for us in our weakness. He held up his Son to us to let us know, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" Matthew 17:5.

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!

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Eye Witness Accounts to Resurrection! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 21:14,

"This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead."

This is John's comment as he provides the account of Jesus appearing to Peter and other disciples when they went fishing following Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

It reminds me of Paul's observations of Jesus' appearances following his resurrection, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

These appearances are eye witness accounts of the Lord following his death and resurrection. I personally have never seen the risen Lord physically and I have never met anyone who claimed they have. Perhaps it is because, as Peter explains in Acts 3:21, that he resides in heaven and will remain there until "the time comes for God to restore everything". That is, until the end of this age, when Jesus will return to earth a second time, "he [Christ] will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:28.

The accounts of these appearances have been given to us that we might know of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Although we do not see him physically today, we embrace our knowledge of it by faith. Our acknowledgment of his resurrection is an important issue for each one of us as our salvation hinges on our certainty of it, "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.

If we declare Jesus as our Lord, and if we "believe in our hearts" that God raised him from the dead we will be saved! I don't read we "might be saved" or there is hope we could be saved, or that we are a step closer to our salvation. No… we will be saved! I don't read if we declare "Jesus is Lord" and believe in our hearts God raised him from the dead plus see the priest, or fulfill our obligations to the rosary, or give our confession or join the Baptist church or maintain spotless attendance at all church services or tithe religiously. I don't read if we do anything else! Simply embrace the Lord in faith and make him Lord - confess him as Lord of our lives and our place in God's family is secure. Eternal life is ours.

We don't need Jesus to put on a show for each generation. We have eye witness accounts to his resurrection that he has provided us and that is all we need.

What is so wonderful about Jesus' resurrection is it demonstrates the Father's satisfaction with his payment for our sins. Also, as we read of Jesus resurrection, it wells up within each of us our hope as we know that just as Jesus was raised from the dead, we will be as well, "If Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:10-11.

Just how wonderful is that?!

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!

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The Utterly Exciting Resurrection of 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 20:19-20,

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."

 

Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus came to visit his disciples where they were together. In this passage we are told that the disciples were "overjoyed" when they saw him. I don't know how "overjoyed" is measured but I suspect that room saw the most excited celebration any room has ever seen.

 

Appearing before his disciples in that room that day, Jesus brought to them the reality of his resurrection. If I had been one of them, living, serving, traveling with Jesus, seeing the miracles and listening to his teaching, how would I have felt at the moment Jesus appeared? 

His appearing authenticated all he taught, the reality of the forgiveness of sins, the ending of our estrangement with God, a new and exciting hope in eternal life: that I would someday follow the Lord in resurrection to a new life and a new order of things! I suspect my understanding of the celebration that took place in that room does it little justice. I think they were well beyond exuberance or any other descriptive term. They must have been quite simply beyond joy!

 

God forbid that I fail to rejoice today, that I fail to feel the excitement of those disciples due to time and familiarity! Time and familiarity should cast no shadow over the exciting and breath-taking realities brought to light in the resurrection of Jesus Christ! It is just as exciting, just as astonishing this minute as it was in that room on that day!!

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!

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Physically Slapping God's Face! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 19:3,

"And they slapped him in the face."

Those who did the slapping were Pilate's soldiers. The One slapped was the Son of God! It took place when the leaders of the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate to have him put to death.

This account is provided to us in John's gospel - a book that begins with these words, "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." John 1:1-4. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the creative agent within the Trinity. All things that exist have been created through him.

Mankind literally slapped his Creator in the face! What drove the Jews and the Romans to treat the Son of God this way is what drives us all - it was not just them. It is all of us. We all have a sinful nature that has prompted us to turn our backs on God. We all have a sinful nature that has compelled each of us to live our lives in enmity against him. Here we see just how ugly that sinful nature is.

However, it is that very sinful nature of mankind that God exploited to make it possible for people of faith to cross over from eternal death to eternal life. How easy it was for God to use the self-seeking and hateful impulses of lost mankind to effect a sacrifice of himself!

The astonishing thing is that God did this very thing! The Father sent the Son to offer him as a sacrifice of atonement, paying for our sins! All he asks is that we embrace him in faith.

Think of the incomprehensible love the Lord has for us! He gave his life that we might have an eternal life, an abundant life! He gave himself for us… his creatures… that slapped him in the face!

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!

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Real Assurance, Real Confidence! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 18:8-9, "'I [Jesus] told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.' This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: 'I have not lost one of those you [the Father] gave me.'" At the time of his arrest in the garden, Jesus asked that his disciples be let go. John makes an observation that this fulfilled Jesus's words he had spoken earlier. In John 6:39 Jesus told the crowd, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he [the Father] has given me, but raise them up at the last day." We view Jesus' request that his disciples in the garden be set free as an initial fulfillment of what Jesus said earlier, that pointed to a future reality. Jesus does not lose anyone who belongs to him. All who have been given him by the Father will not be lost. Not even one. Every one of them will be resurrected to a blessed eternal life. Not most, not some! Each and every last one! Who are those the Father has given the Son? Everyone who has embraced the Son of God in faith makes up the number the Father has given the Son. Many today no longer believe in the gospel message of salvation through faith in the Son of God. Reaching back to a misguided teaching of Augustine and furthered by John Calvin and other "reformers", it is taught that salvation is by appointment of certain individuals by God. Faith is relegated to the role of manifesting the appointment God has already made, to be evidenced in God's timing. No human choice is involved and the gospel message is devoid of the power Paul claimed for it... that power now seen in a "roofie" God slips certain ones - "prevenient grace". This is a theological scheme that many are trapped in these days. It was once viewed as an oddity by most believers in years past, but has become so prevalent today that it is seen as orthodoxy and those of us who reject it are viewed as some kind of a heretic. In any event, God determined before time began, that he would redeem lost mankind, and grant them salvation, one by one, if they embrace Jesus Christ in faith. This is God's choice, his election. Therefore all who respond to the gospel by embracing Jesus Christ in faith through the exercise of their own free will become the "elect" of God. The ones the Father gave the Son are the ones who respond to the gospel by embracing Jesus Christ in faith, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. No "roofie" here! "... we maintain that a person is justified by faith" Romans 3:28. Here is the wonderful news: all who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have crossed over from death to life and will never, ever be lost. "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." John 5:24-25. Our rallying cry should be the words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, "whoever believes in him [God's one and only Son] shall not perish but have eternal life." Each and every one of us! 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.

Sans Serif Send

Authority the Father Gives the Son - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 17:2-3,

"You [God the Father] granted him ]Jesus Christ] authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

This is how Jesus' own prayer to our heavenly Father begins. Jesus acknowledges the authority the Father gave him to grant eternal life. This authority is over all mankind. Jesus also points out that eternal life is a matter of knowing the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, that it was the Father who had sent the Son to provide the redemption price [his own physical body] for all mankind.

I note that only those the Father gave the Son are given eternal life by the Son. So, just who are these ones the Father has given the Son? Who are they and what sets them apart for eternal life?

We get a clue very early in John's gospel. "to all who did receive him [Jesus Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God", John 1:12. These are the ones given the Son from the Father: all who embrace Jesus Christ in faith are those the Father has given the Son and it is the Son who bestows eternal life upon them.

Jesus Christ both made the way for anyone to enter into eternal life by offering his life as a ransom, paying the redemption price for all of mankind, and he also bestows, or grants that eternal life upon those who choose to place their faith and trust in him.

Only those who chose Jesus Christ enter into eternal life! How wonderful he has made of himself the way to eternal life - a life in the next age available to any who reach for him.

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!

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The Lord Provides All that is Needed! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 16:7-8,

"It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment..."

As Jesus tells his disciples about his coming death and ascension into heaven, they are "filled with grief". As an encouragement to them he tells them about how he will send the Holy Spirit when he gets to heaven and about the Holy Spirit's activity in the world. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt. This guilt will be a three-fold conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. In John 12:32 Jesus said, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Jesus Christ wants all to come to him. He presents himself as the atoning sacrifice of all mankind, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2. Additionally, he sends the Holy Spirit into the world to bring the conviction that all in the world are in need of this atoning sacrifice. Mankind is sinful, lacking righteousness and stands under the judgment of God - facing a lake of fire for all eternity.

After all, who would reach out for a life vest unless they were convinced they needed it? So, the Holy Spirit convicts unsaved man of sin, of unsaved man's need for a savior. All that anyone could possibly need to be brought into God's family has been provided by him! What a wonderful God who has gone to great lengths to bring us all into his 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!

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.  

The True Vine! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in John 15:1,

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."

I note Jesus says he is the "true vine" not just "the vine." Perhaps I make too much of it, but the implication by the Lord is that there are "untrue" vines. Counterfeits, imitations, the inauthentic, as well as the bogus, fake, false and phony."

Jesus came to die for our sins and draw us to himself (see John 12:32). He is the "true vine." These counterfeits seek to draw us to them. As counterfeits, they cast themselves as sirens to draw us away from the Lord and to themselves. None more obvious in Jesus day than the Pharisees. "Many people, because they had heard that he [Jesus] had performed this sign [raising Lazarus from the dead], went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" The "getting us nowhere" referred to their agenda to keep people following them. False vines!

And, so it is today! We see "evangelists" on TV making their pitch to get the folks to join their "ministry" and fund their coffers. False vines! We see various denominations promoting the purity of their "flavor", their "brand", their form of worship, their particular doctrinal "distinctive" (whatever it may be), and to get as many as they can to follow them. False vines! We see the world's religions promoting their own theologies and concepts to draw folks to them. False vines! Particularly in Islam where the warlord Muhammad penned fictional writings to keep his fighting men true to the cause (If you have not done so, you really need to get a good translation of the Qur'an - Oxford has a very good, newer translation - and read about this alleged "religion of peace") False vines!

On the other hand, Jesus Christ came as the "true vine." He is the authentic Creator God sent to draw us to the kingdom of heaven. "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." Hebrews 1:1-3. The true vine!

"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." Colossians 1:15-20. The true vine!

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.