March_19

SHARING BREAD

¹⁴ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

John 5:14-15 (NIV)

I am reminded of Jesus’ stern warning presented in both Matthew and Luke to those who continue to persist in their unbelief:

⁴³ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”  Matt 12:43-45 (NIV)

 

²³ “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. ²⁴ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”   Luke 11:23-26 (NIV)

Knowing that it is impossible to remain neutral in the battle between Christ and Satan, Jesus calls our healed protagonist to a decision. These words would not have been unfamiliar to the Jewish listening ear.  Moses, Elijah and Joshua – just to name a few – clearly all called the people to make a choice.  We find in Deuteronomy, Moses’ clarion call:

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.   Deut 30:15-18 (NIV)

 

In like manner, the prophet Elijah presents this same question to the people of Israel in his grand show down with the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel found in 1 Kings:

²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”   1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)

 

Interestingly, the word translated “waver” found in the above verse in 1 Kings is from the Hebrew word “pasha” meaning a limping dance.  How often that is true in our day and age as well.  We find ourselves doing a one legged two step with God and a one legged two step with the world.  Beth Moore’s grandmother used to say:  “You better dance with the one who brought you!”  In like manner, we would do well to remember to dance with the One who has brought us thus far!

Lastly, Joshua presents yet again the same choice in these well known verses found in the Book which bears his name:

¹⁴ “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”   Josh 24:14-15 (NIV)

 

God is His mercy calls us over and over again to come to Him – to turn from our ways and embrace the One who willingly gave His Son to restore us once again to a right relationship with Him.  To entrust ourselves into His loving hands should not be hard as His plans for us are to prosper and not harm us.  His plans for us are to give us hope and a future.  I was reminded of a beautiful passage in Jeremiah today through a devotional I was reading reinforcing this great truth:

⁸ See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. ⁹ They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.  Jer 31:8-9 (NIV)

¹² They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD– the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds.  They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. ¹³ Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. ¹⁴ I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the LORD.  Jer 31:12-14 (NIV)

“Now, O Lord, I am blind, and heartily desire also to be directed by thee alone in all my ways and steps, in great and little things.  Suffer me never to follow my own spirit and natural inclinations, whatever good appearance they may have.  Be pleased to cross them continually, whenever they are contrary to thy will.  Often have I been deceived by false appearances already; my zeal has not always been according to knowledge; I have put natural passion in the place thereof, and thought I was contending for the faith once delivered to the saints, and have afterwards found it no better than the effects of a party spirit.  Be then a Father to me, O Lord, and instruct thy waiting child in all necessary truths, and lead me in all thy righteous ways.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky  

What I glean from this:

•  I am called to make a choice to follow hard after Jesus.
•  God is merciful in calling us back into a right relationship with Him.
• God has only my best interest at heart.

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December_30

SHARING BREAD

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:17 (NIV)

Sent by God on a mission to save, Jesus came not to judge nor to condemn nor to pass sentence rather to redeem.  We are told the following in Scripture:

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”   Matt 1:21 (NIV)

¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  Luke 19:10 (NIV)

For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.   John 12:47 (NIV)

¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.    1 John 4:14 (NIV)

Indeed, Jesus came to save – to deliver us from that spiritual death which is common to all men because of Adam’s sin.  He sought to make us whole and to preserve us from danger, loss or destruction.  God’s own arm worked this salvation for us:

The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.   Isaiah 59:15-16 (NIV)

“He came into the world with salvation in His eye, with salvation in His hand…..God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and so saving it.  This is good news to a convinced conscience, healing to broken bones and bleeding wounds, that Christ, our judge, came not to condemn, but to save.”   Matthew Henry

“Israel was totally incapable of helping herself. Only God could help her. This is true of salvation in any era. No one can save himself. Only God can forgive sin and change a person’s heart.”    Bible Knowledge Commentary

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”    Acts 4:12 (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.    John 14:6 (NIV)

Salvation, contrary to what many may believe, is only possible through the blood of Christ – Jesus stresses this.  He is the only access to the Father, He is the only One from the Father, and He is the only way to the Father.

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.    1 John 4:9-10 (NIV)

“No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ.  God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died.  It cannot be earned, just accepted.  All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless.  It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened.  We protest by saying, ‘But I don’t want to come that way.  It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.’  God’s response, through Peter, is, ‘…..there is no other name…..by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).  What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart.  There is unlimited entrance His way.  ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood…’ (Ephesians 1:7).  To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.  God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good.  Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong.  The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.”     Oswald Chambers

“Unbelief, therefore, which refuses to accept of this great gift, is, no doubt, the greatest of all sins.  O Lord, teach me this, and grant me faith. ….Therefore delay no longer to receive what his love has offered thee, but firmly believe that the Father loves thee as well as the Son.”    K. H. Von Bogatzky

¹ As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ² For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”  I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.   2 Cor 6:1-2 (NIV)

“Author of faith, to thee I lift my weary, longing eyes; Oh let me now receive that gift – my soul without it dies.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky

What I glean from this:

• God sent Jesus on a mission to save me – coming not to pass sentence rather redeem.
• Jesus sought to make me whole and to preserve me from destruction.
• Salvation comes only through Jesus.

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December_28

SHARING BREAD

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)

The battle rages over the souls of men and while Satan lures us with lies, God lures us with love.  Indeed, just as victory in war is demonstrated by the placing of the flag of the victorious country,
in like manner, God’s banner over those who believe in Him is love. 

⁴ He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.   Song of Songs 2:4 (NIV)

 

God is not ashamed of His children.  To be sure, He delights in us and it is His desire for this delight to be evident to others as well. The prophet Zephaniah tells us:

¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”   Zeph 3:17 (NIV)

God’s motivation towards people is love.  This love is not limited to a few choice souls or to certain distinct groups rather His gift of love is given for the whole world. 

“The essential fact of Christianity is that God thought all men worth the sacrifice of His Son.”    William Barclay

“God placed such value upon mankind, showed such estimation of him, that though he deserved nothing by rejection and wrath, God sacrificed His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, for man’s salvation.  This was done for man’s good and solely because God, the subject, accorded him this wholly undeserved value.”   New Testament Lexical Aids Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible   

 

The Bible teaches that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Paul states in Romans:

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

 

“I was the enemy of God.  I was stamping through God’s universe, shaking my fist in His face.  And in the very moment when I was shaking my fist in God’s face and tramping through the Creator’s universe, muddying all His streams, that’s when Jesus died for me.  And if this is when Jesus died for me, what hope it gives me now!  Now, even when I fall, the blood of Jesus is enough.  He didn’t save me because I was strong; He saved me when I was weak. He didn’t save me when I was a pretty thing; He saved me when I was a mess. On the basis of this reality, I can have comfort.”  Francis Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ.

 

God loves us – we must let the Truth of these precious words resonate in our weary souls – impress them upon our hearts and our minds – indeed, God loves us.  Even when we were His enemies, He so loved us that He gave us His one and only Son that those who would believe in Him would not perish rather experience life in abundance both now and forevermore.

¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.   1 John 4:15-16 (NIV)

“The supreme happiness of life,” Victor Hugo said, “is the conviction that we are loved”….Unfortunately, many people go through life feeling unloved – and unlovable…No matter the reason, your feelings aren’t telling you the truth!  God loves you, and if you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, your attitudes will begin to change.  If He didn’t love you, would Christ have been willing to die for you?  But He did!  The Bible says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).  God loves you.  Hammer that truth into your head and mind every day.  It will make all the difference.”    Billy Graham

 ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?   Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)

 

“He will never suffer a believing soul to perish; he has passed his word for it.  It is he that says, I shall not perish, I shall not be condemned, but have everlasting life, if I believe.  This will I build and depend upon to my last moments, as upon an immovable rock.”  K. H. Von Bogatzky

“Love Him totally who gave Himself totally for your love.”  Claire of Assisi 

 “Amazing love!  How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”   Charles Wesley

What I glean from this:

• God lures me with love.  ⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love;
  I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.   Hosea 11:4 (NIV)
• While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me.
• Jesus loves me this I know. 

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December_25

SHARING BREAD

¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

John 3:13-15 (NIV)

In our verses for today we are presented with the Christmas story albeit couched in unfamiliar words.  Jesus was sent from heaven to save us from the sting of death.

The story takes place in Numbers Chapter 21.  The Israelites were, once again, grumbling and complaining against God and Moses.  They were sick of the lack of bread.  They were sick of the lack of water.  They were sick of the miserable food.  And while their bodies were healthy, their attitudes were sick!  Taking their eyes off God and placing them on their circumstances certainly did not fare too well regarding their behavior but their complaining fared even less well with God.  I am reminded of the verses in Philippians that became our family mantra:

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶ as you hold out the word of life–in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.   Phil 2:14-16 (NIV)

God was not happy with their stinking attitude and, I might add, He is not happy when my attitude stinks either!  In the case in Numbers, being just, holy and righteous, He sent venomous snakes – biting many among them – causing death.  They turned to Moses immediately, crying they had sinned and seeking for his intersession. Mercifully, God tells Moses to make a snake and place it on top of a pole.  Anyone who had been bitten could merely look at that snake and live.   

 ⁴ They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; ⁵ they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” ⁶ Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.  ⁸ The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.   Num 21:4-9 (NIV)

Not too dissimilar to the Israelites we often grumble and complain over God’s provisions for our lives as well.  We don’t like the house we have, or the car we drive, or the spouse we live with.  Our job is too hard, our money too little, our joy depleted.  Our children rebel, our health declining, our friends deserting.  You name it; we come up with it.  We can term this complaining and grumbling whatever we want, but God calls it sin.

Interestingly, notice in the passage in Numbers, God did not take the snakes away rather He gave them a way through the snakes.  Sin will never be eradicated this side of heaven – Jesus is therefore our way through the “snakes”. We are all born stricken with this sin nature – bitten by the venomous snake of Satan –and in desperate need of a Savior.   And just as God in His mercy had Moses craft a snake on a pole to save many who had sinned, God in His mercy sent His Son down from heaven to save all who would believe. Jesus came in His incarnate state to reveal God to man, Divine and human natures combined in Christ – God with us.  

Jesus, being without sin, took upon Himself all the sins of the world – past, present and future – so that in turn His righteousness could be given to those who would trust in Him by faith.

²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Cor 5:21 (NIV)

 

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.    Eph 2:8-9 (NIV)

“Sin is the deadliest foe we have; it cast our first parents out of paradise; it defaced God’s image in man; it brought pain, sickness, and death into the world, and a spiritual death into the soul; it causes a distance from God, and a dislike to his holy ways; it gives Satan an interest in, and a power over mankind; it once drowned the world, and will destroy it at last; it exposes body and soul to the just judgment of a holy God, and will seek every unpardoned offender into everlasting destruction.  How is this deadly foe to be conquered?  How is this fretting leprosy of the soul to be cleansed?  Reader, be careful in this matter, and seek after a remedy that will be lasting and efficacious.  Duties, prayers, tears, sacrifices, morality, and partial reformations, avail nothing in this case; all below Christ Jesus will prove physicians of no value.  Jesus is the only Savior; God the Father sent him into the world to save sinners; his name declares the same; he is ‘called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.’  His blood is the only atonement for sin….May we be enabled to look to him, to receive him as our Lord Jesus, able and willing to save to the uttermost.”  K. H. Von Bogatzky     

Reader, look to Jesus and be saved.

What I glean from this:

• Jesus was sent by God to save me from the sting of death.
• I am to do everything without complaining or arguing,
• Jesus is my way through the “snakes”.

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December_23

SHARING BREAD

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

John 3:9-12 (NIV)

Confessing his ignorance, Nicodemus is obviously clueless over Jesus’ prior explanation of the necessity of one’s regeneration to enter the kingdom of God.  Clearly, due to his lack of understanding, this doctrine made no sense to Nicodemus causing him to question the truth of it.  Unfortunately, oftentimes our ignorance blinds us to the Truth – and ignorance to the Truth is no excuse.  Jesus tells us that we fall into error when we do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.  We find His words in Matthew:

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.   Matt 22:29 (NIV)

Never forget that all Scripture is God breathed and is therefore profitable for us.  Picking and choosing what we may want or not want to believe is simply not an option.  It is pointless to take it in part merely because we do not understand it or believe it – we are to take it as a whole or not at all.  Paul tells us:

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)

 

King David also tells us:

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.   Psalms 18:30 (NIV)

 

“If you wish to know God, you must know his Word.  If you wish to perceive His power,
you must see how He works by his Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.”  C.H. Spurgeon

“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection.  And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others.
Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”   A.W. Tozer

Teachers are especially accountable to know the Truth as they are responsible for leading others.  When they wander from the Truth, they lead others astray in their wake.  Jesus comes down rather hard on the Pharisees in regard to this in Matthew:

 ¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.   Matt 23:13 (NIV)

James gives us fair warning regarding this as well:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.   James 3:1 (NIV)

 

Having professed a clear knowledge, a teacher is all the more bound to obey it- practically speaking, practicing what they preach.  Hence in our verses for today, Christ gives Nicodemus a reproof for his dullness and ignorance.  Being one of Israel’s leading teachers he should have understood Jesus’ teaching.

I am reminded of the prophet Hosea’s words:

⁹ Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them.  The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 14:9 (NIV)

“Lord, strengthen our faith, inflame our love, enlarge our views, support us in trials, guide us by thy counsel, and receive us into glory, that we may sing thy praises to all eternity.  Amen.”  K. H. Von Bogatzky

³¹ For who is God besides the LORD?  And who is the Rock except our God?  ³² It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. ³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.   Psalms 18:31-33 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• My ignorance to the Truth is no excuse – Truth is neither relative nor subjective, Truth is Truth no matter what I may choose to believe.
• All of Scripture is flawless and is profitable for me.
• If I am wise and discerning I will seek to understand God’s Word.

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December_21

SHARING BREAD

⁴ “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

John 3:4-8 (NIV)

Baffled by Jesus’ words, Nicodemus shows forth his weakness in knowledge.  What Christ was speaking of spiritually, Nicodemus understood only in a fleshly manner.  Jesus responds with this red flag warning – “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

Nicodemus missed the point.  Corrupted flesh will only give birth to corrupted flesh no matter how many times fleshly birth takes place.  Indeed, corruption is bred in the bone with us.  Paul tells us in I Corinthians:

²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.   1 Cor 15:21-22 (NIV)

 

Christ asserts to Nicodemus the necessity of regeneration for one to enter the kingdom of God.  To be born again is to be born from above not through our own wisdom or power rather from the blessed Spirit of grace.

“The corrupt nature, which is flesh, takes rise from our first birth; and therefore the new nature, which is spirit, must take rise from a second birth.  Corruption and sin are woven into our nature; we are shaped in iniquity.  It is not enough to put on a new coat or a new face, but we must put on the new man.”   Matthew Henry

 

King David tells us in Psalm 51 we are born sinners, morally impotent:

⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. ⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.   Psalms 51:5-7 (NIV)

Christ, being the great Physician of our souls, intimately knows our case and what is necessary for the cure of our malady.  Considering the holiness of God and the depravity of man we must not think the necessity of the demand strange – regeneration is paramount.  It is an indispensable necessity. 

“I remember two things:  that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”  John Newton

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)

 

¹⁵ Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Gal 6:15 (NIV)

 

“To be in Christ is to be a new creation. This new creation is brought about by the Holy Spirit, the Agent of regeneration and the Giver of divine birth. God’s new creative work, begun in each one who believes in Christ, will one day be consummated on a universal scale. The old life of slavery to self and sin has gone. The new life of devotion to Christ means that one has new attitudes and actions.”     Bible Knowledge Commentary

 

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7 (NIV)

 

“The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit.  He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive.  He takes that which was ‘beyond’ us and places it ‘within’ us.  And immediately, once ‘the beyond’ has come ‘within,’ it rises up to ‘the above,’ and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns.”   Oswald Chambers

“Scripture does not simply say, Christ is born, but to you He is born.  Christ must above all things become our own and we become His.  See to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you.”   Martin Luther

 

What I glean from this:

 

• Regeneration is paramount in my life if it is my desire to enter the kingdom of God – it is an indispensable necessity as in my flesh I was born broken, sinful even at birth.
•  God desires purity and holiness and it is He alone that can cleanse me.
• In Christ I am a new creation by the working of the Holy Spirit – the Agent of regeneration and the Giver of divine birth.

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December_18

SHARING BREAD

 ³ In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 3:3 (NIV)

In response to Nicodemous’ inquisition Jesus positively and vehemently goes straight to the heart of the matter.  Here the Truth gives us the truth red flagging us to the importance of His words – “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  Not only born of man, but born from above.   John affirms this truth in chapter one of his gospel as well:

¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.   John 1:10-13 (NIV)

Ignorance and sin will blind our eyes preventing our recognition of Him not too dissimilar to those who witnessed Jesus at His incarnation.  Even many of His own people did not recognize Him – rejecting Him – refusing to accept Him – bringing to life Isaiah’s words:

¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?   Isaiah 53:1 (NIV)

So few people acknowledged, so few; yet, praise God this unbelief was not universal.   

“To all who accepted Jesus as the Revealer of the Father’s will and as the Sacrifice for sin, He gave the right to become children of God.”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

Jesus holds out to all of us the right to become a child of the King.  Ever want to be a princess?  Ever want to be a prince?  Now is your chance!  It is not just enough for us to behold and admire Christ’s miracles or to give verbal assent to His mission we must have a change of the spirit within us which, as Jesus states, is the equivalent to a new birth.  Birth is the beginning of a new life – to be born again is to begin anew.  And to be born from above is to begin anew through the power of the Holy Spirit who equips us to flesh out this new life. Otherwise, we would begin anew in our own flesh – striving against the wind – kicking against the goads – only to fail again.  Flesh begets flesh but the Spirit, hallelujah, begets the spirit. 

Interestingly, the Magi came looking for a king who was “born King” not a king who had obtained his position through political maneuvering or military power but rather One that was rightfully born into the position.  No usurper would do.  Rightful heirs were kings who cared for their people and the people honored them, they were vital to their communities and they assured legitimacy and stability.  Those born from above have experienced a new birth – a beginning of a new life not obtained by our own power or maneuvering but given by God:

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice,   1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV)

²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.   1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

When we pray to receive Christ as our Savior, asking Him to come into our lives as Lord, He bestows upon us the Holy Spirit which is the good Gift Jesus mentions in Luke:

¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”   Luke 11:11-13 (NIV)

Never are we made more aware of giving gifts than at Christmas.  Our children’s lists (and perhaps even our own) are miles long.  If, like me, you enjoy the gift of giving it is a pursuit to find just the perfect present making the eyes sparkle of those we love on Christmas morning.   God is the Giver of every perfect gift.  James tells us:

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.   James 1:16-18 (NIV)

Indeed, John 3:16 shows us God’s giving comes from the outflow of His love for us:

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.    John 3:16 (NIV)

Satan comes bearing the “gifts” of sin and death – no matter how beautifully he wraps and presents the package yet Jesus comes offering salvation and fullness of life wrapped in the packages of humility, love and service. 

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.   John 10:10 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• I cannot see the kingdom of God unless I am born again – not simply born of the flesh but born of the Spirit as well.
• To all who receive Him, to all who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of the King – children born of God.
• Jesus came to give me fullness of life.  

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December_16

SHARING BREAD

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

John 3:1-2 (NIV)

Cloaked in the darkness of night, Nicodemus approaches Jesus, the unapproachable Light, cloaked in flesh.  Nicodemus, the “Who’s Who” of the Jewish people – a Pharisee, a scholar and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, was a man of authority in Jerusalem.  He had had his eyebrows raised by the miraculous signs Jesus performed.  He knew enough to know that these things could not have been accomplished by mere man – the fingerprints of God were all too obvious.  “Pala” works – things too hard for man to do – if we are intellectually honest, point us to the Creator.  I love how Jeremiah states this fact in his prayer:

¹⁷ “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.   Jer 32:17 (NIV)

²⁰ You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours.   Jer 32:20 (NIV)

Blameless Job, after being confronted and questioned by God responds accordingly:

¹ Then Job replied to the LORD: ² “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.   Job 42:1-3 (NIV)

Indeed, Jesus speaking to the father of the boy with an evil spirit appears taken aback when the man asked if there was anything he could do to help them – foolishly questioning Jesus’ ability to give aid:

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” ²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”   Mark 9:21-24 (NIV)

Later in Mark Jesus tells us:

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”   Mark 10:27 (NIV)

The miracles of Jesus prompted Nicodemus to discover more.  Approaching Jesus at night he desired to talk with Him alone sans the constant interruptions of the public fanfare.  While others were perhaps resting, sleeping or at their leisure, Nicodemus pursued further knowledge, albeit perhaps in a cowardly fashion, coming at night when no one would notice. 

“Here was Nicodemus, a judicious, sensible, inquisitive man, one who had all the reason and opportunity imaginable to examine them, so fully satisfied that they were real miracles that he was influenced by them to go contrary to the stream of those of his own rank.”   Matthew Henry

Likewise, we are told to pursue further knowledge through the infallible Word of God so that we may not be ashamed at His appearing.  We are called to be zealous in this pursuit:

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Tim 2:15 (NIV)

“Always make it a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly to think through what you have easily believed.  Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study.  The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.”   Oswald Chambers

What I glean from this:

• Miracles show forth the fingerprints of God spurring me to seek Him.  ²⁷ Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”   Luke 18:27 (NIV)
• When fully satisfied by the reality of the miracles, like Nicodemus, it will prompt me to pursue further knowledge.  ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. ³⁸ But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” John 10:37-38 (NIV)
• As a believer, I am called to correctly handle God’s Word.     

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December_14

SHARING BREAD

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ²⁵ He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

John 2:23-25 (NIV)

Believer, beware of putting your emphasis on the accolades of man rather than on the accolades of God.  It is an easy trap to fall into often catching us unawares in its vice, tightly turning our motives into pleasing the creature in lieu of the Creator.  We are to live our lives for an audience of One.  We all live “coram Deo” – before the face of God – whether we choose to believe this fact or not.  Opinions and biases do not alter the Truth.

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.   Heb 4:13 (NIV)

 

Jesus did not entrust Himself to man because He knew them – He was aware of the weakness of some and the wickedness of others.  He knew their natures, their dispositions, their intentions and their affections certainly unlike mankind who scarcely knows himself in that way.  His knowledge came not from others information but rather by His own omniscience.    

“Be thoroughly acquainted with your temptations and the things that may corrupt you.”  Richard Baxter

“Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen otherwise than He has foreseen.”   H. Spurgeon C. H. Spurgeon

 As believers, our actions should always be conforming to the claims of a higher Authority.   I am reminded of Peter and John’s words to the religious leaders of their day after being warned not to speak again in the name of Jesus:

 ¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. ²⁰ For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”   Acts 4:18-20 (NIV)

Contrast Peter and John’s actions with those of some of the shortsighted leaders who desired man’s praises over God’s.  We are told in John:

 ⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.    John 12:42-43 (NIV)

 

Christian, is that true of us as well?  Do we care more about what man thinks of us than what God thinks?  Far be it from us! 

“To inoculate me from the praise of man, God baptized me into the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man.”   Francis Frangipane

 

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”    Aldous Huxley

 

Fear of man will control us even as the fear of God should control us.  Remember what Scripture states:

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.    Prov 1:7 (NIV)

 

“Men who fear God face life fearlessly.”   Richard Halverson

Jesus confirms the words in our verses for today:

⁴¹ “I do not accept praise from men, ⁴² but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?    John 5:41-44 (NIV)

The example Jesus set for all of us to follow is obedience to God cloaked in humility – He came to do his Father’s will, nothing more, nothing less.  We would do well to follow His lead.  Paul tells us in Philippians:

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  ⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!    Phil 2:3-8 (NIV)

“People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher or better than themselves.”   Tryon Edwards

What I glean from this:

• Jesus did not entrust Himself to man and neither should I.
• I should seek the praise of God not the praise of fickle man.
• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of my knowledge.

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December_11

SHARING BREAD

²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:22 (NIV)

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty is it not?  Recalling their Master’s prophetic words, the disciples were all too ready to believe the Scriptures and what Jesus had spoken to them.  Jesus’ words in Matthew come to mind:

But wisdom is proved right by her actions.   Matt 11:19 (NIV)

“To trust too much upon feeling, disturbs our peace as soon as it is gone; but to rely on the word of God, preserves a settled assurance.”    K. H. Von Bogatzky

While Jesus had plainly told them what was going to happen, they had not grasped it – they simply needed the light of the resurrection to point them to the Truth of it all.  The disciples were able to understand the meaning of what Christ did as they reflected upon the Truth of the Scriptures.  God’s word and God’s works go hand in hand. 

“If you wish to know God, you must know his Word.  If you wish to perceive His power,
you must see how He works by his Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.”   C.H. Spurgeon

We find in Matthew Jesus chiding them for their lack of understanding:

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.   Luke 24:25-27 (NIV)

Perhaps unbeknownst to them at that time, the crown always comes by way of the cross – the groans precede the glory.  We would do well to remember that in our own lives as well.  Paul tells us:

 ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   2 Cor 4:16-18 (NIV)

 Considering the harsh travails Paul endured, it is certainly amazing that he could deem them “light and momentary” yet Paul’s fixed vision of the goal kept his mind in proper perspective – while the torturous deeds were supremely difficult, they were nothing in comparison to the glory that he would be receiving.  We might easily dismiss this if he had not written a considerable amount of what he suffered for the sake of Christ:

 ²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ²⁸ Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?    2 Cor 11:23-29 (NIV)

Amazing he terms this “light and momentary” – I can barely read it much less live it! We are told in Acts how Paul warned, encouraged and strengthened the disciples with these words:

  ²¹ They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.   Acts 14:21-22 (NIV)

Difficulties would be the rule rather than the exception for the first Christians – as well as the last and all in between, I might add!  

“Christians shouldn’t be surprised when, in seeking to do God’s will, we find ourselves trapped in painful, frightening, difficult, or impossible situations.  Life is hard – especially for Christians.”  Robert J. Morgan

“Never shall you come into such a position that Christ cannot aid you.  No pinch shall ever arrive in your spiritual affairs in which Jesus Christ shall not be equal to the emergency, for your history has all been foreknown and provided for in Jesus…..It is goodness which He has prepared for the poor in heart, goodness and goodness only.  ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’  ‘As thy days, so shall thy strength be.’”      C. H. Spurgeon

What I glean from this:

• If it is in God’s Word it will come to pass in the fullness of time.
• Wisdom is proved right by her actions.
• I live in a fallen world – troubles come to both believers and non-believers alike yet as a believer God works my pain for a higher purpose making beauty out of my ashes.   ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.    Romans 8:28 (NIV)

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