A Price Being Paid

I try to read three chapters a day as I go through the Bible and this week I found myself in Revelation Chapter 2. In this chapter the Lord is speaking to the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira.

This week was also the 47^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Since that time over 61 million unborn children have lost their lives to abortion. That’s a lot of dead children.

And before I go any further here, let me remind the post abortive men and women who are within the sound of my voice. There is no sin that Jesus did not pay for on the cross. Jesus forgives….He heals, and you need not carry that burden of guilt around any longer. In Him there is no condemnation, that’s the devil’s game, not His.

So what has this got to do with Revelation 2?

Well in verses 18-29, the Lord speaks specifically to the church at Thyatira. After commending them for their works of love, service, and faith, He severely chastises them for their sins of sexual immorality and idol worship.

We pick it up in  Re 2:20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

 21 "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

 22 "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

 23 "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

OK, in a nutshell a woman named Jezebel had falsely taught people that it was all right to engage in sexual immorality. God gave her ample time to repent, but she didn’t and He said unless she repents, He will punish her with an unspecified illness and with the untimely death of her children. This seems harsh to us, but God wants to get our attention to the seriousness of the sins of sexual immorality, and He uses the unrepentant Jezebel to make His point.

The lesson here is, the loosening of sexual restrictions inevitably results in dead babies. It happened in the Old Testament when babies were sacrificed to Molech and it has happened in our nation on the heels of the sexual revolution in the 1960’s.

61 million children sacrificed on the altar of convenience and so-called sexual freedom. Maybe we should go back to square one here. Repent of our sins, and revisit what God has to say about sexual behavior.

Father, forgive us, we have done wickedly and rebelled against you in this matter.  We come to you solely on the basis of Your great mercy and pray that You would forgive us, heal us, and restore us, in the Name of Jesus Amen.

Hebrews # 4 Why Am I Here?

Today’s Living Word #4

Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God has appointed His Son, Jesus Christ to be the heir of all things! The word “appointed” here is the idea that God ordained it to be so from the very beginning.  As the heir, Jesus inherits all that God spoke into existence through Him.

As Col 1:16,17 reminds us: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Just let that sink in a little while. You are part of “all things.” You were created through Him and for Him. Your life has purpose!

Jesus knew you before He formed you in the womb. He knew every part of your genetic code. He knew Jeremiah was suited to be a prophet in His kingdom even before Jeremiah was conceived! Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

He had His eyes on Nathaniel as one of His Apostles long before He officially appointed him to that position. He was intimately acquainted with him, even knowing the depths of his heart, and why not? He created it!

Joh 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"

 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

So we know His purposes for Jeremiah and Nathaniel, but what about you? What about me? What did He create US for? It’s an age-old question. Why am I here? The answer is hidden in Ps 37:4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

The word “delight” here means to be pliable like clay in the hands of a potter. Clay is obedient to the hands of the potter and he shapes it as he wills. So the idea here is to be pliable (obedient) to the Lord. Let Him shape you through His Word into what He desires you to be.

If you do that, His promise here, is to give you the desires of your heart.  Here’s where it gets a little tricky. Because we are sinners, our hearts  are susceptible to the desires of our flesh rather than God’s original design for us. Jer 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Only Jesus can know it! He created it!  So in the matter of “our reason for being here,” why not just trust Jesus to get us there as we become like clay in His hands?

It sounds simplistic, because it is simplistic. Present yourself to Jesus as a lump of clay. Let His Word shape you into what He created you to be! Learn to daily surrender to Him as the Holy Spirit begs us to do in Ro 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Do this with confidence, believing the promise of Ps 37:4! He will give you the desires (that He planted) in your heart.

Hebrews #3 The Great Commission

Today’s Living Word #3

Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

The writer of Hebrews points out something that I think we are all too quick to forget. He says, “in these last days.”  That little phrase is very instructive because it tells us that the writer of this Book knew that he was living in the end times. What he didn’t know was that God had more to say before Jesus would return.

That “more to say” came when John finished writing the Book of Revelation around 95 A.D. Note how he wrapped up that Book in Re 22:20 he said, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

With  the completion of the Scriptures, God has said all He is going to say to us, until Jesus returns! He has told us all we need to know to be ready for His Son’s return. We are in the end times and have been for over 1900 years! 1900 years! That’s a long time waiting for the other shoe to drop isn’t it?

Why are you waiting so long Lord?

2Pe 3:9 reminds us that God is not asleep at the wheel concerning the Second Coming of Jesus. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

So, how do people come to repentance? Through the preaching of the Gospel, and Jesus had this to say about when the end will come. He said in Mt 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

The early church knew of this relationship between the end of times and the spreading of the gospel and they were on it! They believed it with all their heart, soul, and bodies, and they gave their all for the purpose of promulgating the gospel.

When the last unbeliever is converted by the gospel and stuffed into the footstool of God, the end will come! Heb 10:12,13 reminds us: “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,  13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

It seems to me that after 1900 years of waiting, the church has just shrugged their shoulders concerning the return of Jesus, shaking off the responsibility of fervently bringing the gospel to the lost, for the sake of the comforts of this world.

Can you, have you, prayed with John? “Even so come Lord Jesus,” or are you too enamored with the things of this world. Don’t let the cares of this world keep you or your church from the main thing! Go! Make disciples! Find out your part of the work and do it!

Hebrews #2 This Is My Son, Hear Him!

Today’s Living Word #2

Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son

God spoke in the Old Testament at various times and in various ways. This speaking was meant to tell of the coming Messiah, His Son, Jesus Christ. He didn’t reveal it all at one time or one place but we get bits and pieces as we go along.

For instance, Abraham was told of what nation the Messiah would come from. Jacob was told what tribe. David and Isaiah were told what family. Micah was given the town, Daniel the timing, and Malachi the coming of His forerunner.

God used different methods to speak to these people. Some directly, some in dreams, some in visions, and some through prophets.  But the message always pointed to the coming Messiah!

It is just as Jesus said to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in  Lu 24:25-27, “Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

And later when He appeared to the disciples when they were gathered behind closed doors in Jerusalem in  Lu 24:44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the  Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

The Old Testament has served its purpose of pointing us to Jesus, and continues to serve the purpose of strengthening our God-given faith in Jesus as the Messiah. If the Old Testament were all we had, it would be enough to lead souls to salvation through Christ on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But God has not ceased to speak to us in the Old Testament, He speaks to us now through His Son, who spoke to the Apostles and other eye witnesses who recorded what He wishes to say to us in the words of the New Testament. And we would do well to pay attention to what God told Peter James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him! (Luke 9:35)

Pray: Dear Jesus, forgive us for the habit we have of selective hearing. We pick and choose what we will hear from You and what we will obey. Help us to hear ALL You have to say!

#1 "God!"

Today’s Living Word #1

Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

You gotta love a Book of the Bible that starts out with “God!” The Supreme Divinity wants to say something to us! Yahweh, the Great I Am, who identified Himself as such when He spoke to Moses in a burning bush! “And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Ex 3:14)

I Am! The self existent One, the Ruler of the Universe! (Ps 97:9 For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.)

The One who spoke it all into existence! (Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.

 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.)

And has kept the ball rolling ever since, (2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.)

Yes, this same God has some things he wants to say to us in this Book, and you can be sure it is for our own good! Because He is good! (Ex 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,)

Pray: Lord give us ears to hear and hearts that desire to follow You.