Week of 3 Lent - February 24 thru March 1, 2008

This Bible Study: is based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.

The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com

Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (with God's help), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.

3 Lent - Sunday
February 24, 2008

Isaiah 42:14-21 Deaf and Blind Servant
Psalm 142 Prayer for Deliverance
Ephesians 5:8-14 Children of Light
John 9:13-17, 34-39 The Man Born Blind
(or John 9:1-41)

Isaiah:

The Lord has been patient for a long time, but now he will cry out like a woman in childbirth. He will level mountains and hills, and dry up every green thing. He will turn rivers and lakes into desert wastelands.

"I [the Lord] will lead the blind in a way that they know not; in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn their darkness into light, the rough places into level ground” (Isaiah 42:16). The Lord promises to do those things (for the blind), and to not forsake them. Those who trust in idols as their gods will be turned away, and be utterly ashamed.

Listen, you who realize that you are (spiritually) deaf; look, you who acknowledge your (spiritual) blindness. Who is more blind than the people of God who have been chosen and commissioned to be God’s servants and messengers? They see but do not perceive; they hear but do not listen (and obey). The Lord has chosen to magnify his Word and make it glorious for his own righteousness’ sake.

Psalm:

The Psalm for today is attributed to David when he was hiding in the cave at Adullam from King Saul, who was seeking to kill David (1 Samuel 22:1-4). When David was in desperate circumstances he turned to the Lord for help. David trusted that the Lord knew David’s troubled situation.

David felt that his enemies were lurking around him trying to trap him. He looked around for help but there was no one to care, help and give him refuge.

David acknowledged the Lord as his refuge and his portion “in the land of the living” (Psalm 142; 5c RSV). David asked the Lord to hear and deliver him from those who were persecuting David. David realized that he was not sufficient in himself to prevail against them. David asked God to deliver David from the prison of his circumstances, so that he could give thanks to God’s name for God’s power to deliver and for his overflowing blessings to David, and that David might be surrounded with those who do what is right according to God’s Word.

Ephesians:

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter of today’s text, to the congregation at Ephesus and to all believers. We were all once in spiritual darkness, but now are in the light of Jesus Christ [through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus]. We should live according to that light, so that we can produce the fruit of light, which is everything that is right and good and true. We are to take no part in works of darkness, but instead expose and transform them by the light of Jesus’ righteousness. So we should awake (from the sleep of spiritual darkness and death), and receive the light of righteousness and life, which is only through Jesus Christ.

Gospel:

Jesus and his disciples encountered a man who had been born blind (John 9:1). Jesus had made mud of dirt and spit and anointed the man’s eyes, in the manner of healers of the time, and told him to go to the Pool of Siloam (which means “sent) and wash. The man did as Jesus had told him and his sight was restored (John 9:1-12).

The healed man was brought to the Pharisees (legalistic religious leaders). The man had been healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees asked how and by whom he had been healed. The healed man told them, and some Pharisees declared that the healing could not have been the work of God because Jesus had violated the Sabbath law by making mud. Others said that if Jesus were a sinner he couldn’t have done the healing.

They asked the healed man’s opinion of Jesus and he declared that Jesus was a prophet. The Pharisees rebuked the healed man saying that he had been “born in utter sin” (John 9:34), and his testimony was rejected by the Pharisees who claimed to be his superiors in righteousness, intellect, education and authority. They excommunicated the healed man from the temple.

Jesus heard that the healed man had been expelled from the temple and he came and found the man. Jesus asked the healed man if he believed in the Son of man. The healed man asked Jesus to identify the Son of man so that the man could believe, as Jesus had said. Jesus told him that he was looking at and talking to the Son of man, and the man declared his faith, and worshiped Jesus. Jesus declared that he had come into the world to heal the blind, and to blind those who think they see.

Commentary:

God’s Word (the Bible) contains both promises and warnings, and it is eternal; it is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met.

Through Isaiah God warns that he has been patient with his people, but the time is coming when God will declare his judgment. The Lord will level every mountain and hill (and everyone who exalts himself before the Lord). The Lord has the power and authority, and will turn fertile land into barren desert (and he also has the power and authority to turn deserts into lush and fertile land; Isaiah 41:18).

The Lord promises to lead the spiritually blind in a new and good way that they cannot discover on their own. The Lord will turn their darkness into light, and he will level rough ground so that they will not stumble. The Lord promises not to forsake the blind.

In order for us to receive those promises we must recognize and acknowledge our spiritual blindness and deafness. God’s Word convicts his people, whom God chose to be his servants and messengers, of spiritual blindness and deafness. They see but do not perceive, and hear but do not listen and obey. The Lord has magnified and glorified his Word because of the Lord’s own righteous, not because his people deserve it or accomplish it by their own worthiness.

In a sense we are all God’s people because God is our Creator, whether we acknowledge him or not. In another sense the Jews were the chosen people of God, but they refused to recognize their spiritual blindness and deafness. They had the Word of God and the promise of the Messiah, but refused to accept, trust and obey God’s Word. They had been chosen as God’s servants and messengers, but didn’t accept the message and serve the Lord.

The Church is the “New Israel,” the “New People of God.” We have been called to be servants and messengers of the Lord. God’s Word applies as much to us today as it did to the Jews at the time of Isaiah, and at the time of Jesus’ physical ministry on earth. Do our eyes see and perceive? Do our ears hear and comprehend? Do we apply God’s Word in our daily lives? Are we serving the Lord or are we serving ourselves? Have we received the fulfillment of the Gospel message within ourselves through obedient trust in Jesus? Have we sought and waited for the empowerment of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit so that we can be messengers of the Gospel?

Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and demonstrated in human life in this world (John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus has glorified God and God has glorified Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11).

David is an example of what God’s servant should be. David was a man with a heart that desired to serve and please God (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20). He trusted in the Lord to save him from his enemies, who are ultimately Satan and death. David trusted in the Lord when he was in desperate circumstances, and the Lord delivered him and fulfilled his promise of the throne of Israel.

David is also the forerunner and illustration of the Christ (Messiah; both words mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively), the good shepherd-king (John 10:11-14), God’s anointed Savior and eternal king of God’s kingdom in the Promised Land of heaven.

All believers were once spiritually blind, deaf and spiritually dead. Jesus is the Light of the world, who heals our spiritual blindness and deafness, and gives us the light of his righteousness, spiritual insight, and eternal life (John 1:4-5, 9; 3:19-21; 8:12).

Jesus taught his disciples to live according to the light of the Gospel, the Word of God (John 12:35). Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples, after they had been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-1, 8; Acts 2:1-13), which only Jesus gives (John 1;31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14: 15-17).

Paul is the prototype and illustration of the “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple (student; servant of the master) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Paul (formerly known as Saul of Tarsus) was confronted on the road to Damascus by the Spirit of the risen and ascended Jesus (Acts 9:1-21; n.b., 9:3-5). Paul accepted Jesus as his Lord (Acts 9:5) and obeyed Jesus’ command (Acts 9:6b-8). He acknowledged and repented of his spiritual blindness (Acts 9:9), was discipled by a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-16, n.b., 9:10-11), until Paul had been “born-again” by the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17-18).

Paul was fulfilling the Great Commission, which the risen Jesus gave to his disciples, to make disciples of Jesus Christ and teach them to obey all that Jesus taught. (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul was teaching believers to live according to the light of Jesus Christ.

The man who had been born blind was healed as he acknowledged his blindness, allowed Jesus to treat it, and obeyed Jesus’ command. The Pharisees were like King Saul. They had originally been anointed by God to be the spiritual leaders of God’s people, but had strayed from obedience to God’s Word. Jesus was like David; Jesus had been “anointed” as the new (eternal) king of God’s people, but Satan, like Saul, refused to surrender the throne.

The Pharisees refused to recognize and confess their spiritual blindness. They used their authority and position for their own benefit, instead of serving the Lord and declaring the Lord’s message. The result was a controversy between the authority of God’s Word and the religious leaders.

Hasn’t the (nominal) Church today too often become a “religion” run for the benefit of the leaders? Isn’t the Church divided by the controversy between the authority of God’s Word and the authority of leaders; between the authority of God’s Word and the authority of “tradition?” Hasn’t "theological education" replaced personal experience and testimony?

Salvation is not by “church membership,” but by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith (obedient trust), by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

The healed blind man had a personal relationship with Jesus by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. The healed man is an example of a “born-again” Christian disciple growing to spiritual maturity. He trusted and obeyed Jesus and was healed, and he grew in faith to spiritual maturity as he experienced Jesus’ presence and power in his life. Jesus sought him. The man’s experience of physical healing made him willing and eager to trust Jesus again, and in even more.

We have all been born spiritually blind, deaf and spiritually dead. Jesus came into this world to heal those who realize that they are spiritually blind and deaf, and to cause blindness and deafness to those who think that they see and hear the truth apart from God’s Word in the Bible and in Jesus Christ.

I personally testify that I have had times when I felt in the same situation as David, overwhelmed by my enemies and in great distress. I cried to the Lord and the Lord heard and answered me and delivered me from my distress and my enemies (see Personal Testimonies, sidebar top right). I also testify to the truth of spiritual rebirth and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Monday
February 25, 2008

Psalm 43 Hope in God

Let us pray that the Lord will defend us against unjust, deceitful and ungodly men and vindicate us. Why would the Lord abandon us, since we have made God our refuge?

Send forth you light and your truth, O Lord, that I may be led by them, that I may be brought to your holy hill and your dwelling! Then I will worship at your altar with great joy, and sing praise to you, O Lord, my God.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (Psalm 43:5).

I believe that the reason and purpose of life in this world is to seek and come to know God (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ, by his Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

The only real security in this world is in the Lord. We will encounter ungodly, deceitful and unjust people in this world. If we adopt worldly ways, we will ultimately lose and will have become part of the problem. But if we commit our cause to the Lord we will learn from experience that the Lord is able and faithful to defend and uphold us. We will come to know with certainty that nothing can happen to us in this world that the Lord cannot bring us through and deliver us from.

When we experience trouble, it is easy for us to feel that the Lord has abandoned us. We need to hold on and continue to hope in the Lord with the assurance that we will again have reason to praise him for his help and deliverance. It is through such experiences that the Lord causes our faith to grow.

The Lord has sent forth his light and his truth, in the Bible, the Word of God, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word lived out in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12); the light of righteousness (John 3:19-21), the light of spiritual insight (John 1:9), and the light of eternal life (John 1:4-5).

Jesus is the truth; the only way to be forgiven of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), restored to fellowship with God and to eternal life, through his indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; 15-17; John 3:3, 5-8; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The Lord has sent forth his light and his truth to lead us through the trials and difficulties of this life and into the presence of the Lord on his holy hill, in his dwelling, before his altar. We can begin to experience the joy of his presence now, in this world, as we allow ourselves to be guided by God’s Word.

Have we committed to seeking refuge in the Lord, rather than relying on our human resources? Have we made the commitment to know and be guided by God’s Word, one day at a time? Have we experienced the great joy of his presence within us daily, and within his house and before his altar?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Tuesday
February 26, 2008

Hosea 5:15-6:2 Repent and be Healed

The Lord will withdraw from his people until they recognize and confess their guilt and seek the Lord’s face. In distress they may seek the Lord and return to him, realizing that the Lord tears apart but will also bind up; he wounds but also heals. “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him” (Hosea 6:2).

The Northern Kingdom, Israel, had turned away from obedience to the Lord and to idolatry. For a time they were successful and prosperous, and they didn’t heed God’s Word of warning through his prophets. They regarded their prosperity as a sign on God’s favor.

The Lord declared through Hosea that he was withdrawing his favor and protection from them and would allow them to suffer the consequences of their disobedience and idolatry in the hope that they would realize their guilt, confess their sin, and seek the Lord’s presence again. The Northern Kingdom did not repent and return to the Lord when they were under attack by the Assyrians, and their kingdom was conquered and destroyed in 721 B.C. The kingdom of the ten tribes ceased to exist.

Jesus is the perfect sinless example of a servant and child of God. Jesus came to make it possible for us to be cleansed of sin and filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can live according to God’s will like Jesus did. We have all sinned (disobeyed God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God has given us his Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-3, 14), so that we can realize and confess our sin, and turn to him and seek his presence and his healing (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

God allowed Jesus to suffer and die physically on the Cross as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we wouldn’t have to die eternally for them ourselves. God revived Jesus from the dead after two days, and raised him to eternal life on the third day, so that Jesus could live eternally with God. Jesus is the example and illustration of what God promises to do for us if we will trust and obey him.

If we will turn away from disobedience and idolatry, confess our sin, return to God and seek his presence, he will heal us spiritually. He will revive us and restore us to eternal life in his presence. This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), by the gift of the Holy Spirit, through whom we are spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8).

Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

America and the American Church are in much the same position as the Northern Kingdom and their religion in the time leading up to destruction by the Assyrians. They thought that their success and prosperity was evidence of God’s favor, and they couldn’t imagine that their success and prosperity would not go on forever. The Lord has the sovereign power and authority to lift his favor and protection from us and allow us to experience the consequences of our sin and idolatry. Are we willing to hear God’s warning? Are we willing to examine ourselves in the light of God’s Word and acknowledge our sin and idolatry? Are we willing to repent and return to obedient trust in the Lord, or must we experience the consequences before we are willing to repent?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Wednesday
February 27, 2008

Romans 8:1-10 Life in the Spirit

Those who are in Christ Jesus are no longer under condemnation. We have been set free from the law of sin and death, if we are obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God has provided what the law could not accomplish because of the weakness of our flesh. Sending Jesus in the flesh, sharing our sinful nature, to deal with sin, he condemned sin of the flesh, so that we could fulfill what the law justly requires, by living in obedience to the Holy Spirit, instead of our flesh.

Those who live according to their flesh focus on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit focus on spiritual things. Living in the flesh results in eternal death, but living according to the Spirit leads to eternal life. Those who focus on the flesh are hostile to God; they will not and cannot submit to God’s laws, and so they cannot please God; but those who live according to the Holy Spirit have peace with God.

God has designed this Creation so that we could have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not, so he allowed the possibility of sin, which is disobedience of God’s Word. But he also intended from the very beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. He designed Jesus Christ into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is (eternal) death. Jesus is God’s one and only promised Savior, provided for the forgiveness of our sin (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), who makes it possible for us to have eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom (John 16:7), through spiritual “rebirth” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus came in human flesh, sharing all our weaknesses, but filled with God’s Spirit (Colossians 2:8-9; John 1:31-34), to show us how to live according to the Spirit instead of our flesh. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). “Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9b). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself, whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2)

God has given us his Word to show us what he requires, but we can only fulfill his requirements by the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we commit ourselves to trust and obey Jesus we receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit who cleanses us, guides and empowers us to know and do God’s will. We are freed from the eternal condemnation of God’s law, if we live according to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit motivates us to do God’s will from love, rather than from fear.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Thursday
February 28, 2008

Mathew 20:17-28 True Greatness

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus took the Twelve (original disciples) aside and told them that the “Son of man” (Jesus) would be handed over to the Jewish religious authorities who would condemn him to death. They would turn him over to the Roman civil authorities who would mock, scourge, and crucify him, and he would be raised on the third day.

The mother of James and John (Salome) came with her sons and knelt down and asked that her sons might sit at Jesus’ right and left hands in his kingdom. Jesus said that they didn’t realize what they were asking. He asked if they were able to endure the same destiny that Jesus faced, and they replied that they were able. Jesus told them that they would suffer the same destiny, but that who would sit at Jesus’ right and left hand had been determined by God the Father and was not Jesus’ to grant.

The other ten disciples were indignant at the request of James and John, so Jesus called them and told them that worldly leaders exalt themselves over the people they rule, but Jesus’ followers were not to follow worldly standards. Instead, those who are great in God’s kingdom are the servants of others. The greatest is the one who is the servant of all. Jesus is the example we are to follow; he “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he knew he would be crucified. He told his disciples, for the third time, that he would be crucified and rise again on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23). Jesus usually referred to himself as the Son of man; he is both Son of man and Son of God. Jesus emphasized the Son of man, because it allows people to decide for themselves who Jesus is, with a hint from Daniel 7:13-14.

His disciples were still thinking in worldly terms. They were hoping for a political kingdom and for Israel to be delivered from Roman domination (Acts 1:6). Jesus told them that his disciples must follow Jesus’ example, to give up worldly glory and to serve others, and to share in mistreatment and suffering for the sake of the Gospel.

Jesus gave his life on the cross as the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins. We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23). Jesus paid the price, the ransom, for our sins, on the cross, so that we would not have to die for them eternally ourselves. Salvation from eternal condemnation and eternal destruction is only by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift), to be received by faith (obedient trust), in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus’ words were fulfilled. He was crucified, died and was buried, and he rose from physical death to eternal life on the third day, in fulfillment of God’s Word (Hosea 6:2; see entry for Tuesday, 3 Lent A, this week, above). Jesus’ resurrection was witnessed by over five hundred people (1 Corinthians 15:3-9), and is personally attested to by every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian, including myself.

How are we doing, Church? Are we willing to be disciples and servants of others for the sake of the Gospel, or do we expect the Church to serve us? Are we willing to forgo some worldly comforts and benefits for the sake of the Gospel or are we seeking worldly comfort, status and authority in the Church and in the world? Are we serving the Lord or do we expect him to serve us?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Friday
February 29, 2008

Isaiah 49:8-13 Return and Restoration
John 6:35-51 Bread of Life

Judah, the southern kingdom, the remnant of Israel, was in exile in Babylon. The Lord declared through Isaiah that he has answered their cry for return and restoration in a time of favor, and has helped them in a day of salvation. He has kept them so that God’s promise to all people can be fulfilled through them, to establish a land in which the desolate share an inheritance, to free the prisoners, and to give light to those in darkness.

The Lord will lead them and feed them on the way; barren heights will become their pastures. They will not hunger or thirst; they will be protected from wind and scorching heat. The Lord has had pity on them, and he will lead them by springs of water. He will level mountains and raise up a highway. God’s people will return from the farthest corners of the earth, from the north (Babylon), from the west, and from the south (Syene is the southern border of Egypt). Rejoice and sing to the Lord all heaven and earth; the Lord has had compassion on his people and has comforted his afflicted.

Jesus said to the crowd, who had followed him seeking physical bread, that he was the (spiritual) bread of life. Those who come to Jesus and believe in him will never hunger or thirst. They had seen firsthand and experienced the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand but did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah (Christ; God’s anointed Savior and eternal King).

God has given to Jesus all who will come to Jesus in faith (obedient trust), and Jesus will reject no one who comes to him. Jesus has come down from heaven to physical life on earth in order to accomplish God’s will; not his own. It is God’s will that no one whom God has given to Jesus should be lost, but raised up (to eternal life) at the last day (the Day of Judgment). It is God’s will that those who see and believe in (trust and obey) the Son, will have eternal life.

People questioned Jesus’ claim to have come down from heaven (John 6:38a), because they thought they knew Jesus’ mother and (human) father, Joseph. Jesus told them not to argue with each other. No one can come to Jesus except by being “drawn” by God (the Father; the Holy Spirit) and Jesus promises to raise them to eternal life on the last day. Jesus said that those who had been taught by God (Isaiah 54:13; by his Word; the Bible) would come to Jesus. We can hear and learn from God the Father, but only Jesus has seen him (Matthew 11:27; John 1:18; 14:7). Jesus promised that those who believe in Jesus have eternal life.

Again, Jesus said that he is the bread of life. The patriarchs ate manna, the bread of heaven, in the wilderness, but manna didn’t give eternal life. Jesus is the “living” bread which came from heaven and gives eternal life to those who eat it; “and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51c).

God’s Word is eternally true, and is fulfilled over and over, as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The prophecy of Isaiah was addressed to the remnant of Israel in exile in Babylon, but it also foretells the Messiah, God’s Servant, who would redeem his people spiritually from spiritual “Babylon.” The prophecy is also for us today. We are all, in one sense, God’s people in exile in “Babylon” and Jesus is God’s promised Savior who delivers us and restores us to the eternal “Promised Land” of God’s kingdom in heaven.

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of restoration. Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” who leads, feeds and provides water on the journey to the “Promised Land” (Isaiah 49:9b-10; compare Psalm 23, John 10:10-15). Jesus’ mission is to free those who are imprisoned by sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and (eternal) death (See God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), and to give the light of righteousness (doing what is right according to God’s Word; John 3:19-21), spiritual insight (John 1:9), and eternal life (John 1:4-5) to those who are in spiritual darkness.

Israel was God’s chosen people through whom the promised Savior came. Israel was to be God’s servant people to bring God’s salvation to the world. The Church is the “New Israel;” we are to be the servants of God to bring salvation to the world.

The Jews had the Word of God but did not recognize that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. They had heard and read the Word of God, but hadn’t learned from it. They were focused on the physical world and did not recognize their spiritual need. They did not recognize their bondage to sin and death, and their spiritual blindness.

God was drawing the Jews by his Word, the manifestation of Jesus and his miracles, but they weren’t allowing themselves to be drawn. Jesus was the example of the Servant of God that Israel was called to be but they weren’t willing to seek and do God’s will.

God has always intended from the beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. God has designed this temporal world to allow us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not, and the opportunity to learn by trial and error that God’s will is our best interest. Jesus has been designed into the structure of this world from the very beginning of Creation (John 1:1-3, 14).

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation from eternal condemnation and destruction, and for eternal life and fellowship with God in his eternal kingdom (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross makes it possible for us to be cleansed of sin so that we can receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We are spiritually “re-born” to eternal life through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5-8). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Today is the Day of Salvation; today is the Day Grace, (the day of divine, unmerited favor; 2 Corinthians 6:2). No one can be sure that there will be a “tomorrow.” There is a Day of Judgment coming when every one who has ever lived will be accountable to God for what we have done in this lifetime (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

3 Lent - Saturday
March 1, 2008

2 Peter 1:2-11 Call to Holiness

Grace (God’s unmerited favor) and peace are only truly found through our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord. We have been given all things necessary for life and godliness by the divine power of our Lord who has “called us to his own glory and excellence” (or “virtue;” 2 Peter 1:3b). He has given us great and precious promises by which we may be freed from the worldly corruptions of the flesh and partake of the divine nature. So, in addition to faith, we should make every effort to grow in virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. If we practice these virtues faithfully our knowledge of the Lord will not be ineffective and unfruitful.

Anyone who lacks these virtues is spiritually blind and ignorant, forgetting that he has been cleansed of sin. So let our lives demonstrate that we have been saved, and if we do this we will never fail or have cause for shame, and will be warmly welcomed into the kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Salvation is not just knowing “about” Jesus Christ, but knowing him personally through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Faith is not getting whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Believing that God is the one true God isn’t saving faith; even demons believe that (James 2:19). Even demons believe and acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah (Mark 1:24c; Luke 4:34d).

True grace and peace are only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

We have been given everything necessary for godliness and true, eternal, life now and eternally, but we must claim the promises and apply them in our daily lives. Those who believe in Jesus have been given the power and authority to become children of God (John 1:12), but we must exercise that power by obedient trust in Jesus.

As we begin to know, trust and obey Jesus’ teachings, he will give us the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit within us, through whom we are guided and empowered to escape and resist worldly corruptions, and through whom we partake of the divine nature. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “re-born” to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8).

Saving Christian faith is a process of spiritual growth. One must be a “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ in order to make “born-again” disciples, as Jesus demonstrated and has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8). Believers are to be “discipled” by “born-again” disciples until they have been “born-again” by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and then they are to be further discipled daily by the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13).

We must act according to what we profess and believe, or our knowledge of the Gospel will be unfruitful and we will be ineffective. Jesus said that just calling him Lord doesn’t make it so; if he is truly our Lord we will be living daily in accordance with his teaching and example (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?