Easter Week – March 23 thru 29, 2008

Seasonal Note: I’m beginning a new Three-Year Lectionary 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.

Easter Sunday
March 23, 2008

Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24 -- Thanksgiving for Deliverance
Acts 10:34-43 -- Gospel to Gentiles
Colossians 3:1-4 -- Buried with Christ
Matthew 28:1-10 -- Empty Tomb
[or John 20:1-9 (10-18)]

Psalm:

Let us give thanks to the Lord for his goodness to us. His love for us is unwavering and eternal. Let God’s people proclaim the Lord’s steadfast eternal love.

Listen! Hear the songs of joy in the homes of the righteous (those who do what is good, right and true according to God’s Word), praising the greatness and courage of the Lord’s right hand (the Lord’s Servant). The Lord’s Servant declares that he will not die; he will live and recount the great deeds the Lord has done. The Lord chastises his Servant greatly, but does not abandon him to death.

May the Lord open the gates of the righteous to me, so that I can enter and give thanks to the Lord. I thank the Lord for answering my need and providing for my salvation. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22). The Lord has done this, and we realize and acknowledge how wonderful this is. Each day is given us by God and we should rejoice and be glad them.

Acts Background:

The Lord was at work in both the Apostle Peter, and in a Gentile Roman Centurion named Cornelius to extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Cornelius trusted and obeyed the Lord to send for Peter, and Peter responded to the Lord’s guidance to go to Cornelius.

Acts:

God had prepared Peter, showing him that God is not partial to the Jews: any one of any nation who fears (appropriately respects the power and authority of) God and does right (according to God’s standard; his Word) is acceptable to God.

Peter reviewed the Gospel of peace with God through Jesus Christ which had been given through Israel. Jesus had begun proclaiming the Gospel throughout Israel, beginning in Galilee, after the baptism preached by John (the Baptizer). Jesus was “anointed” (Messiah and Christ each mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek, respectively) by God with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34) and with (supernatural) power, and Jesus had, by the will of God, gone throughout Israel proclaiming the Gospel and healing and feeding all who are in bondage to Satan and death.

Peter and the other disciples were witnesses to all that Jesus did. The Jews executed Jesus by hanging him on a tree (i.e. with nails; on the Cross), but God raised Jesus up on the third day (in accordance with the prophetic Scriptures; for example: Hosea 6:2; Psalm 16:10). God manifested the risen Jesus to over five hundred witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:3-9) chosen by God.

The witnesses ate and drank with Jesus after his resurrection (demonstrating that he was not a “ghost”). And Jesus commanded his disciples to preach the Gospel to people, and to testify that Jesus is the one “anointed” by God to be the judge of the living and dead (in the physical and spiritual senses). All Biblical prophecy testifies that everyone who believes in (trusts and obeys) Jesus receives forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word; the penalty for which is eternal death; Romans 6:23), by the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Colossians Background:

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the prototype and example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8), disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. He was “making disciples” of Jesus Christ, including the believers at Corinth, in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission, given to his disciples, to be carried out after they had been “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Colossians:

Paul taught that those who believe (trust and obey) Jesus are raised with Jesus to eternal life, provided that we focus on what is spiritual and eternal, rather than what is worldly and temporal. We must consider ourselves dead to the ways of this world and hidden with Christ in God, so that when Christ reappears we will appear with him in glory.

Matthew:

Early on the day after the Sabbath (i.e. Sunday), Mary Magdalene and Mary, wife of Clopas, went to the tomb of Jesus. There was a great earthquake and the stone sealing the tomb was rolled away by an angel of the Lord. The angel’s appearance was as bright as lightening, his garments as white as snow, and the guards were paralyzed with fear.

The angel told the women that he knew they were looking for Jesus, but that Jesus was not there, because he had risen. The angel showed the women the empty place where Jesus’ body had lain. The angel told the women to go to the disciples and tell them that Jesus had arisen from the dead, and had gone ahead of them to Galilee. The disciples were to follow him to Galilee where they would see him. As the women left to do what the angel had told them, Jesus himself met them and gave them the same message.

Commentary:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus is the revelation of God’s unwavering eternal love for us (compare Romans 5:8). Jesus is the mighty right hand of God. He was courageous to come into this world, knowing that he would fall into the hands of sinful humans, and would have to submit to physical abuse and excruciating painful death on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word), so that we would not have to die eternally for our sins ourselves (Romans 6:23).

Jesus trusted that God would not abandon him to death but would restore him to eternal life so that he could testify to the great things God has done for us in Jesus. Jesus is the gate of the righteous (John 10:1-9). Only those who enter through him by faith (obedient trust) are judged righteous by God.

From the beginning of Creation, God knew that we would need his forgiveness to be saved from eternal condemnation and he designed Jesus Christ into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only plan for our salvation (see sidebar, top right; Acts 4:12, John 14:6). Jesus is the cornerstone which was rejected by the Jews but has become the solid rock of our salvation from eternal condemnation.

Each day is a gift from God, but Easter Sunday is the particular day in which the saved should rejoice with thanksgiving to God for providing for our need of salvation, even before we recognized our need (Romans 5:8). Those who have been “reborn” to spiritual eternal life should be praising and glorifying the Lord for what he has done for us.

The Lord is at work in the world today as he was in the First Century A.D. His Holy Spirit is at work in Gentiles (the unsaved) and in the “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciples and apostles (messengers; of the Gospel). His “born-again” disciples are guided and empowered to make “born-again” disciples of those “Gentiles” who respond to the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

No one is “born” into salvation. Each one of us must claim and appropriate the promises of God’s Word for ourselves, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Just being a “member” of a “church” doesn’t save us; just being “baptized” doesn’t save us. Claiming to be “Christian” doesn’t save us.

Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit saves us. 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).

Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus we have forgiveness of sin, and restoration to peace and fellowship with God. God has given us our salvation through Israel in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can heal, feed and sustain us spiritually and free us from bondage to Satan and the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus was raised from physical death to eternal life and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth to judge the physically and spiritually living and dead. Everyone who believes (trusts and obeys) Jesus will be saved from condemnation and eternal death in hell with all evil.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the example of what Christians are to be. Paul was confronted by the Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-4). He repented of his sin, accepted Jesus as his Lord (Acts 9:5), trusted and obeyed Jesus Acts 9:6-9), was "discipled" by a “born-again, disciple Acts 9:10-16, Ananias, until he had been “reborn” (Acts 9:17-18) and then became an apostle (messenger; of the Gospel; Acts 9:20), in fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission to his disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) to be carried out after they had been “born-again” (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13).

Paul was a “born-again” disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ making “born-again” disciples. Christian disciples are to no longer live according to the ways and standards of this world but instead according to God’s Word.

Those who trust and obey God’s Word will seek Jesus and will find that he is not dead; he has risen from physical death to eternal life. Every truly “born-again” Christian has experienced and knows that Jesus is risen and is eternally alive.

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)?

Easter - Monday
March 24, 2008

Psalm 105:1-7 -- Thanksgiving for Our Salvation

Let us give thanks to our Lord, and always call upon him. Let us make known to all people his wonderful works, singing to him and praising him and exalting his holy name for his great deeds. Let those whose hearts seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord, his help and his presence continually. Let us, the offspring of Abraham, the Lord’s servant, and the children of Jacob, God’s chosen ones, recall his wonderful works and his great justice on our behalf. The Lord is our God, and he rules over all the earth.

Commentary:

The Lord has blessed us all in so many ways! He has given us life in this world, and all the things we need to have a good life. The bad things in this life are not God’s doing; they’re the result of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word). The reason that some people don’t have enough of the resources God has given us is because of our unfair distribution of them.

God allows sin so that we will have the freedom to learn by trial and error that God’s way, his judgment, is our best interest, and so that we can freely choose whether to trust and obey God or not. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and find God and to learn to trust and obey God (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our opportunity to be “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to spiritual eternal life.

God has intended from the very beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. God has designed Creation knowing that if given freedom we would choose to follow our own will instead of God’s will. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23).

Jesus is God’s only provision for forgiveness of our sins and our salvation from eternal death (Romans 5:8; Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus has been designed into the structure of this Creation (John 1:1-5, 14).

Only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus can we find and come into fellowship with God (John 14:6). Only through obedient trust in Jesus can we be reborn to eternal life (John 14:15-17), by the gift of his 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).

Forgiveness and salvation are our greatest need, and God has provided them before we were aware of and acknowledged our need. Forgiveness and salvation are freely given to all who are willing to accept them through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

If we have truly been forgiven, saved and reborn, we will continually give thanks and praise to our Lord and exalt his holy name. We will seek his presence and help. We will make known to others what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.

Are we seeking the Lord and relying on his help and providence, or are we relying on our human strength and ability, and our accumulation of material resources? Do we realize and acknowledge the great things God has done for us, or do we take credit ourselves for our successes and blame God for our troubles?

There is a Day of Judgment coming, within our lifetimes, when we will be accountable to Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18) for what we have done in this lifetime, which will determine where we will spend eternity (Matthew 25:31-46). God’s Word, the Bible, and the “living Word,” Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word, lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14), is the standard by which all will be judged.

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)?

Easter - Tuesday
March25, 2008

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 -- Peter’s Sermon

On the Day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter (the fiftieth day), when the Church had received the promised “baptism” with the Holy Spirit, Peter addressed the crowd explaining what had happened.

Peter stood up and said to the people of Israel that Jesus of Nazareth had been attested to by God by the miracles and wonders that God had done through him, of which they knew. Jesus had been delivered to be crucified by the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The people of Israel had crucified Jesus by lawless men, but God had raised him up, freeing him from the bonds of death, which had no power over him.

David had testified in Psalm 16:8-11, that the Lord was constantly at his right hand to help David, so that David would not be defeated. So David was glad and he rejoiced and had reason for hope, assured that the Lord would not abandon his soul to Hades, or let his Holy One see corruption. The Lord had revealed the ways of true life to David, and would make him full of gladness in the Lord’s presence.

Peter declared that David died and was buried, and the tomb was known to them in Peter’s day. But David was also a prophet, and knowing that God had promised that a descendant would reign as the eternal king of Israel on the throne of David, David had foreseen the resurrection of the Messiah. The Messiah was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his body decompose in the grave. This Jesus was raised from the dead, and his disciples were all eyewitnesses.

Commentary:

Jesus had promised to anoint his disciples with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). He told them in advance that he was going to be crucified and would rise again on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). He told them to wait in Jerusalem, until they had received the promised Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Pentecost was originally the Jewish festival of the firstfruits of the grain harvest. It was also the day on which the Law of Moses was given, according to Jewish tradition. It is now the day the Church was born by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus Christ.

The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the “firstfruits” of salvation and eternal life. Through the Holy Spirit we have fellowship now with Jesus and God the Father, which is only a taste of the fellowship we will have in eternity. The gift of the Holy Spirit is like a down payment or a security deposit on eternal life. 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).

After Jesus’ resurrection the Day of Pentecost became the celebration of the fulfillment of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-29; Hebrews 8:8-11) of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift), to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9) which Jesus established at the Last Supper. The New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant of Law. Those who trust and obey Jesus, will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit and are freed from the Covenant of Law, provided that they trust and obey the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11).

Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times to the menial slave of the High Priest (John 18:15-27), now boldly preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is not an afterthought, to save Creation after it had fallen into sin (disobedience of God’s Word). Jesus has been God’s plan from the very beginning of Creation, and has been designed into it (John 1:1-5, 14). God knew what the world would do to Jesus, but God’s plan triumphed over human sin (disobedience of God’s Word).

Jesus came into the world to show us how to live in obedient trust in God’s Word. He came to heal and feed and give life to us spiritually. His physical healings and feedings were designed to reveal that he is the Son of God and has the power to forgive, heal, feed, and give us life spiritually. Jesus came into the world to make it possible for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).

The Jews were under the Covenant of the Law of God given through Moses, and were obligated to obey it. Crucifixion was not “legal,” and Jesus was not guilty of any violation of God’s Law. The Jews delivered Jesus into the hands of the Roman governors, who were lawless Gentiles, not committed to obeying God’s Law. God could have delivered Jesus from the power of the Jews and the Romans, but his plan was designed to take human sin into account.

Before Jesus came, only a few people had a close personal relationship with the Lord, like David and other prophets of God. Jesus came to make personal fellowship with God possible for all who are willing to receive it in obedient trust through Jesus Christ. “Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciples have the Lord constantly at their right hand to guide, help and deliver, and to keep us from being defeated by our spiritual enemies.

We experience the love of God and the joy of being in his presence by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit gives us the assurance that we are forgiven, saved, and have eternal life.

All “born-again” Christians are prophets of God, declaring God’s Word. We can all say with David, by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, that the Lord won’t abandon us to the kingdom of the dead and we won’t experience eternal corruption.

Jesus is the Son of David, the promised Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek respectively), the eternal savior and king, the heir to the throne of David.

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)?

Easter - Wednesday
March 26, 2008

1 Peter 1:3-9 -- Rejoice in God’s Saving Act

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

We can rejoice in this hope even though we may have to undergo various trials to test and strengthen our faith. As gold is refined by fire, our faith which is even more precious and imperishable undergoes testing, so that it may produce glory, praise and honor to God at Jesus’ Second Coming. Without ever having seen our Lord Jesus, we love him. Though we cannot see Jesus now, we believe in him and rejoice with joy beyond expression. As the result of our faith we will receive the salvation of our eternal souls.

Commentary:

God has created this temporal world as an opportunity for us to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27) and to be reborn to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8). God has designed Creation with Jesus Christ “built into” its structure (John 1:1-5, 14). At the perfect time he has revealed Jesus as his only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

All of us have sinned (disobeyed God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). God has had mercy upon us, and has provided forgiveness of sin and salvation from eternal death as a free gift to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). He has given us a “living,” vibrant and tangible hope in resurrection from physical death to eternal life in paradise restored in Heaven.

God raised Jesus from the dead to demonstrate that there is existence beyond physical death. God sent Jesus to show us how, and to make it possible for us, to live according to God’s Word, by the gift of his 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 are spiritually reborn through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have a personal fellowship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. We experience God’s love. The Holy Spirit teaches, guides and empowers us to know and do God’s will. The Holy Spirit preserves us through faith unto salvation at the end of time. It is possible to know for oneself with certainty whether or not one has received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

The Lord uses trials of this life to refine and increase our faith to spiritual maturity. As we begin to trust and obey the Lord, we will learn that his promises are true and reliable, and that he has the power willingness to fulfill them. As we experience God’s faithfulness and power, faith becomes settled conviction. We not only have believed, but have come to know with certainty that God’s Word is the Word of eternal life and that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God (John 6:68-69).

We didn’t know Jesus during his earthly lifetime, but we can come to know him through the Bible record. We cannot see Jesus now, but we can experience the joy of his presence, power and love by his indwelling Holy Spirit within us.

The things of this world are perishable. This whole Creation is subject to decay, but God’s kingdom in heaven is eternal.

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)?

Easter - Thursday
March 27, 2008

John 20:19-31 -- Disciples Witness Jesus Risen

On Easter evening the disciples were in a house in Jerusalem (perhaps the same upper room where they had celebrated the Lord’s Supper), and the doors were barred because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Jesus appeared and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he told his disciples that Jesus was sending them to carry on Christ’s mission of forgiveness and salvation to the world, as God had sent Jesus. Then Jesus breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit, and said that they had the power to forgive or not forgive sins.

Thomas, one of the Twelve original disciples, was not there when Jesus appeared, and when the other disciples told him that they had seen Jesus, Thomas replied that he wouldn’t believe that Jesus was risen unless he could see and touch the marks of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Eight days later the disciples were again in the house with Thomas present, and again Jesus came and appeared among them. Again Jesus offered his peace to them, and then he told Thomas to see and touch the marks of the crucifixion in Jesus’ hands and side. Jesus told Thomas not to continue in unbelief. Then Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)! Jesus replied that Thomas had needed to see in order to believe, but those who believe without seeing will be blessed.

When Thomas had personally experienced the risen Jesus, Thomas declared Jesus his Lord and his God. Jesus didn’t deny it (compare Acts 14:12-18); he validated it by his reply that Thomas had believed by seeing and that those who believe without seeing will be blessed. Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 14:7-10).

There are many other things which Jesus did which are not recorded in this book (the Gospel of John; and also the New Testament). But the things that are recorded were written so that we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), and through believing might have (true, eternal) life in Jesus’ name (by his power and authority).

Commentary:

Jesus’ disciples were gathered together on Easter Sunday evening and Jesus appeared and revealed himself to them. The original disciples were to be Jesus’ witnesses to his resurrection. Jesus wanted them to know and believe with certainty that he had risen as he said he would.

Jesus manifested himself to his disciples as he had promised (John 14:21). Jesus wanted them to have the peace which only he can give, which he had promised to give them (John 14:27). Jesus commissioned them to continue his mission to bring forgiveness and salvation to the world, and Jesus wanted them to receive his Holy Spirit as he had promised (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), so that they could accomplish that mission by the guidance and empowerment of his Holy Spirit. Jesus gave them his authority to forgive sin (disobedience of God’s Word; compare Matthew 9:6). Whether or not one is forgiven depends on the sinner’s faith in Jesus’ name (power and authority).

Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had risen unless he saw “proof.” Jesus did manifest himself to Thomas so that Thomas would believe, but God’s Plan of Salvation (which see; sidebar, top right) is intended by God to be accepted and believed or not, without proof. It depends on faith (obedient trust). We must accept, trust and act upon God’s Word without proof. For those who demand proof, none will be provided. But those who trust and obey God’s Word will receive abundant “proof” (John 6:68-69). It is not true that we will never know for sure about salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus until we die.

Not just the New Testament but the entire Bible has been given for us so that we can know and believe in Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness, salvation from eternal destruction, and eternal life in the name of Jesus. The New Testament is the recorded eye-witness testimony to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness, salvation and eternal life (Acts 4:12). There is no other way to come to know and have fellowship with God our Creator (John 14:6). Those who believe Jesus’ words have his power and authority to claim and receive his promises (John 1:12-13), but we must do so by trusting and acting on Jesus’ words.

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus, and have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) 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). By the indwelling Holy Spirit Jesus manifests himself to his disciples, and they personally experience the risen Jesus. 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).

New believers are to be “discipled” in the Church by “born-again” disciples until the new believers are also “re-born,” and then they are to go out into the world to make disciples and to teach them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

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)?

Easter - Friday
March 28, 2008

Job 19:25-27 -- My Redeemer Lives!
John 21:15-19 -- Love for Jesus

Job:

Job declared his faith that his Redeemer (or vindicator) lives and that when Job died he would be in the redeemer’s presence and would see God, fulfilling Job’s great hope.

John:

At Jesus’ resurrection the disciples were told to go to Galilee where they would see Jesus (Matthew 28:7, 10). The disciples had gone fishing and in the morning Jesus appeared to them on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and had prepared a breakfast of grilled fish. After they had eaten, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Jesus more than anyone else, and Peter told Jesus that Jesus knew Peter loved him. Jesus told him to feed Jesus’ lambs. Again Jesus asked Peter if he loved Jesus. Peter said yes, saying that the Lord Jesus knew that Peter loved him, and Jesus told Peter to tend Jesus’ sheep. When Jesus asked Peter a third time whether Peter loved Jesus, Peter was grieved. Peter told Jesus that Jesus knew all things, and knew that Peter loved Jesus. Then Jesus told Peter to feed Jesus’ sheep.

Jesus told Peter that when Peter was young, Peter clothed himself and went where he pleased, but the time was coming when others would dress him and lead him where Peter did not want to go. This was to show that Peter’s death as a martyr would glorify God. Then Jesus told Peter to follow Jesus.

Commentary

In the midst of great trouble, when Job had lost almost everything he cared about, Job held on to the hope that beyond physical death he would see God, his redeemer.

God is our redeemer, who has designed redemption, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). When we die we will all stand in the presence of the redeemer and will see our God. We will be individually accountable to the Lord for what we have done in this lifetime (John 5:28-29). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will spend eternity in the presence of the Lord, in paradise restored in God’s heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to trust and obey him will spend eternity separated from God’s presence and providence in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus is God’s only provision for our “redemption” from sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and eternal death (Acts 4:12), which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the only way to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, the only way to know divine eternal truth, and to receive true, eternal life (John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus’ resurrection from physical death demonstrates that there is existence after physical death. Jesus’ resurrection was witnessed and attested to by over five hundred people (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), and by the Apostle Paul and all truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christians since then.

After his resurrection Jesus told his disciples to return to Galilee where they would see Jesus. They did as he had told them and Jesus’ promise was fulfilled. Their risen Lord prepared food for them to eat when they were hungry from working through the night. Jesus was teaching them by word and example.

Jesus’ disciples are to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Disciples are to trust and obey Jesus and wait for him to reveal himself through his Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Then they are to work in the spiritual night of this world until Jesus comes at the dawn of the Day of the Lord’s return. They are to spiritually heal, feed and guard Jesus’ flock until Jesus returns; they’re not to expect the flock to serve them. The Lord will provide for his disciples, and they will experience his presence and fellowship through the gift of his 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).

Peter had denied Jesus three times on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Jesus forgave and restored Peter by giving him the opportunity to declare his love for Jesus three times. Peter was grieved that the Lord asked him three times. Jesus had been grieved that Peter denied him three times, even though Jesus knew that Peter would and had warned Peter in advance (John 13:37-38).

Peter had declared that he was willing to die for Jesus (John 13:37), and eventually he did. Jesus foretold Peter’s martyrdom. Jesus told Peter to follow Jesus’ word and example, and Peter did.

Peter was transformed by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, from a fearful, uneducated fisherman who had denied Jesus to the menial slave of the high priest (John 18:15-27), to the bold preacher of the Gospel beginning on the Day of Pentecost when the Church was “born” (Acts 2:1-41).

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)?

Easter Saturday
March 29, 2008

1 Peter 1:17-2:3

We who claim God as our father should remember that he is also the impartial judge who judges all according to their deeds. During our exile in this world we should conduct ourselves with fear (appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority ) of God. Not by perishable things like gold or silver, but by the precious blood of Jesus, like a perfect lamb without any blemish or defect, we have been ransomed from the futile ways of the world. Jesus was destined by God before the world was established, but has been revealed at the end of time for our sake. Through Jesus we can be confident in faith and hope in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him.

Our souls have been purified by our obedience to divine truth, so that we are able to love one another earnestly and sincerely from our innermost being. “You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Peter quoted Isaiah 40:6-8, saying that our flesh is as transient and perishable as grass, but God's Word is eternal and abides forever. That eternal, abiding Word is the Gospel (“good news”) which has been declared to us.

So let us no longer participate in malice, guile, insincerity, envy and slander. Instead, having tasted the kindness of the Lord, let us, like newborn babies, desire the pure spiritual milk so that we can grow in spiritual maturity to salvation.

Commentary:

If we acknowledge God as our father, we should be careful to live according to his rules and expectations. We are in exile in this world, waiting to be restored to his house and his kingdom.

We have been ransomed by the costly, precious blood of Jesus. Gold and silver, which seem so substantial and durable to us, are worthless in obtaining eternal life, and will pass away. Jesus' blood is the only true eternal value that can ransom us from corruption and death. Jesus is the passover Lamb, perfectly sinless, who was sacrificed on the cross for our sin (disobedience of God's Word), whose blood marks us to be “passed over” by the destroying angel (Exodus 12:12-13).

Jesus has been destined by God from the very beginning of Creation to be our Savior (John 1:1-5, 14), through whom alone we have forgiveness of sin, restoration to fellowship with God, and eternal life (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Jesus came to show us how to live according to God's Word, and to make it possible for us to be spiritually reborn to eternal life 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).

Jesus' resurrection demonstrates the power and faithfulness of God's Word, and the reality of existence beyond physical death. Because Jesus was raised from physical death to eternal life we can be confident that we will also be raised to eternal life.

Our eternal souls are purified by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), and his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9) is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is given to us who are committed to living by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-8), instead of the desires of our flesh. So we should no longer live according to the standards of the world but by the Holy Spirit.

We are all eternal souls in physical bodies; we're all born alive physically but spiritually dead. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is what gives us new spiritual eternal life.

God's Word is unlike our word. God's Word is eternally true and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. God's Word has supernatural creative force (Genesis 1:3). Jesus is 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 “living” Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the “living” Word which abides in us who have been “born-again.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is “good news!” We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23)and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23), but God loves us and doesn't want us to perish eternally; he wants us to live eternally with him in the new Creation restored to paradise (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). God offers us Salvation from eternal condemnation as a free gift, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

When we hear and believe the Gospel we are spiritually newborn babies. As we begin to trust and obey Jesus we begin to experience God's goodness and faithfulness. We must, like newborn babies, stay close to and receive the pure spiritual milk of God's Word so that we can grow to spiritual maturity and to salvation at the Day of Judgment when Christ returns at the end of time.

New believers are to be “discipled” by spiritually mature, “born-again” disciples within the Church, until the new believers are also “born-again”(Matthew 28:19-20). Only then are they ready to be sent into the world (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8) as “messengers” (apostles) of the “Good News,” the Gospel of forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction through Jesus Christ.

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)?