Week of 7 Easter – May 4 thru May 10, 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.

7 Easter - Sunday
May 4, 2008

Psalm 47 -- The Lord’s Enthronement ;
Acts 1: (1-7) 8-14 -- Christ’s Ascension;
1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11 -- Suffering for the Gospel;
John 17:1-11 -- Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer;

Psalm:

Let all people clap their hands and shout for joy with loud songs. The Lord, Most High, is awesome; the great king of all the earth. He has subdued all people and subjugated all nations under us. He has selected a great heritage for us who are the heirs of Jacob (the patriarch who received the promised inheritance) whom he loves.

“God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises!” For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm” (Psalm 47:5-7).

God is king of all nations; he reigns from his holy throne. The leaders of the people come together as the people of the God of Abraham. All earthly rulers are subjugated to God, who is highly exalted.

Acts Background:

Luke, a physician, is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. The Gospel of Luke dealt with the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ until he ascended into heaven. Acts begins with Jesus’ ascension, and records the history of the first century Church.

Acts:

Jesus spent forty days with his disciples following his resurrection, during which he taught them the significance of the Old Testament scriptures, which Jesus had fulfilled. He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem (the modern equivalent is the Church) until they had received the promised gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, as Jesus had told them (John 14:15-17, 21, 23). John had baptized with water (for repentance), but Jesus is the one who “baptizes” (“anoints”) with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34).

His disciples wanted Jesus to tell them if and when God was going to restore the kingdom to Israel (Israel was then under Roman domination). Jesus told them that God’s plans and timing were not for them to know; not even Jesus knew. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Those were Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he supernaturally ascended into heaven on a cloud. Jesus had led them out of Jerusalem a short distance to Bethany on the Mount of Olives, where he ascended. The disciples were amazed and were staring into the sky when two angels appeared and asked them why they were staring; the angels told them that Jesus, who was taken up into heaven, would return in the same way.

The disciples returned to Jerusalem to the upper room where they were staying. The original disciples were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James (not Iscariot, the betrayer). The group included the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers. While they were waiting they spent their time in prayer.

1 Peter:

The Apostle Peter was writing to encourage the believers of northern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) who were experiencing terrible persecution under Roman Emperor Nero. Peter told them not to be surprised by persecution. Instead they should rejoice that they were sharing Christ’s suffering so that they could also share in Christ’s glory when he is revealed (at Christ’s Second Coming). Those who are reviled for the name of Jesus are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon them. Christians must avoid doing what is justly deserving of punishment, like theft, murder, any kind of wrongdoing or mischief-making; but if one suffers as a Christian, one has no cause to be ashamed, and glorifies God through that name. “The time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and If it begins with us what will be the end for those who do not obey the Gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17)?

John:

After the Last Supper, Jesus had tried to prepare his disciples for the betrayal and crucifixion which would soon take place. He prayed, for himself to accomplish his mission, and then for his disciples who would remain to complete Jesus’ mission after Jesus’ ascension.

Jesus acknowledged that his “hour” had come. He asked God his Father to glorify Jesus so that Jesus could glorify God. God has given Jesus the power to give eternal life to all who trust and obey Jesus. Eternal life is received by those who acknowledge God as the one true God and Jesus as the one (the Messiah; the eternal Savior and King) whom God has sent. Jesus had glorified God on earth and had done everything God commanded him to do. Jesus was pre-existent with God from before Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus had set aside his heavenly glory and come into the world. Now he had accomplished his mission and asked God to receive him back into God’s presence and glory.

Jesus has revealed God’s character and nature to his disciples, whom God has given him, and they have learned to trust and obey God’s Word. Everything belongs to God and everything Jesus has is given to him by God. Jesus has taught them God’s Word and they have received it and have become convinced that Jesus is the one whom God has sent. Jesus prayed specifically for his disciples who belong to God and Jesus Christ in unity, who glorify Jesus. Jesus acknowledged that he would no longer be with his disciples physically, but that his disciples would continue physically in this world. Jesus asked God the Father to keep them in his name (his person and character), which God has given to Jesus, so that they may be in unity with Jesus and one another as Jesus and God are in unity.

Commentary:

God is the one and only true God, the creator and ruler of the Universe. He reigns over his creation, whether we acknowledge his reign or not.

God has always intended, from the very beginning of Creation, to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know God our creator, personally (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has always been God’s one and only provision for forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word), our salvation from eternal destruction, and restoration to fellowship with God and eternal life in his heavenly kingdom (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus has been “built into” creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-3, 14).

Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). Jesus is the Messiah (Christ; both mean “anointed”) who God promised to send into the world. Jesus is God’s “anointed” eternal Savior and King of the Universe.

There is a Day of Judgment coming, when Christ will return to judge the living and the dead (in both physical and spiritual senses). He is going to come within our lifetimes! Right now we’re free to accept or refuse his kingship, but in the Day of Judgment, every person who has ever lived will acknowledge that he is Lord and eternal King (Philippians 2:10-11). In that day it will be too late to change our eternal destinies.

The people who accept and acknowledge Jesus now in this lifetime will trust and obey him, and will be spiritually “re-born” (John 3:3, 5-8) now, in this lifetime, 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). His disciples are living in his kingdom under his reign now.

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ, who learn, trust and obey his teachings, who wait for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and then can testify to a personal relationship with the risen and ascended Jesus. One cannot testify about something of which one has no personal experience.

Jesus taught his disciples to make disciples as they had been “discipled” by Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20), but they were to wait until they had been “born-again” by the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), before going out into the world to testify to the Gospel. The disciples trusted and obeyed Jesus, and they received the “infilling” of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), the birthday of the Church.

Jesus ascended into heaven to be enthroned as our eternal king and great high priest at the right hand of God. Christians can rejoice that he has completed his mission and has begun his reign. His ascension makes it possible for his disciples to have a daily personal access to him through his Holy Spirit, which we couldn’t have if he were still physically here on earth (John 16:7).

Jesus has promised to return, and he will return in the same way that he ascended, on the clouds (Matthew 24:30-31). When Christ returns, his disciples will rejoice. Those who refused to accept his kingship and refused to trust and obey him will be terrified (Luke 21:26) but there will be nowhere to flee or hide.

Peter was “discipling” believers in northern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), who were undergoing terrible persecution by Roman Emperor Nero. Christians must be willing to suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name and Gospel. We can’t expect the world to treat us better than they treated Jesus. But disciples must live morally and ethically upright lives, so that God and Jesus are glorified in us. The world is waiting and watching us, to attack and negate our witness.

Jesus asked for God’s help, so that Jesus would be able to glorify God through the physical trouble he knew was coming. He prayed for his disciples, that they would be able to carry on Jesus’ mission to bring forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life to a lost and spiritually dead world.

The offer of eternal life is the central mission of Christ. Isn’t eternal life in perfect Paradise a great inheritance? Jesus demonstrated that existence beyond physical death is a reality, and that eternal life is a promise fulfilled in those who trust and obey Jesus.

In the Church today, there are lots of people who want to stare up into heaven until Jesus returns, but that’s not we’re to do. We’re to stay within the Church, but being actively “discipled,” and awaiting the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Then we are to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit to testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the world. We’re given the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit so that we can carry on Jesus’ mission in the world.

There are lots of people in the “Church” today who are stuck on “End Times” speculation. We aren’t supposed to sit around speculating on when Christ is going to return (Acts 1:7). We’re supposed to be “discipled,” “born-again,” and then witnesses to Jesus and the Gospel in the world.

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)?

7 Easter - Monday
May 5, 2008

Psalm 104:25-34 -- Lord and Giver of Life;

How vast and diverse are your works, O Lord! Just consider the oceans, filled with so many living things, both great and small, from tiny one celled organisms to the largest whales; the Lord has created them all. We venture out in ships that seem so tiny compared to the vastness of the waters, and whales are so huge compared to us.

Yet every living thing depends upon the Lord to provide their daily food. We gather up what the Lord gives, and are filled with good things when the Lord opens his hand. But when the Lord hides his face we are dismayed, and when he takes away the breath of life we die and return to dust “When thou sendest forth thy Spirit (or breath), they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground” (Psalm 104:30).

May your glory, O Lord, endure forever, and may you rejoice in all your works. When you look upon earth it trembles, and when you touch the mountains they smoke. As long as I live I will praise the Lord and sing to you my God as long as I exist. May my meditations please you, O Lord, for I rejoice in you.

Commentary:

We need to take a step back from ourselves and our egocentric perspective and try to understand God from the perspective of the vastness of the universe which he has created. The works of man seem large until we compare them with the works of God. From the deck of a cruise ship the ship seems large compared to us, and the ocean doesn’t seem so vast, unless we happen to fall overboard.

We need to realize that the Lord is the source of every good and necessary thing. We tend to think we are our own providers, until the Lord closes his hand and hides his face from us.

The Lord breathes the breath of physical life into us and we become living beings (Genesis 2:7). When he takes away that breath we return to the dust of the earth from which we were created.

God is the source of physical life, and he is the source of spiritual life. We are all born physically alive, but spiritually “unborn.” The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), is the “life-giving Spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45) through whom we are spiritually “born-again” to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the “Lord and Giver of Life,” in the words of the third article of the Nicene Creed.

Only Jesus gives the “baptism” (gift; “anointing”) of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The infilling of the Holy Spirit is a discernible, ongoing event (Acts 19:2).

This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27) and receive eternal life in paradise in God’s heavenly kingdom, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

We need to pray for God to send forth his Spirit into our Churches and into their members so that by obedient trust we will be restored, established and strengthened (1 Peter 5:11) unto eternal life through 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). Only by the indwelling Holy Spirit are we able to praise and glorify the Lord, and by whom we will know with certainty that we will live eternally to praise and glorify the Lord. Those who have refused to accept, trust and obey Jesus will be contemned to eternal destruction in the unquenchable fires of Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 9:43-48; 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)?

7 Easter - Tuesday
May 6, 2008

Joel 2:28-29 -- Outpouring of God’s Spirit;
Acts 2:1-21 -- Day of Pentecost;

Joel:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28-29).

Acts:

On the day of Pentecost, all the disciples were together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven, like a mighty wind, filled the house where they were. “And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributing and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:3-4).

Jews from all over the world were living in Jerusalem, and a large crowd was attracted by the commotion. They were amazed to hear the disciples speaking in their own languages. They recognized the disciples as Galileans, and wondered how they were able to speak these other languages. There were Jews and foreign converts to Judaism from various provinces of the Roman Empire: Parthians and Mesopotamians (from modern Iraq) and Medes and Elamites (from modern Iran), Judea (southern Israel), Cappadocia, Phrygia, Pamphylia (modern Turkey), Libya (northern Africa), Cretans (from the island of Crete) Arabians (of Saudi Arabia), and Romans, Israel’s neighbors around the Mediterranean Sea. Each heard the Gospel in their own native language. They were amazed and wondered what the significance was, but some suggested that the disciples were drunk.

Peter addressed the crowd, saying that it was not drunkenness because it was about 9:00 a.m. Instead this was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, of God’s Spirit being poured out upon all flesh. He went on to say that this was to happen before the Day of the Lord (the Day of Judgment; Christ’s Second Coming, which Joel had prophesied). Joel prophesied that there would be disturbances of nature and signs in the heavens and in nature: blood, fire, and smoke. The sun will be dark, and the moon will be blood-red. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Commentary:

Joel prophesied around 400 to 300 B.C. He foresaw the day when God would pour out his Spirit on all people, and that began to be fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. In Old Testament days, only a few select individuals had a personal relationship with God by his Holy Spirit.

Moses had felt the burden of leading the people of Israel was too great for himself alone, and the Lord had allowed him to select seventy men who the Lord “anointed” with his Spirit to help Moses (Numbers 11:10-25). Two men who hadn’t assembled at the tabernacle received the Holy Spirit anyway, and began to prophesy. Joshua, the son of Nun, wanted to forbid them, but Moses replied, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them” (Numbers 11:26-30). Pentecost was the fulfillment of that prayer of Moses.

Jesus came to make it possible for all who trust and obey him to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 16:7). 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). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ (the indwelling Holy Spirit) does not belong to Christ Romans 8:9b). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself whether or not one has received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

The gift of tongues (languages) is the example of the Holy Spirit equipping the disciples of Jesus Christ to fulfill the ministry the Holy Spirit guides them to do. The original disciples were to begin declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone throughout the world (Acts 1:8) beginning from Jerusalem, and the gift of languages was needed to accomplish that mission. This gift was the reversal of God’s confusing the language of the world at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

There is another “gift of tongues,” referred to in 1 Corinthians 14:1-33, an ecstatic form of praise which is unintelligible to humans. Paul didn’t forbid that form of “tongues,” as long as it was not disruptive, and as long as there was someone to interpret it. Otherwise it was of no benefit to the congregation. This form of “tongues” is not a “sign” for believers, but for unbelievers, whereas prophecy is of benefit for believers (1 Corinthians 14:21-22).

Peter is an example of a spiritual “rebirth” (John 3:3, 5-8), a transformed life, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing Jesus to menial servants of Caiaphas, the high priest (John 18:15-27). Now only a short time later, having received the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, he boldly preached the Gospel to a crowd of thousands, convicting them of Jesus’ crucifixion and calling them to repent and accept baptism into Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of their sins (disobedience of God’s Word), so that they could also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit and be “born again” to eternal life (Acts 2:32-39; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Peter is an example of the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus that the Holy Spirit gives Jesus’ disciples what to say at the moment it is needed (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12). I can personally testify that the Lord gives me the guidance to know what God wants me to do, supplies the resources to do it, and gives me the appropriate Word as needed.

Jesus declared that one must be “born-again” in order to see the kingdom, now (John 3:3) and eternally (John 3:5). Joel prophesied that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21). Jesus is the name of the Lord, and salvation is only through him (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). But note that his name is not a “magic incantation;” It is not those who call themselves Christians and call Jesus their Lord who will be saved, but those who trust and do what Jesus teaches (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)?

7 Easter - Wednesday
May 7, 2008

John 20:19-23 -- Jesus Appears to His Disciples;

On the evening of the first Easter Sunday, when Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples were all together (in the upper room) in Jerusalem where they had been staying. The doors were locked for fear of the Jewish authorities. Jesus appeared and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” then he showed them the wounds in his hand and side. The disciples were so glad to see him! Jesus again offered them his peace, and said that as his Father had sent him, so Jesus was sending his disciples into the world. Then he breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He also gave them the authority to forgive or not forgive sin.

Commentary:

The doors were locked, but Jesus supernaturally “materialized” among them, but he wasn’t a ghost, or a figment of their imagination or group hysteria. He had a body which bore the marks of his crucifixion, but it was a glorified body not constrained by physical dimensions or limitations. Luke (the physician) testifies that Jesus was hungry and they gave him some broiled fish which he ate in their presence (Luke 24:41-43). Jesus wanted his disciples to know that it was really him, and that he was really alive. He also showed them his wounds to show that carrying on his mission to the world would require their self-sacrifice.

Jesus gave them his peace, which cannot be taken from them (John 14:27). Then he commissioned them to carry on Jesus’ ministry of offering forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), salvation from eternal death which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23), restoration of fellowship with God and eternal life which are only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey 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). The “anointing” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a discernible, ongoing event, which one can know with certainty for oneself (Acts 19:2).

He also told them to receive the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit immediately then. He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had been empowered by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), and they received the “anointing” on the day of Pentecost, as they obeyed Jesus’ instructions.

Jesus gave his disciples the power and authority to forgive sin, which Jesus possesses. Jesus' mission was primarily to offer to the world forgiveness of sin: spiritual healing. When people came to Jesus for physical healing he forgave their sin through their faith in him (Matthew 9:2-6; Luke 5:20-24). Jesus warned those who did not believe in Jesus, that their sin was unforgiven (John 8:21-24; 9:39-41).

Jesus promised his disciples that after his resurrection he would come to his disciples by his Holy Spirit and would reveal himself to them (John 14:15-17, 21, 23). They would recognize him because they had come to know him. I personally testify that this is true today (see Personal Testimonies, sidebar, top right). If we have spent time with Jesus and come to know him through the Bible, as we begin to trust and obey him he will reveal himself to us in a way that we will be sure to recognize and know with certainty that is really him.

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)?

7 Easter - Thursday
May 8, 2008

Romans 8:14-17, 22-27 -- Children of God;

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons (and daughters; children) of God” (Romans 8:14). The Spirit is given to not make us slaves through fear, but sons (and daughters). When we address God as Father in ecstatic praise, it is by the Spirit, who bears witness within us that we are God’s children, and as his children we are his heirs, and share his inheritance with Christ, provided that we suffer with Christ so that we may share in his glory.

Understand that Creation has been groaning as in childbirth, and so do we, “who have the first fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23b), as we await our “adoption” by God as his children, “and the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23d). This is the hope in which we were saved. There is no need to hope for what one sees, but if one hopes for what one does not yet see, one waits patiently for it to be fulfilled.

In our human weakness we do not even know what we should pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us beyond the ability of human expression. The Spirit knows our deepest needs and the will of God and is able to intercede accordingly.

Commentary:

All who are willing to be led by God’s Holy Spirit receive the gift (“baptism;” “anointing”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Isaiah 42:5e), and God has made the fulfillment of that promise conditional upon faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. The “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is only by Jesus Christ (John 1:31-34), only upon his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

Jesus Christ is the “Word” of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-3, 14). Those who are willing to trust and obey God will trust and obey Jesus Christ, and as they begin to do so, they will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t enslave us; he sets us free from enslavement to sin, death and the power of Satan. The Spirit makes it possible for us to know and do God’s will. By the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to fellowship with God and eternal life in his kingdom in heaven.

The “anointing” of the Holy Spirit is a discernible, ongoing event (Acts 19:2), and “born-again” Christians have the testimony of the Holy Spirit within us. 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). When we worship and praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit bears witness within us that we have been spiritually “reborn” and that we are children of God. If we know we are his children, we can be assured that we will share in his inheritance and glory with Christ, provided that we are willing to suffer with Christ.

Following the leading of the Holy Spirit is going to require self-sacrifice. We must be willing to surrender what we think we want in order to do what God wants us to do and is pleasing to God. Jesus suffered abuse and persecution from the world, and we can’t expect better treatment. The world won’t applaud us for following the teaching and example of Jesus. What we think we want turns out to be disappointing instead of satisfying; what the Lord wants for us is truly and eternally worthwhile and satisfying.

This Creation has been intentionally designed by God to be limited by time, and subject to decay and death, because God allows us the freedom to choose whether to obey him or not, and to learn by trial and error to trust and obey him. But God won’t tolerate disobedience and evil in his eternal kingdom in paradise restored to perfection. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and to learn to trust and obey him.

Finding and knowing God is only possible through Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s only provision for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word), salvation from eternal condemnation, and restoration to fellowship with God which was broken by sin (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Paul, the Apostle and author of the Letter to the Romans, visualizes this Creation as a mother in childbirth. Bondage to time, death and decay, which this Creation is subjected to, is like birth pangs in the process of giving birth to the new eternal Creation. We are also subject to time, decay and physical death, although Christians have been spiritually “reborn” to eternal life. The Holy Spirit is God’s offering to us, like the “first-fruits” offering to God of the first portion of the harvest, required under the Old Covenant of Law. We have the first fruits of the Spirit now, but there will be much more to come in God’s eternal kingdom.

Christians are in the process of “adoption” as God’s children, which will be fulfilled when we enter his household in eternal life. Then our physical bodies, which have been in bondage to time, decay and physical death, will be redeemed from that bondage. That is the hope that we look forward to. We don’t see the fulfillment of that hope yet, but we have the promise of God, and the Holy Spirit is the “security deposit,” the “signed contract” with God. We know by the experience of the Holy Spirit within us that God is able and faithful to do what he has promised.

Hope in eternal life in heaven with the Lord makes it possible for us to wait for it with patient endurance. This life is not all there is; the best is yet to come! That allows us to set our priorities on what is eternally important.

The Holy Spirit helps us to know and do God’s will. God wants us to pray to him for what we need, but it is hard for us to know what we truly need and what is pleasing to God. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray according to God’s will, and intercedes on our behalf, so that we can receive what we truly need, that which is pleasing to God and within his will. The Holy Spirit expresses for us what is beyond our human ability to express.

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)?

7 Easter - Friday
May 9, 2008

Exodus 19:1-9 – God Manifested; at Sinai;
John 7:37-39a – Living Water;

Exodus:

Three months after the people of Israel had left Egypt they came to the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped at the base of Mt Sinai. Moses went up to the mountaintop, and the Lord spoke to him. The Lord told Moses to tell the people to remember the great acts God had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt. God said that if the Israelites would obey God’s Word and keep God’s covenant with them they would be God’s chosen people among all the people of earth, since the whole earth belongs to God. The Israelites would be a kingdom of priests to God and a holy nation.

Moses came down from the mountaintop and called the leaders of the people to assemble, and gave them the Word God had commanded him to say to the people. And all the people all answered, saying that they would do all that the Lord had spoken.

Moses reported their agreement to the Lord. Then the Lord told him that he would come to Moses in a thick cloud, so that when God spoke to Moses the people would hear and believe Moses for ever.

John:

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and said “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit which was to be received by those who believe in Jesus.

Commentary:

Before Jesus’ physical ministry on earth, only a few individual prophets like Moses had a personal relationship with the Lord. God had revealed his power through Moses in the plagues he brought upon the Egyptians to free Israel from bondage in Egypt, and in delivering Israel from Pharaoh’s army through the parting of the waters of the Red Sea. The Lord had led them by the pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness and had brought them to his holy mountain.

God offered them a covenant to be God’s chosen people and a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, and they had accepted. Then God wanted to reveal himself to the people, so that they would know with certainty that Moses was the mediator of that covenant between God and his people, and so that the people would keep the covenant.

The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths), was one of three great annual festivals. It was an eight day festival immediately following the harvest. People built temporary shelters outdoors from leafy branches to stay in. The main purpose was to remember the wilderness wandering. It was also a harvest thanksgiving, celebrating the end of wilderness wandering and reaping the harvest of their own land.

Later, two features were added to the festival. One was the drawing of water from the Pool of Siloam which was poured upon the altar in the temple as a commemoration of the water from the rock that the Lord gave them in the wilderness (Numbers 20:2-13). The other was the lighting of great lamps in the temple courtyard at night as a memorial to the pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21) that led them in the wilderness.

Jesus’ declaration was in the context of the water ritual of the festival. Jesus is the spiritual rock which is the source of living water in the “wilderness” of this world (1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Isaiah 12:3). Only Jesus “baptizes” (“anoints”) with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the fountain of “living water” welling up to eternal life (John 4:14), and it is the channel through which Salvation flows out through Jesus’ disciples into the world.

Jesus came into the world to give us spiritual, eternal life (John 1:1-5, 14), and this spiritual life is by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are all born physically alive but spiritually, eternally dead because of sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). This lifetime is our opportunity to be “reborn” to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8).

Jesus came into the world to become the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), so that we could become God’s children and be temples for his indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the “Pillar of Fire” (Exodus 13:21), who leads us through the spiritual night of this sinful world into the light of God’s eternal kingdom.

The Church is the “New Israel,” the “New People of God.” We are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. We have a covenant with God mediated by Jesus Christ who is our “New Moses.” The New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15) is by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift), to be received by faith (obedient trust; Ephesians 2:8-9).

No one was able to keep the Old Covenant of Law. Sacrifices had to be offered continually for forgiveness. The Law showed us what God requires, but it couldn’t help us do it (Romans 3:20). Failure to keep the Law in any instance made us guilty of all (Galatians 2:16).

The New Covenant makes it possible for us to fulfill its requirements. The indwelling Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to know and do what God requires. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was once for all time and all people who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust). We are motivated to trust and obey God’s Word not by fear but by love, and we are forgiven over and over as many times as necessary.

God has manifested himself to the world in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8-9; John 14:9). If we accept the Covenant God offers through Jesus Christ and begin to trust and obey Jesus, Jesus will manifest himself to us by his Holy Spirit within us (John 14:21).

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)?

7 Easter - Saturday
May 10, 2008

Psalm 33:12-22 -- Hope in the Lord;

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage” (Psalm 33:12)!

From God’s throne in heaven he can see all the people of the earth. He has created their hearts and he sees all their deeds. Kings are not saved by their armies; warriors are not saved by their own strength. Hoping in a war horse for victory is in vain; its great strength cannot save.

The Lord watches over those who fear him, over those who trust in his unwavering love, “that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine” (Psalm 33:19).

Let our souls wait for the Lord, for his help and protection. We rejoice in him and trust in his holy name (his character and person). “Let thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in thee” (Psalm 33:22).

Commentary:

Are we a nation whose God is the Lord? God has chosen us to be his heritage (inheritance; tradition); have we chosen to receive it?

God has created this world and everything in it. He knows what is in our hearts and he sees what we are doing. We cannot deceive him or hide from him.

People who rely on their own strength, wisdom and resources to save and protect them will fail and come to grief. There is no security and hope except in the Lord. The ultimate enemy is death, and there is nothing we can do to avoid death, although we may fend it off for a short while.

The Lord blesses those who fear (have appropriate respect for his power and authority) love and trust him. He alone is able to deliver us from evil and death. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ personally testifies that Jesus is eternally alive. The “anointing” of the indwelling Holy Spirit bears witness within born-again Christians that they are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). We have been freed from bondage to the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Let us learn to wait for the Lord’s help, providence and protection. It’s a difficult lesson to learn, because we want immediate results and it is hard for us to trust another to know and do what is in our best interest. From about age two, we want to do it “my by self.”

Ultimately we all need help from a source greater than ourselves. It matters eternally in whom and in what we hope and trust. God’s Word documents that it is absolutely true and dependable. As we begin to trust and obey God’s Word, he will show us personally that he is able and faithful to do what he promises.

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)?