Week of 4 Pentecost - A
This is a 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:
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Podcast Download: Week of 4 Pentecost - A
Sunday 4 Pentecost - A
First Posted June 8, 2008;
Podcast: Sunday 4 Pentecost - A
Exodus19:2-8a -- God's Covenant with Israel;
Psalm 100 -- Praise the Lord;
Romans 5:6-11 -- Peace with God through Christ;
Matthew 9:35-10:8 -- Laborers in the Harvest;
Exodus Paraphrase:
Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites came through the pass at Rephidim, entered wilderness of Sinai, and camped at the base of Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb). Moses went up to the top of the mountain and God spoke to him. God commanded Moses to tell the people that they had witnessed the great demonstrations of God’s power against the Egyptians, and that God had brought them to himself, as on eagles' wings. God offered to make a covenant with Israel. If they promised to obey all God's Word and keep his covenant, they would be God's particular people, though all the earth and its peoples belonged to God, their Creator (whether they acknowledge him or not). The people of the covenant will be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). God commanded Moses to declare God's Word to the people.
Moses came down from the mountain and gathered the leaders of the people and told them all that God had told Moses. And all the people agreed to do as the Lord had said.
Psalm Parapahrase:
Let all nations rejoice and praise the Lord. Let us serve him gladly and rejoice in his presence. May all realize that that God is Lord. He is our Creator and we all belong to him. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! The Lord is good in all his ways, and his love is steadfast. His faithfulness is eternal.
Romans Paraphrase:
Christ died for us while we were sinners enslaved by sin. Who among us would be willing to die even for a righteous person? A few might be willing to die for someone we consider good (think highly of; love). God demonstrated his love for us by sending Christ (his only begotten Son) to die for us while we were still sinners (in rebellion against God). Since we have been freed from guilt for our sin by Christ's blood we are most assuredly saved from God's wrath. If, when we were sinners we were saved by the death of God's Son, certainly we will be saved (eternally) by the risen Christ's life. So we are also able to rejoice in God through Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation.
Matthew Paraphrase:
Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and healing the sick and disabled. He had compassion for the people, because they were like sheep scattered and helpless without a shepherd. He told his disciples that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
Then Jesus called his twelve original disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits, and to heal every disease and infirmity. The names of the twelve are: Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, James and John, who were the sons of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the tax collector, James, who was the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (Lebbaeus), Simon, the Canaanaean, and Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ betrayer.
Jesus sent the twelve out to go only to Jewish communities, to the lost sheep of Israel, not to Gentiles or Samaritans. They were to proclaim the imminent coming of the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and cleanse lepers. Jesus told them not to accept payment for the Gospel because they had received it without charge.
Commentary:
God called Moses to proclaim God’s Word to the Israelites. God initiated a covenant between himself and Israel, with Moses as the mediator of that covenant.
God is the one and only God, and Lord of all Creation, whether we acknowledge him or not. We are all his people because he is our Creator. But those who willingly choose to trust and obey God enter into the covenant God initiated, and are his particular people, called by his name: “the people of God;” the “citizens” of his kingdom.
God’s people are called and empowered to be a kingdom of priests and a holy people (consecrated to God’s service). They are intended to carry on the proclamation of God’s Word and the mediation of God’s covenant to the world, as Moses is our example.
The psalmist was fulfilling the role of a member of the people of God. He had come to know God personally, had experienced God’s goodness and faithfulness, and proclaimed it to others, among the Israelites, and also to the people of the world.
God has always intended from the very beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. Jesus Christ has been part of God’s plan from the very beginning and has been “designed into” Creation (John 1:1-5, 14; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
The history of God’s interaction with Creation and his dealing with the people of Israel recorded in the Old Testament reveals the constant ongoing work of God to fulfill that plan. At the perfect moment in history God’s promised Messiah came into the world.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist announced Jesus’ coming, and then Jesus began his ministry. He chose twelve disciples, and began to train them. Jesus demonstrated the mission to proclaim God’s Word and to bring spiritual healing and spiritual, eternal life to people.
Jesus showed his disciples the spiritual need of people and told them to pray to the Lord for “harvesters” to help with the spiritual harvest. Then Jesus empowered, guided and sent his disciples into his fields to do the harvesting.
The original disciples had not yet received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but the indwelling Holy Spirit was not yet necessary, because Jesus was still physically present (see John 7:39). Jesus directed his disciples into a specific ministry; not to wherever they might want to go. This mission was training for the original disciples, and was intended to be an example for future disciples.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he warned the original disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit, before they went out into the world in the mission of the Gospel (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). After they were “reborn” they were to go into all the world and make (“born-again”) disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all Jesus’ teachings (Matthew 28: 19-20).
That warning is for us as well. We are to stay within the Church, being “discipled” by “born-again” disciples, until we 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). 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 is the example for us of a child of God who trusts and obeys God’s Word. He had a personal relationship with God the Father and he made God and God’s Word known to people. Jesus is the “New Moses,” the mediator of a New Covenant which God has initiated with his people who trust and obey God and keep the covenant with God (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 12:24; Matthew 26:27-28, note “g,” RSV).
We are to be God’s people, who trust and obey God’s Word fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-5, 14). We are to be “reborn” and then to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the imminent coming of God’s kingdom, and to heal spiritually and give spiritual life to those who are spiritually lost and spiritually dead.
Paul is the example of a modern, “post-resurrection,” “born-again” John 3:3, 5-8), disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, which we are all called to be. Paul did not come to know Jesus until after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) was confronted by the Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul’s response to that confrontation was to acknowledge Jesus as Lord (Acts 9:4-5), to repent (Acts 9:9) and to trust and obey Jesus as Lord (Acts 9:6-7). He was “discipled” by a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (9:10-17), until he was “reborn” (Acts 9:18), and then immediately began proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:20).
Paul is the author of the Letter to the Romans. He is carrying on the ministry of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel and to spiritually heal and resurrect the spiritually sick and dead. He is demonstrating his obedience to the “Great Commission” which Jesus gave to his (born-again) disciples, to make (born-again) disciples, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul is as much an apostle as the original Twelve (Luke 6:13).
I’m convinced that Paul is the apostle who God chose to replace Judas Iscariot, the betrayer (Acts 1:15-26; remember that the eleven had not yet received the Holy Spirit). Paul is intended to be our example to follow.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 9, 2008;
Podcast: Monday 4 Pentecost - A
Psalm 69:1-20 -- Cry for Deliverance;
Paraphrase:
The psalmist feels overwhelmed by distress, as though caught in a flood. He feels up to his neck in trouble, and is sinking in deep mud, where he can find no foothold. He is emotionally exhausted with crying and waiting for the Lord’s help.
The psalmist’s enemies are more numerous than the hairs of his head. His enemies hate him without cause; they attack him with lies. They seek retribution for that of which the psalmist is not guilty.
The psalmist trusts that the Lord knows the psalmist’s weakness and shortcomings and he appeals to the Lord so that others who trust in the Lord will not be brought to shame and dishonor through the psalmist. It is for the Lord that the psalmist has borne reproach and shame. The psalmist has become a stranger to his neighbors, and a foreigner to his brothers. “For zeal for thy house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult thee have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:9). When the psalmist humbled himself before the Lord with fasting and sackcloth (ritual garb of mourning and repentance) he was reproached and became an object of ridicule. He has been disparaged by the idle and drunkards.
But the psalmist vows to pray to the Lord, trusting that the Lord, in steadfast love, will answer him at just the right time. The Lord will faithfully rescue him from sinking in deep mud. The Lord will deliver the psalmist from his enemies, and from the deep waters of his distress. The deep will not swallow up the psalmist, the flood will not sweep him away, and the grave will not close over him.
The psalmist trusts that in the Lord’s steadfast love, goodness and mercy, the Lord will not abandon the psalmist or hide from him. In distress the psalmist calls upon the Lord to hurry and set him free from his enemies.
The psalmist is certain that the Lord knows the psalmist’s shame, reproach and dishonor, and knows who the psalmist’s enemies are. The psalmist’s heart is broken with insults, so that he feels great despair. He sought pity and comfort but found none.
Commentary:
When we experience distress, the metaphor of the flood that sweeps us away is an accurate description. When trouble strikes, friends and family seem to disappear. Even when they try to help, they cannot supply the help, understanding and consolation that only the Lord can give us. We need to learn how to wait for the Lord’s help, instead of seeking instant “help” elsewhere.
Sometimes we need to experience trials in order to realize how much we need the Lord, and to experience his power, faithfulness and love to deliver us from them when we trust in him. The Lord doesn’t cause troubles, but he allows them to happen. This temporal world has been designed to allow us to choose whether to trust and obey God’s Word or not, and to learn by trial and error, that God’s way is our best interest. Trouble is the consequence of sin, which is disobedience of God’s Word. Sometimes our troubles are the consequences of our own sins, and sometimes the sins of others. We need to learn to live in obedient trust in God’s Word.
Trusting and obeying God’s Word won’t keep us from experiencing trouble in this lifetime, but it will allow us to learn the power, faithfulness and love of God to deliver us. We will come to know with certainty that the Lord will also keep us from being swept away eternally by the flood of death and eternal condemnation in the Day of Judgment. Jesus is the only one who can deliver us from sin and the consequence of sin, which is eternal destruction (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Trusting and obeying God’s Word won’t keep us from experiencing trouble. We cannot expect to be treated better by worldly people than Jesus was. Worldly people hated Jesus and they hate Jesus’ disciples. Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 69:9 (see John 2:17) for bearing the insults of those who hate God. Jesus can console and encourage us because he has experienced the same hatred and persecution that his disciples face, and has overcome it.
It is better to endure trouble for the Gospel, the Word of God, than to suffer because of sin. We will be vindicated by the Lord on the Day of Judgment.
We need to be careful not to bring shame, reproach and dishonor upon the Gospel. We must remember that what we do with God’s Word affects how worldly people will receive it and how our conduct will affect the faith of other believers.
This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is possible only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, 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).
This lifetime is our opportunity to learn to trust and obey the Lord and to live according to his Word. When we learn to trust and obey him now, we will be spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life so we can enter God’s heavenly kingdom. In God’s eternal kingdom there will be no more troubles, sickness, sorrow, or death, because there will be no more sin (Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 11:9; 65:25).
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 10, 2008;
Podcast: Tuesday 4 Pentecost - A
Jeremiah 20:7-13 -- Jeremiah's Lament; Paraphrase:
Jeremiah accused the Lord of persuading him to do what was causing Jeremiah to be derided and mocked; he acknowledged that he was unable to resist the Lord's power over him. Whenever Jeremiah opened his mouth he shouted, "Violence and destruction." His proclamation of God's Word had caused Jeremiah "reproach and derision all day long" (Jeremiah 20:8d). Yet Jeremiah couldn't resist the urge to proclaim God's Word; it was as if it were a burning fire within his heart and trapped in his bones. Jeremiah had grown weary trying to hold it in, and still was unable to restrain it.
Jeremiah quoted Psalm 31:13 (attributed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel) feeling surrounded by terror and the plotting of his enemies. His close friends denounced him, expecting him to come to disaster. They hoped Jeremiah would make a mistake, so that they could overcome him and get revenge upon him. But Jeremiah trusted that the Lord was a powerful warrior who would cause Jeremiah's persecutors to fail; they would not prevail over Jeremiah. They would fail and suffer shame and eternal dishonor.
Jeremiah committed himself to the Lord of hosts,* the judge of righteousness, who knows the heart and mind. He prayed to see vengeance upon his persecutors because Jeremiah had committed his situation to the Lord.
Commentary:
Jeremiah was a prophet to Judah, the remnant of Israel, and Jerusalem, the capital, in the period immediately before the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar and the exile of Judah to Babylon for seventy years.
Judah had witnessed the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel of the divided monarchy in the recent past (721 B.C.), but had not learned from that example. They didn't want to hear Jeremiah's warning that they faced a similar disaster.
The Lord called Jeremiah to be his prophet and to speak God's Word, regardless of its reception by his hearers (Jeremiah 1:4-10). Jeremiah was filled with God's Word, and proclaiming it became an irresistible need. Jeremiah did not enjoy proclaiming the bad news of God's impending judgment and punishment, but it was God's will and Jeremiah's necessary duty.
God's Word is a powerful, creative force (Hebrews 4:12), and it is eternal and eternally true. God's Word is fulfilled over and over, as the conditions of its fulfillment are met. Jeremiah quoted Psalm 31:13 as he was experiencing and fulfilling it, as had the psalmist. But that psalm is also Messianic prophecy (Psalm 31:10-13), ultimately fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the Cross (Matthew 27:39-44).
The Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes (Jewish religious leaders) had plotted to overcome and destroy Jesus. They had conspired to take Jesus' life. They had questioned Jesus, hoping that he would make a mistake. But Jesus trusted in God the Father and committed his situation to God (Luke 23:46), and Jesus was not overcome, but prevailed, by his resurrection from the dead. His persecutors suffered shame and eternal dishonor.
Both David and Jeremiah also were delivered from their enemies and vindicated because they had committed their situations to the Lord. Jeremiah had been imprisoned by the King of Judah for prophesying that the Babylonian army would conquer Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:7-8, 15-38:13), and that prophecy was fulfilled because Judah refused to heed God's Word of warning to repent and return to obedient trust in God. When the city fell, the Judeans were exiled to Babylon for seventy years, but the Babylonian forces allowed Jeremiah to choose whether to go to Babylon with the captives or not (Jeremiah 40:2-4).
Note that seventy years is a virtual life sentence for all who were adults at the time of the exile. Jeremiah saw God's vengeance upon those who had opposed Jeremiah's prophecy and they suffered shame and eternal dishonor, while Jeremiah was saved and vindicated.
America, the "New Promised Land," and the nominal Church, the "New Jerusalem," the "New Israel," are in much the same position as Samaria and Jerusalem at the time of their falls to the Assyrians and Babylonians, from the same region we are now under attack by Islamic terrorists. The "War on Terror" is a spiritual problem.
America and the nominal Church are also in the same situation as Jerusalem and Judaism at the time of Jesus. Israel had not learned the lessons of the destruction of the Northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians and the exile of Judah to Babylon, and as a result were not prepared for Jesus' first coming. As a result Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 A.D., the people were scattered throughout the world, and Israel ceased to exist as a nation until it was reestablished following World War II.
Are we willing to hear God's Word, even when it makes us uncomfortable? Are we willing to heed God's call to repent and return to obedient trust in the Lord? Are we willing to place our trust in the Lord and proclaim God's Word fully even when it is unpopular? Are we willing to suffer abuse and persecution for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
*The Lord of hosts originally meant "Lord of armies;" "God of battles:" The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, 1 Samuel1:3n, p. 331, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
The host of heaven means the heavenly beings; the angels: Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freedman, William B., "Host of Heaven," p. 612, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids Michigan, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-2400-5
Wednesday 4 Pentecost - A
First Posted June 11, 2008;
Podcast: Wednesday 4 Pentecost - A
Romans 5:12-15 -- Adam and Christ Contrasted;
Paraphrase:
The first man, Adam, sinned, and introduced sin, and death, (which is the consequence of sin), into Creation. Sin and death spread to all humans because they all sinned (they shared the same sinful nature with Adam). Sin existed in the world before the Law (God's Word) was given (to Moses), but sin was not counted before the Law was introduced. Yet death, which is the consequence of sin, reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not overtly defy God's Word, as Adam had. Adam is a "type," (a prefiguring) of the Messiah who was promised. Adam's sin brought death to all humans, but Christ brought the free gift (of forgiveness, salvation and life) to many.
This Creation has been designed by God to allow us freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not. God knew that, given freedom, humans would choose to do their own will rather than God's, so God designed Christ, the Savior, into Creation (John 1:1-5, 14).
Adam represents our sinful human nature and Jesus represents the obedient trusting children of God which we can become, through obedient trust in God's Word. Adam is the worldly, physical man and Jesus is the heavenly, spiritual man.
God has designed Creation so that we are all sinners who fall short of God's righteousness (doing what is right, good and true in God's judgment). None of us deserves forgiveness and salvation from eternal death, so God can give forgiveness and salvation as a free gift to those who trust and obey Jesus.
God has always intended, from the beginning of Creation, to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. God has been progressively revealing himself and his plan for Creation. Creation itself reveals the goodness and wisdom of God. God has revealed himself to us in his Word in the Bible, beginning with the Law which he gave through Moses. The Bible reveals God's nature in dealing with his people and progressively revealing and fulfilling his purpose for Creation.
Jesus is the fullest revealing of God's nature and purpose to the world. Jesus is God in human form (Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).
This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek and come to find, know and have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our only opportunity to learn to know, trust and obey God's Word. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually "born-again" to eternal life. All this is only possible only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God's Word; Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only way to know God, to know divine, eternal truth, and to have true, eternal life (John 14:6). Jesus is the only one who gives ("baptizes;" "anoints" with) 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).
Jesus said that we must be "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) to see the kingdom of God all around us now, and to enter it in eternity. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the ultimate revelation of God and Jesus Christ to us personally and individually.
A Christian is a "born-again" disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26d). The "anointing" of the indwelling Holy Spirit is an ongoing event which we can personally experience and know for ourselves (Acts 19:2). Anyone who isn't sure, within themselves, hasn't been "born-again." Any nominal "Christian" who hasn't been "born-again" should ask themselves why not.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 12, 2008;
Podcast: Thursday 4 Pentecost - A
Matthew 10:24-33 -- Discipleship;
Jesus warned his disciples that disciples and servants are not greater or better than their teacher or master. The best they can hope for is to be like their teacher or master. If people have called Jesus Belzebul ("ruler of demons;" i.e. Satan) they will malign his disciples even more readily.
Jesus told his disciples not to fear people or evil powers. Nothing can be kept secret that will not be made known. What Jesus told his disciples in private they were to shout from the rooftops. They were not to fear those who can only kill them physically, but to fear (have awe and respect for) the Lord, who has the power and authority to cast body and soul into Hell (eternal death and destruction).
Two sparrows were sold for a penny, but one does not die except by God's will. God knows the slightest details; even the number of hairs on our heads. So we need not be afraid, because we are more precious to God than many sparrows.
Jesus will acknowledge to God everyone who acknowledges Jesus to others; but those who deny Jesus to others will be denied to God by Jesus.
"Christians" are, by definition, disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26d) who trust and obey Jesus. They are spiritually "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) 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). It is possible to know with certainty for oneself whether or not one has been "born-again" (Acts 19:2).
Disciples of Jesus Christ are commanded to stay in "Jerusalem" (i.e., within the Church) until they have been "born-again" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), and then they are to go into the world to make "born-again" disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to trust and obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19-20).
The indwelling Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ within his disciples (Romans 8:9). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are guided and empowered to testify to others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Christian disciples cannot expect to be popular and respected by worldly people. The world hated and crucified the perfect sinless Son of God, and we cannot expect to be any more well-received than Jesus was. But we have a mandate to continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
"Born-again" Christians know by personal experience that Jesus is eternally alive and that the Holy Spirit within them testifies that they have eternal life also. Our concern should be to serve our Lord by the guidance and resources he provides. What we say and do in our daily lives should testify to Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus warned that there will be many, who call Jesus their Lord and who claim to have prophesied and done many great deeds in Jesus' name, who Jesus will deny knowing on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46). Saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is obedient trust in Jesus' teachings! Any one who truly believes in Jesus will seek to know and apply Jesus' teachings in their daily live (Matthew 7:24-27).
There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord for what they have done in their lifetime. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been "reborn" by the indwelling Holy Spirit and will enter God's eternal kingdom, but those who have rejected Jesus and have failed or refused to trust and obey Jesus will receive eternal destruction and spiritual death in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
Friday 4 Pentecost - A
First Posted June 13, 2008;
Podcast: Friday 4 Pentecost - A
Isaiah 58:6-12 -- The Service God Desires;
Paraphrase:
The service that God desires is not ritual fasting, but breaking the bonds of wickedness and release of the oppressed. God wants us to share our food with the hungry, our homes with the homeless, and to clothe the naked. We should not hide ourselves from the human needs around us.
When we practice kindness and justice we will have the light of righteousness; we will have healing and righteousness, and the glory of God will be with us. Then, when we call upon the Lord, he will hear and answer us.
If we remove oppression, contempt and wickedness from among us and make an effort to relieve the hungry and afflicted, then our gloom will be lifted from us. Then the Lord will guide us and bless us with good things, and give us health and strength. We will be like a watered garden; like a spring which never stops flowing. Then our foundations will be restored and our ancient ruins will be rebuilt. We will be known as repairers and restorers.
Commentary:
Faith is obedient trust. If we want the Lord to heal, restore and bless us we must begin to live according to his Word. God is Lord whether we acknowledge him or not, but God is not obligated to be all that a good, loving, all-powerful God implies, unless we are willing to be his obedient, trusting people (Jeremiah 7:23; Ezekiel 11:20; Leviticus 26:3; Leviticus 26:12; see also Jeremiah 11:4c-5).
God deals with us with kindness and justice, and he expects us to deal with others the same way. God has blessed us with so many blessings in this world, but he intends them to be blessings for all to share equally.
God does not desire ritual or sacrifice; he desires kindness, justice, and obedience to his Word. How we treat the least of our neighbors, the poor and the powerless, indicates our spiritual condition. We want freedom, justice and opportunity for ourselves, but do we work to insure that others have them too? If we want the Lord to hear and answer us we must be willing to hear and obey him.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 14, 2008;
Podcast: Saturday 4 Pentecost - A
Romans 14:7-17 -- Walking According to Love;
Matthew 5:43-48 -- Love for Our Enemies;
Romans Paraphrase:
None of us live for ourselves alone. Whether we live or die we belong to the Lord. Christ came and died and arose to life again so that he could be Lord of both the living and the dead.
We must not be judgmental and despise our brother, because we will all be accountable at God's throne of judgment. Paul quoted Isaiah 45:23, that at the Day of Judgment, every one will bow to the Lord and give him praise.
So instead of criticizing others we should be considerate and make the effort to live in such a way so that they will have no cause to stumble because of us. Paul was convinced that nothing is unclean in itself, but if anyone believes something is unclean, then for him it is. We should consider the effect upon others of what we do. If our freedom damages the faith of another, we are not living in accordance with love. Similarly, we should not let others criticize what we regard as good. The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Matthew Paraphrase:
Conventional morality suggests that we should love our friends and hate our enemies. But Jesus taught his disciples a higher standard of righteousness. We should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. In doing so we will prove that we are the children of God and share his nature. God gives the blessings of this world to all, without distinction of whether people are just or unjust; righteous or unrighteous. We have no commendation if we love our friends and hate our enemies, because even the wicked do that. It isn't sufficient to conform to the world's standard of righteousness, but instead we are to conform to God's standard.
Commentary:
I'm convinced that the meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually "reborn" (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). 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).
God has designed this Creation from the very beginning, intending to establish an eternal kingdom of people who willingly choose to trust and obey him. Jesus has been God's plan from the beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14), and has been "built into" Creation (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Jesus is God made visible in human flesh (Colossians 1:15; 2:8-9; Matthew 11:27). He came to reveal God's love for us, and to teach us to live in obedience to God's Word. He died and rose again to demonstrate that there is existence after physical death and that we will also be raised from physical death to eternal life if we trust and obey him, and have been "born-again" by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
There is a Day of Judgment coming for each of us at the end of this lifetime, and nobody knows when that will be. Each of us will be accountable to the Lord for what we have done in this lifetime, and the standard of Judgment will be Jesus Christ. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in heaven; Creation restored to paradise. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to trust and obey Jesus will receive eternal destruction and unending death in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46).
In the Day of Judgment everyone will bow before the throne of God and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and give praise to God (Philippians 2:9-11). In that day it will be to late to change our eternal destiny.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
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