Week of Transfiguration - Lent C
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:
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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
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Podcast Download: Week of Transfiguration - Lent C
Sunday Transfiguration C
First Posted February 14, 2010;
Podcast: Sunday Transfiguration C
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 – Moses' Death;
Psalm 99:1-5 – Worthy of Worship;
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – Unveiled Gospel;
Luke 9:28-36 – The Transfiguration;
Deuteronomy Paraphrase:
Israel was poised on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan
River opposite Jericho, ready to enter the Promised Land.
Moses went up to the top of Pisgah, a peak of the Nebo mountain
range, and the Lord showed him the Promised Land. From the
mountaintop, Moses could see north, all Gilead (the land east of the
Jordan) to Dan and Napthali (south of Mt. Lebanon, and the Sea of
Galilee), the land of Ephraim and Manasseh (middle Palestine between
the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea), all Judah as far as the
western sea (the Mediterranean), the Negeb (the southern wilderness
of Judah) and the Jordan valley as far south as Zoar (south of the
Dead Sea).
The Lord told Moses that this was the land he had promised his
forefathers to give to their descendants. God had allowed Moses to
see it, but not to enter. Moses died in Moab, as the Lord had said,
and was buried there opposite Beth-peor, but the location of his
grave is unknown. Moses was one hundred and twenty years, and had no
infirmities of age, such as impaired vision or physical frailty. The
people mourned for thirty days in the plains of Moab.
Joshua, the son of Nun had been filled with the Spirit of wisdom, by
the laying on of Moses' hands, so the people of Israel obeyed
Joshua, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses was the greatest of
the prophets in Israel, because of his face-to-face relationship
with the Lord, the great signs and wonders that Moses had done in
the sight of Pharaoh and all his people, and the many great and
terrible deeds he did in the in the presence of the Israelites in
the wilderness.
Psalm Paraphrase:
Let all people tremble, knowing and acknowledging that the Lord
reigns (above all). He sits upon the cherubim (half human, half
animal creatures; comprising the mercy seat of the Ark of the
Covenant; the throne of God); let the earth be shaken. The Lord is
mighty in Zion (the people of God; the Church); he is exalted above
all peoples. Let all people praise his great and fearful name, for
it is holy (sacred; undefiled; worthy of reverence).
The Lord is Almighty; he also loves justice. He has established
equity and administers justice and righteousness in Jacob (the
patriarch, whom God renamed “Israel;” the namesake of God's people;
Genesis 32:25-30). Let us extol the Lord our God; let us worship at
his footstool, for he is holy (morally pure; worthy of worship).
2 Corinthians Paraphrase:
Some may have suggested that Paul's preaching of the Gospel was not
clear. Paul replied that the Gospel was only “veiled” to those who
were perishing. Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers so
that they cannot see the light of the glory of Christ, the likeness
of God, in the Gospel.
Luke Background:
Jesus had asked his disciples who other people and they themselves
thought Jesus to be. Peter declared that he believed Jesus was the
Christ. Then Jesus began to prepare his disciples for his
crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 9:18-27).
Luke Paraphrase:
About a week later Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountaintop
to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of Jesus' face was
altered and his clothing became dazzlingly bright. Two men, Moses
and Elijah, appeared in glory and talked with Jesus about his
departure (physical death) which would be accomplished in Jerusalem.
The three disciples present were sleepy, but were not dreaming this,
and they witnessed Jesus' glory and the two prophets with him.
As the two prophets were departing, Peter, not knowing what to say,
suggested to Jesus that the disciples should make three “booths”
(memorials) for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. As he was speaking, a cloud
overshadowed them, and the disciples were afraid. A voice from the
cloud declared Jesus to be his Son, his Chosen (beloved), and told
them to listen to (heed) Jesus! When the voice finished speaking,
Jesus was alone with the three disciples. These disciples kept
silence about this experience and told no one at that time.
Commentary:
Moses is regarded as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets for
the reasons stated in today's text. The editors of the Oxford
Annotated Bible* suggest that the Lord himself buried Moses
(Deuteronomy 34:6 n), which is why no human knows where Moses' grave
is to this day.
Moses was not allowed to enter the earthly Promised Land, but he was
allowed to see it. He apparently entered God's eternal Promised Land
in heaven, because of his presence with Elijah at Jesus'
transfiguration.
Elijah (Elias) is the other great prophet of Israel. Elijah was
transported into heaven by a whirlwind and his physical body was
never found (2 Kings 2:1-12), so Moses and Elijah shared similar
circumstances at the end of their physical lives. One other
character in the Old Testament, Enoch, is recorded to have gone to
heaven directly without having died physically (Genesis 5:22-24;
Hebrews 11:5).
Because Elijah had been carried into heaven it was conceivable that
he could return in the way that he had been carried off. The Jewish
teachers were expecting and teaching that Elijah would return to
herald the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6). According to
Matthew's account of the transfiguration, the three disciples asked
Jesus about Elijah's return, and Jesus declared that John the
Baptizer was the fulfillment of that prophecy (Matthew 17:10-13).
The three disciples were also witnessing the return of Elijah (and
Moses) at Jesus' transfiguration before Jesus' role of Messiah was
to be fulfilled by his crucifixion and resurrection.
After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples over forty
days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8), before he ascended into
heaven. His assension was witnessed by his disciples, who were told
that Jesus would return on the Day of Judgment in the same way they
had seen him ascend (Acts 1:9-11).
The Ark of the Covenant was a box with the stone tablets of the Ten
Commandments which Moses received from God. On the top of the box
were two Cherubim facing each other. Their wings formed the seat of
God's throne, and the box was God's footstool.
God's Word, recorded in the Bible, and fulfilled, embodied, and
exemplified in Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-5, 14) are
the standard of God's equity, righteousness and justice which God
has established and by which all will be judged.
Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who have
trusted and obeyed Jesus, will have been spiritually “reborn” (John
3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
during this lifetime, and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly
kingdom, the eternal “Promised Land.” Those who have rejected Jesus,
who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned
to spiritual eternal death and destruction in hell with all evil
(Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Only Jesus gives the “baptism” (gift; anointing) with 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). It is possible for one
to know with certainty for oneself if one has received the baptism
of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).
This lifetime is intended by God to be our opportunity to seek and
find God (Acts 17:26-27) and to learn to know, trust and obey God's
Word. These goals are only possible through faith (obedient trust)
in Jesus. Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the
creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; Genesis 1:3, 9).
Jesus could command and we would have no choice but to obey. But
Jesus doesn't want to force anyone to believe God's Word. Jesus
taught in parables for that very reason, so that his hearers were
free to not understand if they chose. For the same reason he told
his disciples not to tell anyone who Jesus is (Luke 9:21).
The same is true today; one cannot be “saved” by believing the
testimony of their pastor or some other believer. The believer's
testimony may induce others to consider the Gospel for themselves,
but saving faith is only by trusting and obeying Jesus' teachings
personally. One needs to read the Bible for oneself. One who is
seeking to know God's will for oneself personally is to seek God's
Word in the Bible, one day at a time (Matthew 6:11, 34), with prayer
and meditation. One must remember that God's will never contradicts
God's Word and will never tell us to harm ourselves or others.
The Gospel seems veiled to unbelievers because the “veil” cannot be
removed except through faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). By
the Holy Spirit, Jesus opens the minds of his disciples to
understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).
Who do you say Jesus is? 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 Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Deuteronomy 34:6 n, p. 262, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
Monday Transfiguration C
First Posted February 15, 2010;
Podcast: Monday Transfiguration C
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 – Ministry of Reconciliation;
Paraphrase:
Believers are to be ambassadors for Christ, transmitting God's appeal for reconciliation through us. We urge you on Christ's behalf to accept reconciliation with God. God made him (Jesus) to bear our sin, although he was sinless, so that we could receive the righteousness of God. So working with Christ, we urge you not to receive the grace (unmerited favor; the free gift) of God in vain. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, that God has heard our need at the right time, and has helped us on the day of salvation (Isaiah 49:8). This is the right time; this is the Day of Salvation.
Commentary:
Christians are believers of the Gospel who have trusted and obeyed Jesus, and have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” 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 baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily experience (Acts 19:2). 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).
Believers have personally experienced the reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ by the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. We have believed and have come to know with certainty that the Gospel of Jesus is the word of eternal life (John 6:68-69 RSV). The only people who don't know where they will spend eternity are the “lost;” unbelievers; the spiritually “unborn.”
Since we have experienced our own reconciliation we are to carry on Christ's mission of reconciliation to the spiritually lost and dying world. Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to trust and obey Jesus: Matthew 28:19-20), but only after his disciples had been “born-again” (Luke 24:9; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
God has designed this Creation for his own purpose, which has always been to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. This world is intended to be God's “garden” to grow his obedient trusting people. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our opportunity to be “reborn” spiritually to eternal life.
Sin is disobedience of God's Word. In order to have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word, he has created this world to allow the possibility of sin. But God is not willing to tolerate rebellion and disobedience forever, or at all in his eternal kingdom. So this world and we ourselves are limited by time.
God knew that in giving us freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God, we would all choose to do our own will rather than his. So we have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). So God is able to provide forgiveness and reconciliation as a gift, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus is not God's “Plan B,” after man sinned. Jesus was designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). At the right time in history Jesus came in human flesh and died on the cross as the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin and our salvation from eternal condemnation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). These are the “Last Days” before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Day of Judgment.
That day is not far off. It will come for each one who has ever lived, at Christ's return, or at the moment of physical death. At that moment time will cease for us individually and the next moment we will be at the judgment throne in eternity. At the moment of Christ's return, or at our physical death our eternal destiny will be fixed and unchangeable.
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may not come. Today is the only day we can be certain of to seek the Lord and secure eternal life.
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)?
Tuesday Transfiguration C
First Posted February 16, 2010;
Podcast: Tuesday Transfiguration C
Deuteronomy 26:5-10 – Offering of First Fruits;
Background:
Pentecost, meaning “fifty days,” is the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks, which was also known as the Festival of “First-Fruits” of the spring barley harvest, seven weeks after Passover. Today's text is a liturgy (a rite; a formalized form for public worship) for this festival, when the worshiper gives thanks to the Lord for the land and harvest.
Worshipers were to take the basket of first fruits to the temple and present it to the priest at the altar.
Deuteronomy Paraphrase:
The worshiper was then to recite the origin of the people of Israel, how the patriarchs, had been Aramean nomads (who had come from Aram: present-day Syria and Iraq). The family went to Egypt and settled there temporarily. They multiplied and became a large nation. The Egyptians enslaved them and treated them harshly. The Lord saw their oppression and bondage, and led them out of Egypt (the Exodus; mass departure) with great signs and wonders. The Lord brought them to the land of Canaan, which “flowed with milk and honey” as the Lord had said. So now the worshiper was presenting the first fruit of the ground, which the Lord had given, in worship to the Lord.
Commentary:
God's purpose for Creation is to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. God has been progressively revealing himself and his purpose, first through the goodness and complexity of Creation. Then he revealed himself to Abraham (Abram) and began a personal relationship with him, calling him to go to a new land and become the “father” of a great nation (Genesis 12:1-7). The Old Testament is the history of God's dealing with the nation of his people, teaching them to trust and obey God's Word. Jesus is the fullest revelation of God to the world. The Holy Spirit is the fullest revelation of God to his disciples individually and personally.
The history of God's relationship with Israel is also deliberately intended by God to be a “parable;” a metaphor for life in this world. God's people were enslaved in the “Egypt” of this present world order, of which Satan is “Pharaoh.” Jesus is the new “Moses” who frees us from bondage to sin and death in “Egypt,” through the “sea” of water baptism into Jesus, through the "wilderness" of this lifetime, where we learn to trust and obey him and be led by his Spirit (the “pillar” of cloud and fire; Exodus 13:21-22). Jesus is the new Joshua (Jesus is the Greek form of “Joshua” or “Jeshua”), who will lead us through the “river” of physical death and into the eternal "Promised Land" of God's eternal kingdom in Heaven.
Moses had been directed and empowered by God to invoke a series of ten plagues on Egypt to induce the Egyptians to release their Israelite slaves. The final plague was the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, including their animals (Exodus 11:4-7).
The Passover feast originally was celebrated in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus. A perfect unblemished one-year-old male lamb was to be killed to provide the meat for the feast, and the blood of the lamb was to mark the doors of the houses of the Israelites as a sign that the destroying angel was to “pass over” them (Exodus 12:1-13). The Passover feast was observed annually in commemoration of the central saving act of God for his people.
After their release from Egypt God initiated a Covenant between God and his people, based on Law, God's Word given through Moses. God used the Law to teach God's people the meaning of sacrifice; that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). The sacrificial statutes and ordinances were to be followed until the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) could be established at the coming of Jesus.
Jesus celebrated the Passover feast in Jerusalem on the night of his betrayal and arrest, and at that celebration he initiated the New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is the New Passover Lamb (John 1:29; Revelation 5:12), whose blood marks his disciples to be “passed over” in the Final Judgment. Passover became the Christian Easter.
Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, became the festival of “first fruits” of the spiritual harvest. Jesus' disciples receive the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is the “first fruit” of eternal life and fellowship with God and Jesus Christ. Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection was the outpouring of the promised indwelling Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian Church (Acts 2:1-13).
The “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the spiritual “birthday” of each Christian. We are all born into this world physically alive but spiritually “unborn.” This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8). Only Jesus “baptizes” with the indwelling 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). It is possible to know with certainty for oneself if one has received the baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).
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)?
Ash Wednesday C
First Posted February 17, 2010;
Podcast: Ash Wednesday C
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21-- Sincere Devotion;
Paraphrase:
Don't try to appear devout outwardly to others; you will have no reward from God the Father in heaven. When giving to the poor, do so without fanfare or public attention, which hypocrits seek, to be seen and praised by people. People who seek public acclaim will have only that, as their reward. When giving to the poor, give so privately that it is as if your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing. Give privately; then your Father who knows what is done in private will see and reward you.
When praying, don't do as the hypocrits do, who love to pray in church and on street corners to be seen by others. Instead, go into your room and shut your door, and pray to your Father privately; and your Father who hears what you say in private will hear and reward you.
When fasting, don't attract attention to your fasting with a dismal expression or any other outward sign, to be noticed by others. The hypocrits who do so have only public notice as their reward. Instead, when fasting, continue your normal outward appearance and behavior, so that your fasting will not be noticed by other people, but only by your Father, who knows what is done privately; and the Father will reward you.
Commentary:
God is not impressed with outward appearances. He knows our innermost thoughts and motives. God is Spirit and Truth, and those who want to serve and please him must do so in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
The public today is a lot less impressed with public displays of religious devotion than church-goers might imagine. Praying aloud at Mac Donald's before eating a “Happy Meal” is not particularly effective “evangelism.”
Many Americans believe that God hears and answers prayer. Many Americans consider themselves Christians, although they may not attend weekly Church services or read the Bible daily.
There are conditions for answered prayer (see sidebar, top right, home). God is under no obligation to hear and answer prayer if we haven't read and begun to apply his Word in our daily lives (Jeremiah 7:23; Ezekiel 11:20; Leviticus 26:3, 12; see also Jeremiah 11:4c-5).
Saving faith is not getting whatever one believes, if one believes “hard enough.” Saving faith is believing (trusting and obeying) Jesus Christ, who alone is God's only appointed (“anointed;” Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) eternal savior and eternal king of God's eternal kingdom.
How can one call Jesus “Lord” and not do what he teaches ( Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46)?
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)?
Thursday Lent C
First Posted February 18, 2010;
Podcast: Thursday Lent C
Psalm 91-- The Lord, Our Refuge;
Paraphrase:
The Lord God Almighty is a refuge and shelter from every peril. Those who trust in him need fear nothing. He will deliver us from traps set for us by our enemy, and even from fatal illness. His truth will be our shield and protection.
We need fear no terror at night, nor peril of day; no sickness of darkness, nor destruction in daylight. Thousands may fall beside us, tens of thousands next to us, but not we ourselves. We will see the recompense of the wicked with our own eyes.
Because we have made the Lord our refuge and dwelling, no evil will happen to us, nor scourge come near.
“For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12).
We will overcome poisonous and vicious beasts. Those who cling to the Lord in love will be protected. The Lord will answer and deliver those who call upon his name. The Lord will be with them in times of trouble and will rescue and honor them “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:16).
Commentary:
The Lord gave me this Word when I was a new believer, thirty years ago. He asked me to meet with a person I regarded as my personal enemy. I responded like Ananias in Paul's (Saul of Tarsus') conversion (Acts 9:13-14). I did as the Lord directed, and had the promised shelter and protection.
Jesus came and died the most excruciating (meaning literally "from the cross") physical death imaginable. His physical death and resurrection was deliberately intended by God to free us from lifelong bondage to sin and the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
God has always intended, from the beginning of Creation, to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. God's Word is recorded in the Bible, and lived in human flesh in this world in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” God's Word fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified (John 1:1-5, 14).
In order to provide the freedom to allow us to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word, God designed this Creation to allow for the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word).
Humans fear physical death. It seems to be the end of existence. After physical death is not “nothingness,” nor “reincarnation.” God has created a temporal world; humans die once and then comes divine judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus' resurrection from physical death demonstrates that there is existence after physical death. Every “born-again” Christian personally testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive!
Satan knows scripture! Christians must read the entire Bible, and must read portions daily, with prayer and meditation, seeking the Lord's guidance one day at a time (Matthew 6:11, 34).
Satan tempted Jesus, the “living Word,” with scripture (Matthew 4:6). Jesus defeated temptation by quoting the scriptural context (Matthew 4:7).
Jesus has promised to hear and answer those who call upon his name. But Jesus warns us that those who call upon his name must trust and obey him (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).
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 Lent C
First Posted February 19, 2010;
Podcast: Friday Lent C
Romans 10:8b-13 – Saving Faith;
Paraphrase:
The Word (the Word of faith; the Gospel of salvation) is near you, on your lips and in your hearts; “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (from eternal condemnation and destruction; Romans 10:9). A person who believes in his heart is “justified” (a legal judgment of pardon for sin; the opposite of condemnation) and who confesses with his voice is “saved.”
The author of this letter, the Apostle Paul, quotes Isaiah 28:16, which says that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame (stumble). There is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile); Jesus is Lord of all and gives his rich spiritual blessings to all who call upon him. “For 'everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved'” (compare Joel 2:32a).
Commentary:
God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God's Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14).
The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and find fellowship with God our Creator which was broken by our sin. We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). The Lord is not far off (Acts 17:26-27). He will reveal himself to us when we seek him with our whole heart (John 14:21, 23).
We are all born physically alive into this world, but we are “unborn” spiritually. This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life by the “baptism” (“anointing;” “gift”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus baptizes with the indwelling 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). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily event (Acts 19:2), not automatically conferred by some church rite, like water baptism.
But just naming the name of Jesus isn't going to save us from eternal condemnation. Jesus asks why people call him their Lord and call themselves “Christian” but not do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46). Faith is not getting whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus Christ.
There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord for what we have done in this lifetime. That day is not far off; it will come for each of us at the moment of physical death, or sooner, when Christ returns. No one know when that will be, or how long we will live physically (Matthew 24:34-44).
Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been spiritually reborn in their lifetime. They have had personal fellowship with the Lord by the indwelling Holy Spirit. They will enter God's eternal kingdom in heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal destruction 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)?
Saturday Lent C
First Posted February 20, 2010;
Podcast: Saturday Lent C
Luke 4:1-13 – Forty Days in the Wilderness;
Paraphrase:
After Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River by John the baptizer, Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit,” (Luke 4:1a; Acts 2:4) and was led by the Holy Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan. Jesus ate nothing in the wilderness, and at the end of forty days of fasting, he was hungry. Satan tempted Jesus, saying that, if Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus could command a stone and it would become bread. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3c, saying “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'”
Satan showed Jesus a vision of all the kingdoms of earth, for it all had been given to Satan. Satan said that he would give Jesus all their authority and glory, if Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus again replied that it was written (in the Old Testament Scriptures), “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 John 5:19 RSV).
Satan took Jesus to the roof of the temple in Jerusalem and said again, that if Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus should jump off the roof, because it is written, “He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you (Psalm 91:11),” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:12). Jesus replied that it says (in the Bible), “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16). When Satan had ended all his temptations, he withdrew until another more favorable opportunity.
Commentary:
“Full of the Holy Spirit” is a Christian expression used throughout the book of Acts. Authentic “born-again” Christians experience the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them as they are led and empowered by the Spirit. Jesus promised to send his indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples as they trusted and obeyed Jesus (John 14:15-17). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would give them what they were to say at the moment needed; that it was Holy Spirit who would speak through them (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12).
Moses was on Mt. Sinai (Horeb) forty days receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). Elijah traveled forty days and nights from the Northern Kingdom from Mt Carmel to Mt Sinai at the southern border of the Southern Kingdom on a cake of flour and a container of water supplied supernaturally by an angel (1 Kings 19:7-8). The Israelites were tested in the wilderness for forty years of wandering (Numbers 14:26-35; 32:13; Deuteronomy 8:2; 29:5), because they had not obeyed God's command to enter and possess Canaan, the Promised Land.
Jesus was tempted for forty days of fasting in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. Satan tempted Jesus in three areas of human vulnerability: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and human pride. Correspondingly, Jesus was hungry, he was tempted to possess the glory and authority of the world, and to demonstrate that he was the Son of God.
Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden with the same three basic temptations: the forbidden fruit was “good for food, ...a delight to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise” and "like God" (Genesis 3:5-6).
Jesus responded to each temptation with scripture to refute it. To tempt him, Satan even quoted scripture to the Son of God, the “living Word,” the fulfillment embodiment and example of God's Word, lived in this world, in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Every believer should read the entire Bible, so that the Holy Spirit can recall it to our minds when needed so that we can escape temptation. If we resist his temptation Satan will flee from us (James 4:7b).
Esau traded his birthright, as the first-born son, of a double share in his father's estate, for a single meal (Hebrews 12:16-17; Genesis 25:29-34; 27:30-40).
Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ we have an inheritance in our heavenly Father's estate in his eternal kingdom, paradise restored. Let us not give it away for a single meal, or even for all the power and glory on earth. The most important goal in this lifetime is for us to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:31-33; 16:26).
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)?
