1 Christmas C - 12/27/2015 - 01/02/2016
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: Week of 1 Christmas - C
1st Sunday after Christmas - C
Podcast: 1st Sunday after Christmas - C
Jeremiah 31:10-13 – Return and Restoration;
Psalm 111 – God's Redemption;
Hebrews 2:10-18 Freed from Sin and Death;
Luke 2:41-52 – Jesus' Youth;
Jeremiah Background:
Jeremiah was a prophet to Judah and Jerusalem from 627 to 580 B.C., the period leading up to and during the beginning of the Exile of Judah to Babylon, generally calculated from the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 587 to its restoration and dedication in 517 B.C..
Jeremiah Paraphrase:
Hear God's Word, all nations and distant shores. Israel, whom the Lord scattered, will be gathered again by the Lord. As a shepherd keeps his flocks the Lord will keep Israel.
The Lord has ransomed Jacob and and redeemed him from powers greater than he. Israel shall sing aloud to the Lord on Zion, (the temple mount in Jerusalem) and rejoice in the goodness of the Lord. They will celebrate over the harvest of grain, wine, olive oil, and the young of their flocks and herds. They will languish no longer; their life will be restored like a watered garden.
Their young girls will dance in joy, the men, both young and old will be merry. The Lord promises to comfort them and transform their mourning to joy, and exchange their sorrow for gladness.
Psalm 111 Paraphrase:
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! With my whole heart I will praise the Lord in the congregation of his people.
The works of the Lord are awesome! Those who delight in them will study them. His works are full of honor and majesty. He has caused his works to be remembered, for the Lord is gracious and merciful. For those who fear him, he provides food. He constantly remembers his covenant. He has revealed his power to his people, giving them the inheritance of the nations. He is faithful and just in all his doings; all his teachings are trustworthy and eternally true.
Hebrews Paraphrase:
In accord with the gracious nature of God, who has created all things for his purpose, it was appropriate that in his plan to bring many sons (and daughters) to glory (to spiritual maturity and eternal life; to the joy of heaven), to make the pioneer (author; “trail-blazer;”) of salvation (i.e., Jesus) perfect through suffering. The sanctifier (Jesus Christ) and the sanctified (“born-again” disciples) both originate from God, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brethren, as God's Word says in Psalm 22:22: “I will declare thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.” Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 8:17-18 of trusting in God's Word, and receiving the children of God (as his brethren).
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he (Jesus) himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Satan), and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus' mission was not to angels, but to the descendants of Abraham. Jesus had to become like them in every aspect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest serving God, to make amends for our sins. Because Jesus has experienced suffering and temptation just as we do, he is able to understand and help us when we are tempted.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus' parents went from Nazareth to Jerusalem every year to celebrate Passover. When Jesus was twelve, they went, according to their custom. At the end of the celebration, they began their trip home, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Jesus' parents were not aware that he had stayed behind; they thought he was with friends or relatives in their caravan. At the end of the day's journey, they looked for Jesus, and discovered that he was missing, so Jesus' parents hurried back to Jerusalem.
After three days of anxious searching, they found Jesus in the temple sitting among teachers and listening and asking questions. Everyone who heard Jesus was amazed at his understanding and his replies. When Jesus' parents saw him they were amazed, and his mother asked Jesus why he had worried them so. Jesus asked his parents why they hadn't looked for him in his Father's house, the temple, first. His parents didn't understand what Jesus was saying to them.
Jesus returned with them to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother remembered things like this about Jesus. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52)
Commentary:
Judah, the Southern Kingdom of the two tribes, was the remnant of Israel after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.. The Northern Kingdom had disobeyed God's warning by his prophets to repent and turn from disobedience and idolatry. Judah had not learned from the example of the Northern Kingdom, and did not heed the warnings of the prophets to repent and return to obedient trust in God's Word.
Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be exiled in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12), and God's Word was fulfilled. Israel had been scattered, but the Lord promised to gather them again and be their shepherd (Jeremiah 31:10c). God's promise was amazingly fulfilled when Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to their Promised Land. Cyrus gave them the sacred vessels of silver, gold and bronze which Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the temple. Cyrus also gave permission, money and help in the rebuilding of the temple.
God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The prophecy of a Shepherd to gather God's people is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15), the Lord.
Israel had forgotten the lessons of the Exile and was unprepared for the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. At the crucifixion of Jesus, the people of God were effectively scattered. Even the Twelve disciples were scattered (Matthew 26:31; John 16:32). Jesus was the one last faithful remnant of Israel. From then on the Church became the New Israel, the New People of God.
The disciples who had scattered began to be drawn back by the news of Jesus' resurrection. Jesus appeared to them and told them to remain in Jerusalem until they had received the “baptism” (gift) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), and then they were to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey all Jesus' teachings (Matthew 28:19-20). The “baptism” of the Holy Spirit began to be poured out on the Day of Pentecost, the “birthday” of the Church (Acts 2:1-13).
Those who look into the record of God's great works in the Bible will delight in them. Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God's power and faithfulness to the world. The “baptism” of indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17), is God's ultimate revelation of himself personally and individually to the disciples of Jesus Christ. 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' 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). Those who trust and obey Jesus come to know and testify that his teachings are trustworthy and eternally true.
God has created this world according to his purpose. God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. This present world is God's spiritual garden, where he is “growing” sons and daughters for his eternal kingdom. Jesus has been designed into this Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).
God designed this Creation to allow for the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word), so that we could have freedom to choose whether or not to obey God. He knew that we would all choose to do our own will rather than his and would need to learn by trial-and-error to trust and obey God's Word. We are all sinners who have fallen short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17; Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
We are all born physically alive but spiritually “unborn.” This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” to eternal life.
Jesus' resurrection from the dead demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Every truly “born-again” Christian personally experiences and testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive. Because we know that Jesus lives, we can know with certainty that we will rise from physical death to eternal life too (Romans 8:11). The joy of the Lord's presence now by the indwelling Holy Spirit is just a foretaste of the joy we will have with him in eternity.
Jesus was fully human and also fully God (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). He is the only “begotten” (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:34-35) Son, the first-born, with the birthright that goes with it. We become “adopted” sons and daughters, through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14-16). Because he shared in every aspect our human nature, he understands our temptations and is able to help us resist and overcome them.
Jesus teaches by both word and example. Jesus taught his disciples to seek God's kingdom and righteousness first, ahead of physical necessities. Those who seek physical needs first will never get around to seeking God's kingdom, because we can never get enough physical resources to feel satisfied. Jesus respected his physical parents, but he put God, his heavenly Father, first. His parents should have realized that the only reason Jesus would stay behind in Jerusalem would be to study God's Word and seek God's kingdom.
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)?
Podcast: Week of Christmas - C
Monday December 28 C
First Posted December 28, 2009;
Podcast: December 28 CHebrews 2:10-18 – Our Savior;
Paraphrase:
God is the Creator of all things which exist; Creation has been designed for God's eternal purpose. In God's loving, gracious and merciful nature, God considered it good that in bringing many people to glory, he should make the pioneer (Jesus; the “author,” “leader,” “trailblazer”) of their salvation perfect (complete; brought to maturity) through suffering. Jesus, who sanctifies (cleanses ceremonially and dedicates to God's service) and his disciples who are sanctified have one origin, God. So Jesus was not ashamed to call them his brothers (and sisters). The author of this Letter to the Hebrews quoted Psalm 22:22: “I will proclaim thy (God's) name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee,” Isaiah 8:17: “I will put my trust in him,” and Isaiah 8:18: “Here am I and the children God has given me.”
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he (Jesus) himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15) Jesus' mission was not to angels, but to the descendants of Abraham. So Jesus had to be made like us in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in God's service, to make expiation (atonement; reconciliation; reparation; specifically the reconciliation of God and mankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ), for our sin (disobedience of God's Word). Since he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help us when we are tempted.
Commentary:
God is the Creator of the Universe and everything in it. This temporal world was created by God for his specific purpose: to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who trust and obey God. God designed this world to allow for sin, so that we could be free to choose whether to trust and obey God or not, and to learn by trial and error that his way is good, acceptable, and our very best interest (Romans 12:2). We are all sinners and fall short of God's righteousness (doing what is good, right and true, according to God's Word, the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God's Word lived in human flesh in this present world John 1:1-5, 14).
According to God's design, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God designed the one and only Savior into the structure of this Creation, so that we could be forgiven for sin, and restored to fellowship with God that mankind had at the beginning of Creation, before the sin was introduced (Genesis 2:15-3:22). God loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus is the only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus' obedience of God's Word was tested in the wilderness, before his ministry began (Matthew 4:1-11), and again in the last weeks of his ministry. Jesus had been trying to prepare his disciples for his crucifixion, and had foretold his death on the cross at least three times (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). On the night of his betrayal and arrest, Jesus prayed to God his Father three times, asking that if possible, God would spare his Son from the agony of crucifixion, but accepted it willingly in obedient trust (Matthew26:39, 42, 44).
Jesus was tempted, but without succumbing to sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was thus the unblemished Lamb of the New Passover feast.
Passover is the celebration of God's saving act of bringing the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. The last of the ten plagues which finally convinced Pharaoh to allow Israel to leave was the deaths of the firstborn of the Egyptians. On the eve of that plague, God instituted the Feast of Passover. God instructed Moses to have each family select a one-year-old, unblemished lamb (small households could share a lamb). They were to kill the lamb and mark the doorpost and lintel with its blood, so that the destroying angel would “pass over” them and their firstborn would be saved.
On the night of Jewish Passover, Jesus instituted the New Passover (the Lord's Supper; Holy Communion; the Eucharist; Matthew 26:26-28) and later that night Jesus was betrayed and arrested (Matthew 26:45-50). Jesus' blood, shed on the cross, marks his disciples who receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Jesus' death (his body) provides meal of the New Passover feast. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant secured by his body and blood sacrificed on the Cross.
God had taught Israel that only a blood offering can spiritually cleanse and dedicate anything to God's service (Hebrews 9:12-22). By the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the Cross, all who believe in (trust and obey) Jesus, are cleansed and dedicated to God's use.
Those who believe in (trust and obey) Jesus will receive the “baptism” (free gift; “anointing”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our bodies become temples of the Lord, and we are spiritually “reborn” by the Holy Spirit within us. Jesus teaches that one must be “born-again” to see the Kingdom of Heaven all around us now, and to enter it in eternity (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).
The presence of the Holy Spirit within believers is a personally discernible, ongoing event; anyone who has to take the word of a spiritual counselor, hasn't been “born-again”! (Acts 19:2).
Several mainline Church denominations are teaching that one automatically receives the indwelling Holy Spirit through some Church ritual, such as (water) Baptism or Confirmation (Affirmation) of Baptism. This not only doesn't help members become sanctified and “born-again,” but actually is causing members spiritual harm, by not helping members to seek and be filled with the Holy Spirit. It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples. Those Churches aren't making “born-again” disciples because their leaders are not “born-again” disciples (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus commands his disciples to await the infilling of the Holy Spirit before going into the world to make disciples. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). After their “baptism” with the Holy Spirit, Jesus' “born-again” disciples are to go into the entire world and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them (with water) in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (note the Trinity; Matthew 28:19) teaching them to obey all that Jesus teaches (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus demonstrated the “discipling” ministry that his Church, his disciples, are to follow. He made disciples, taught them how to live according to God's Word, told them to await the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and then to go into the world with the Gospel (“Good News”) of forgiveness and salvation through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is intended by God to be the prototype and example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-20). On his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, he was convicted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:4), the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; Acts 9:5).
Paul repented (Acts 9:9) and accepted Jesus as his Lord (Acts 9:5a), and became obedient to Jesus (Acts 9:6, 8). In Damascus, God sent a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-12; we know he's “born-again” because he has a personal relationship with the Lord) to Paul so that Paul could be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17).
As soon as Paul had received the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, He began making “born-again” disciples (Acts 9:19b-20). Timothy is a good example of a “born-again” disciple taught to make “born-again” disciples who would repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2).
By the cleansing, by the blood of Jesus and the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are “adopted” children of God, and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15-17; Galatians 4:4-7).
Jesus came into this world to provide forgiveness of sin and salvation from spiritual, eternal death. He came into the world to teach us how to live according to the Word of God. Jesus demonstrated through his death that there is existence after physical death, and the the promise of eternal life. Jesus is the first-born from the (physically) dead (Colossians 1:16-18).
Hebrews 2:14-15 is one of my favorite passages; what a great promise and testimony of Jesus' mission! It is so true! Many in the world today pursue the idea of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Commercials teach us that we only go around once in life, so we should grab all the gusto we can! Many believe in reincarnation; many believe that after death is nothingness. For people who have no hope of existence beyond physical death, this is all there is.
Jesus not only taught eternal life but demonstrated it. Every truly “born-again” Christian testifies from personal experience that Jesus is risen, and is eternally alive. God's Word declares that all are appointed to die once, not over and over, not reincarnation, not nothingness, and then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Christians know from the Bible and from personal experience with the risen Jesus, that the God who raised Jesus from physical death to eternal life will do the same for us who trust and obey Jesus (1 Peter 1:19-23; Romans 8:11). So we no longer fear anything, even physical death. As Paul said, it is better for us to be at home with the Lord, but it is more necessary for us to be in the world to save as many as possible (2 Corinthians 5:6-10). The only things we can take with us into eternity are our family and acquaintances.
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 December 29 C
First Posted December 29, 2009;Podcast: December 29 C
Luke 2:41-52 – Jesus' Boyhood;
Paraphrase:
Jesus' family traveled from their home in Nazareth to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of Passover. When Jesus was twelve they had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and when it ended, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents assumed that Jesus was with others in their caravan.
At the end of the first day of travel, they sought Jesus from among their kinsfolk and friends. When they had not found him, they returned to Jerusalem, where they searched for him for three days. On the third day, they found Jesus in the temple, listening to the religious authorities teaching and asking them questions. All who heard Jesus' questions and his knowledge of scripture were amazed at his understanding and answers.
When his parents found Jesus, they were surprised, and his mother asked why Jesus had caused his parents such anxiety. Jesus asked them why they hadn't checked the temple for him first. Did they not understand that he must have been in God his Father's house? They didn't comprehend what Jesus had told them.
Jesus went down with them (from the temple mount; Zion), and returned to Nazareth, and Jesus was obedient to his parents. His mother kept such things in her heart. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Commentary:
The Feast of Passover commemorated the great saving act of God, in delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The final of 10 plagues which God caused among the Egyptians to convince them to let the Israelites leave was the death of the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians (Exodus 11:1-5). The blood of the sacrificial lamb of Passover was to be placed upon the door-posts and lintel to mark the dwellings of the Israelites, so that the destroying angel would “pass over” them and not harm the firstborn children of the Israelites.
The week before his crucifixion Jesus took his disciples with him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover. Jesus had told his disciples, at least the four times recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, that he would be abused and killed and would be raised up again (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; note 26:2). Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is celebrated by the Church as “Palm Sunday” (Luke 19:28-46), and the week as “Holy Week.”
Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover Feast on Thursday evening of Holy Week. During the meal Jesus instituted the New Christian “Passover,” “The (Lord's, or) Last Supper” (Holy Communion; the Eucharist; Matthew 26:26-29). Moses had been the mediator of the Passover between God and Israelites. Jesus became the mediator of the New Passover. Jesus' body was going to be broken on the cross and would become the bread of Communion (John 6:32-35), the “bread of (eternal) life” (John 6:47-58) and his blood shed on the cross would become the wine.
Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” the perfect unblemished young lamb, sacrificed to provide the lamb of Passover. His blood marks his disciples to be passed over by the angel of eternal death.
The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is deliberately intended by God to be a “parable” (a common earthly experience used to teach a spiritual truth), a metaphor about life in this world. In a sense, we are all in bondage to sin and death in the “Egypt” of this world. Jesus is the New “Moses,” the only one who can free us (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home) and take us through the “wilderness” of this world and into the eternal “Promised Land” of God's Kingdom in Heaven. Having been freed from sin and death God's people are to learn to follow Jesus, to learn to trust and obey him, through this present “wilderness.” God has sacrificed his own “firstborn Son” to free us.
Jesus teaches that one must be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) in this lifetime to be able to see the Kingdom of God which is all around us now, and ultimately to enter it in eternity. Only Jesus “baptizes” with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The personal infilling of the Holy Spirit is a discernible ongoing event which every truly “born-again” Christian knows with certainty for themselves (Acts 19:2). Any person who must rely on some religious authority's word hasn't been reborn. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21) that leads God's people through the spiritual darkness of this world.
Jews were strictly forbidden to drink blood or eat meat with its blood. People believed that the blood of an animal contained its spirit. God doesn't want his people to be filled with the spirits of animals; he wants us to receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of God (note the Trinity; Romans 8:9). But note that one doesn't automatically receive the Holy Spirit through participation in Communion. In fact, those who participate in Communion without discerning Christ's body condemn themselves to eternal destruction (1 Corinthians 11:29; John 3:18). For truly “born-again” Christians, the Lord's Supper provides “communion” with the Lord, not only during the Communion rite itself, but by keeping us spiritually cleansed and in communion with the Lord through the days between “Communion” services.
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)?
Wednesday December 30 C
First Posted December 30, 2009;
Podcast: December 30 C
Psalm 147:13-20 – Praise the Lord!
Paraphrase:
Jerusalem and Zion (the temple mount; God's people; the Church of God; the heavenly city): Let us praise the Lord our God. The Lord strengthens the bars of the gates of his people. He blesses the children of his people. He gives peace within the borders of his people's land. He satisfies his people with the finest produce.
God sends his command to earth, and his word travels swiftly. The Lord commands frost, snow and ice; he sends them forth, and his word melts them. Who can survive his cold? God makes winds blow and waters flow. God has made known his Word to Jacob (Israel; for whom the nation was named; the father of the heads of the twelve tribes). He has given his ordinances and statutes to Israel. Israel is the only nation whom God has dealt personally with; the other nations do not know his ordinances. Let us praise the Lord!
Commentary:
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 purpose for Creation. Starting with Abraham (Abram) who willingly trusted and obeyed God's command to leave his home and extended family and go to a new land that the Lord would show him, God began building his eternal kingdom.
God's dealings with Israel were deliberately designed by God to be parables (common worldly experiences used to teach spiritual truth), metaphors for life in this world. The earthly Promised Land prefigures the eternal “Promised Land” of God's Kingdom in Heaven. The Church is the New Israel, the New Jerusalem, the New People of God, and prefigures the heavenly city.
As we begin to trust and obey God's Word in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” fulfilled, embodied and exemplified (John 1:1-5, 14) in human flesh, we will begin to experience personally his favor and protection. We will experience his power and faithfulness to provide for the needs of his people. Peace within the Church and within God's people is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (John 14:27).
God controls all the forces of nature. The cold of frost, ice and snow are one example. We can't cause them or control them. We can't go forth into them and expect to survive without proper clothing.
God commands wind and flowing water. We try to make levies and dams to restrain and control water, but ultimately those works of mankind fail. We must learn how to live according to God's Word, to learn his plan and work within it.
God has made his Word known through Israel by the Bible, the written record of God's dealing with his people. God's Word promised a Savior (Christ; Messiah), and Jesus came forth through Israel by God's command. Jesus has been God's promised Savior from the very beginning of Creation, who has been built into the very structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14).
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10. The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to us to become the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin, and our salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus came to show us how to live in obedient trust in God's Word, and to “baptize” us with 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). All who are guided by the Holy Spirit are freed from condemnation under the law of God's Word (Romans 8:1-11). Only by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit are we able to resist temptation to sin, and to live according to God's Word. We are “reborn” to eternal life by the “baptism” (gift, anointing, infilling), and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us assures us that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
The meaning and purpose of life in this Creation is to seek, find, come to know and have fellowship with our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). Jesus is the only way to find and know God, the only way to know divine, eternal truth (Luke 24:45), and the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6).
Jesus warns that one must be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, in order to see God's Kingdom all around us now, and to see and enter it ultimately in eternity. It is impossible for one to not know with certainty for oneself whether one has been “born-again” (Acts 19:2); anyone who isn't sure hasn't been. Any nominal Christian who hasn't been “born-again” should ask himself or herself, “Why not?”
By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are within God's favor protection. Nothing can happen to us to cause us to lose salvation and eternal life. Christians will still have to endure trials in this life, and we will all experience physical death, but our fear of physical death is overcome by Jesus' resurrection (Hebrews 2:14-15; Romans 8:35-39).
Jesus' resurrection from physical death to eternal life was witnessed by over five hundred people and attested to in the New Testament of the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Every truly “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ since the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11) knows and testifies that Jesus has risen to eternal life because they have a personal daily fellowship with him by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
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 December 31 C
First Posted December 31, 2009;
Podcast: December 31 C
Isaiah 61:10-62:3 – Vindication of Zion;
Paraphrase:
Rejoice in the Lord, O my soul. I will exult in him. In garments of salvation he has clothed me, and with the robe of righteousness he has covered me, as a bridegroom adorns himself with a garland, and as a bride enhances herself with her jewels. God us going to cause righteousness and praise to sprout and grow before all nations, like the earth causes seeds to bring forth shoots, and like a garden causes what is sown in it to grow and flourish.
The prophet will not keep silent or rest for the sake of Zion (Israel; the Church), until her vindication appears as brightness, like a burning torch in the darkness. The Lord himself will give you a new name. Then Zion will be a beautiful crown, a royal diadem (a headband indicating royalty) in the hand of the Lord.
Commentary:
Isaiah was a prophet to Judah and Jerusalem from 742 to 687B.C.. The Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian armies of Sargon, the successor to Shalmaneser, with the fall of Samaria (capital of the Northern Kingdom) in 721B.C.. The Northern Kingdom and the ten tribes virtually ceased to exist.
Isaiah was prophet during the reign of King Ahaz, who led his kingdom into wickedness and idolatry, and made a ruinous alliance with Assyria against the alliance of Rezin, King of Damascus (Syria) and Pekah, king of the Northern Kingdom against Isaiah's warnings. He was prophet during the time of spiritual reform which King Hezekiah initiated beginning in 715 B.C. (2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 29:3-36). This text originated before the fall of Babylon (October 29, 539 B.C. to Cyrus of Persia. The Southern Kingdom of the two tribes had been exiled in Babylon from 587 to 517, seventy years as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11-12), dated from the destruction of the temple to its restoration and rededication. The result was that the exiles of Judah were allowed to return to the “Promised Land.”
The prophet foresaw the vindication of God's people which would be witnessed by all the nations of the earth. That prophecy was fulfilled with the return of the remnant of Israel to their “Promised Land.” The conditions of the exiles' release by Cyrus is absolutely amazing: He returned the gold, silver and bronze vessels which Nebuchadnezzar looted from the temple, and Cyrus gave them money, help from the provincial governors, and authorization to rebuild their temple.
God's Word is eternally true and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Isaiah's prophecy applied to the return of the exiles, but also applies to God's Plan of Salvation, through the Messiah (Christ) Jesus.
The history of Israel's exile was intended by God to also be a “parable” (a common earthly experience used to teach spiritual truth), a metaphor for life in this world. We are all in exile in the “Babylon” of this present world. The seventy years is about an average lifetime.
During this lifetime we are to seek God (Acts 17:26-27) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6), to learn to know trust and obey God's Word, the Bible, and Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:14), and to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life.
This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Only Jesus “baptizes” (gives the gift of; “anoints”) with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
The vindication of God's people has appeared, in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the light of spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9), light of righteousness, and light of eternal life, in a world of spiritual darkness (spiritual ignorance; wickedness, and spiritual death).
Jesus has promised that he will return, as he departed at his ascension (Acts 1:9-12), on the Day of Judgment, to judge the living (“quickened”) and dead in both physical and spiritual senses. In that day “born-again” Christian disciples will be vindicated over the enemies of God. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord, who have believed (trusted and obeyed) Jesus, will enter eternal life in God's kingdom in heaven, but those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal death and destruction in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the garment of salvation with which we are clothed when we believe (trust and obey) Jesus. Jesus' own righteousness is the robe which covers all of our sins (disobedience of God's Word).
Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is like a marriage feast (Matthew 22:1-14). Jesus is the bridegroom, and the Church is the bride. Jesus within believers who trust and obey Jesus, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is the “wedding garment” that his disciples must have to enter the wedding feast of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and his bride, the Church. The Church is the “New Israel;” the “New Jerusalem” on earth.
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)?
Podcast: Week of 1 Christmas C
Friday January 1 C
First Posted January 1, 2010;
Podcast: January 1 C
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18 – Inheritance in Christ;
Paraphrase:
May God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed for all the spiritual blessings in the spiritual realm (around and above our physical world) that are ours through Jesus. God chose us in Christ before the beginning of Creation, so that we could be holy and blameless in his presence. He chose us to be his sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, according to God's purpose of uniting everything on earth and in heaven to him, so that the splendor of his grace (unmerited favor; a free gift), bestowed upon us in the Beloved (Jesus), would result in praise to God.
Having heard of the congregation's faith in Jesus Christ and the love for all the saints (“born-again” Christians), Paul gave thanks to God for them. He prayed continually with thanksgiving to God for the church, praying that the God of Jesus Christ our Lord, God the Heavenly Father, would give the believers spiritual wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. Having their spiritual eyes enlightened, Paul prayed that the congregation would know the hope to which they are called and the richness of the glorious inheritance to be theirs.
Commentary:
The kingdom of God is all around us now, but we must be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) in order to see it now, and ultimately to see and enter it in eternity. Jesus is the light of spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9) Only Jesus gives the gift (“baptism”) of the 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).
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit believers have all the spiritual blessings of heaven. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit their minds are opened to understand the scripture (Luke 24:45). The Holy Spirit teaches disciples of Jesus all things, recalls to our minds Jesus' teachings (John 14:26) and gives us what to say in opportunities to testify (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12).
God designed this Creation with his purpose of establishing an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. He designed this world to allow the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word), so that we have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey him or not, and the possibility to learn by trial and error that God's will is good, possible, and our best interest. God knew that given free choice we would all choose to do our own will rather than God's will. God designed a Savior, Jesus Christ into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).
God limited Creation and we ourselves by time, because God is not willing to tolerate rebellion and disobedience forever, or at all in his eternal kingdom. This Creation is God's “garden” in which to grow his obedient trusting children. The meaning and purpose of this lifetime is to seek and come to know God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and to learn to trust and obey God. This is only possible by faith in Jesus, through the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:6).
We are all sinners and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation from eternal death (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17; Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was deliberately intended by God to be the prototype and example of a “modern,” post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Paul had been “discipled” by a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-18), and was repeating the process of making “born-again” disciples, teaching them to trust and obey Jesus, and to repeat the disciple-making process (2 Timothy 2:2), in fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
Paul was teaching congregations like the one in Ephesus to grow in spiritual maturity. As Christians live in obedient trust in Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Lord cause our faith to grow as he shows us that his teaching and guidance is faithful and true. As we seek God's will for us daily, he will give us spiritual wisdom and knowledge of God and we will experience a foretaste of the love and joy of our heavenly inheritance through our personal fellowship with the Lord through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
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 January 2 - C
First Posted January 2, 2010;
Podcast: January 2 C
John 1:1-18 – The Living Word;
Paraphrase:
The Word (of God) was present at the beginning of Creation and was in very nature God. Everything in Creation was created through and by him. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). The light (of spiritual enlightenment: John 1:9, righteousness: John 3:19-21; and eternal life: John 1:4; 8:12) shines in the darkness (of spiritual ignorance, evil, and spiritual death)
John the Baptizer was sent by God to testify to the light so that everyone might believe through John. John himself was not the light but the witness to the light. “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the World” (John 1:9). The light had come into the world and everything in the world was created through him, but the world did not know him. He was in his own home but his own people did not know and welcome him. “But all who received him, who believed in his name (his whole person and character), he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14). John the Baptizer testified that this One was the One who was coming after John, but who was before John in rank and in existence. This One is overflowing with inexhaustible grace (God's undeserved favor). The Law (of the Old Covenant) came through Moses; grace and truth come through Jesus Christ. “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father (in complete unity), he has made him known.
Commentary:
The Word of God has creative power. God spoke Creation into existence (Genesis 1:3, 9). What God speaks, happens. Fulfillment is the defining characteristic of God's Word (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). The Bible is the Word of God.
God's Word is eternally true, and is always fulfilled, over and over, as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The Bible contains great promises and ominous warnings. We will either trust and obey God's Word and receive the promises, or we will fail to trust and obey, and will receive the consequences the ominous warnings were intended to help us avoid.
Jesus is the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God's Word lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5; 14). God created this world with Jesus Christ (Messiah; both mean God's “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew), the Savior, designed into it from the very beginning. Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) , with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9).
God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. Our lifetime in this Creation is our opportunity to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27), to learn to trust and obey his Word, and to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. Jesus is the only way to know and have fellowship with God, to know divine, eternal truth, and to have eternal life (John 14:6).
We are all born physically alive but spiritually “unborn.” Spiritual “rebirth” is only by the “baptism” (gift; anointing; infilling) 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). The infilling of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible ongoing event; anyone who isn't sure, hasn't been (Acts 19:2)!
John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of God's Word of a prophet like Elijah, coming to herald the appearing of the Savior (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-13). John the Baptizer called people to be baptized with water for repentance of sin (disobedience of God's Word), by ritual cleansing, to prepare them to receive Jesus. God revealed Jesus as the Christ to John at Jesus' baptism by John (John 1:31-34), and then John pointed people to Jesus (John 1:35-37).
Jesus was the fulfillment of God's Word of a Messiah, God's “anointed” eternal Savior and King. The Jews had received God's Word in the Bible through Moses. Their religious leaders were experts in the Bible, but were unable and unwilling to recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of God's Word, even to this very day, although there are many Jews who have received Jesus.
In Jesus' hometown of Nazareth, his own family, friends and neighbors didn't recognize and acknowledge him as the Messiah. In fact they threw Jesus out of their synagogue and town, attempting to kill him by throwing him off a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). Members of his own family did not believe in him, (John 7:3-5).
But to everyone who receives (welcomes; invites) Jesus, who believes in his name (that he is God's anointed Christ, Savior and Lord), he gives the power (authority; opportunity) to become children of God. Notice that we receive the “power,” but we must claim and lay hold of the promise for ourselves, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and trusting and obeying him (Revelation 3:20). Adoption as children of God is not automatically conferred by some church ritual such as water baptism, confirmation (affirmation), or by acceptance into church membership. Adoption as God's children occurs by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15-16, 23).
Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant (Testament) of Law between God and God's People. The Law teaches us God's requirement of righteousness, and convicts us of sin (disobedience of God's Word). We've all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to mediate a New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-28; Hebrews 12:24) of Grace (undeserved favor), to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Everyone who knows God, through the Word of God, will know and acknowledge Jesus as God's only (begotten) Son (John 1:18). Jesus is the first-born Son. First-born sons in Israel received extra status and inheritance. Jesus is “begotten” because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:34-35). Adoption through the indwelling Holy Spirit is salvation and eternal life. We are “adopted” by God's will; our adoption is not by our own effort. We cannot buy, earn by good deeds, or take our adoption, salvation and eternal life by force or deception.
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)?
