Daniel'sWeeklyDevotions

This has been an interesting year.  I have been sticking with the 1-year reading plan (for the most part, but catching up when I fall behind).  It’s been very enjoyable, but I almost feel like the pace is too fast to really let things sink in.  As I read, I’ve been making notes of certain verses that stand out, places to which I want to return and dig deeper.  Additionally, the Lord has provided some paid work (hallelujah!), which has taken up some of the time I would have used to formulate coherent devotionals.  Don’t take the lack of posts as a sign that this site has been abandoned; there’s a lot kicking around in my mind that I hope to unpack and explore in the next few years here.

As an aside – if you follow either my personal blog or my tech blog, you’ve already read the “We’re back on WordPress” posts.  This blog is included; it’s now back to running WordPress after a year on BlogEngine.NET.  All the old links should redirect to new ones, and the goal is that you wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t said anything.  :)

I leave you with a quick word of encouragement from yesterday’s sermon.

¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.— John 15:10

Have a great [period of time until we meet again]!

Today, our series “The 3:16s of the New Testament” reaches its other bookend (the end if you’ve been reading along, the start if you’re looking at it once it’s done), as we look at Matthew 3:16, presented here in context with verse 17.

¹⁶ After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. ¹⁷ And there came a voice from heaven:

This is My beloved Son.

I take delight in Him!— Matthew 3:16-17

This story is also covered in Luke 3:16, which we covered in .  This week, though, I’d like to focus on the One who was baptized – Jesus.  After He was baptized, the sky opened up, and God the Father was heard confirming Jesus’ identity as His Son; He also expressed his pleasure with Him.  This happened before Jesus was tempted, and before the Sermon on the Mount.  By allowing Himself to be baptized by John, He confirmed that John had been doing the right thing; He did the same thing that John had been telling the people they needed to do.  So how do we find out who Jesus is?  One of the best ways is to simply look at what He said about Himself, and what others said about Him.

First, Jesus said why He was here.

¹⁷ “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.— Matthew 5:17-18

This was one of the first things Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, following the Beatitudes.  This qualification was important for several reasons.  First, Jesus said it – that’s a given, but it is a good reason nonetheless.  Second, He was about to issue some pretty big clarifications to the law, and contradict some other teachings of the church of that day.  He was letting His hearers know that what was about to come wasn’t meant to tear down the law, but to fulfill it.  Third, this is early in His ministry.  People may have only heard rumors about Him up to this point, and He wanted to make sure that these seekers and followers knew what He was about.  Fourth, the current religious leaders were very strict legalists; they would react negatively to someone saying that the law was invalid.  (They reacted negatively anyway, but that’s another story.)  Finally, this lets us know, 2,000 years later, that everything we’ve read in our Bibles up to this point, the whole of the Old Testament through Matthew 4, is not null and void.  Rather, He was the One who had been foretold.  The law pointed to Him.

Jumping ahead, Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was.

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”— Matthew 16:13-16

At this point, Jesus had been at His ministry for a good long time; and, although He was very popular, it’s almost like they weren’t really hearing what He was saying.  John the Baptist had been jailed and beheaded; Elijah had been gone for thousands of years; Jeremiah had been gone for hundreds of years.  Yet people seemed to think that Jesus was one of these men, other than the Messiah, as He claimed to be.  Of course, we can’t be too hard on the casual observers – even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t believe Him when He said He was going to die.  However, the disciples were sure of His identity.  Simon Peter makes what is one of the most famous declarations of Jesus’ identity in response to His question.  Peter had the right answer, and the term Messiah was key in his response.  Jesus was the One who had been promised ever since man fell, just a few days after the creation of the earth.  All of the sacrifices were simply pictures of the Sacrifice to come; and, God could have made the sacrifices last longer than they did, but He wanted them to be continually reminded of what was to come.  It’s a shame that, by the time He did arrive, the Jewish religion had become more ritual than heartfelt.  (Is our religion today any different?  If it’s not, whose fault is it?)

We’ll finish this with one final statement from Jesus, which he said after arriving in Bethany and finding Lazarus had died.

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live.”— John 11:25

Fulfilling the law is good, and being the Messiah is great, but this is the awesome result of that!  I’ve written in depth on this wonderful news when we looked at John 3:16 and Romans 3:16, so I won’t write a whole lot here.  I will point out, though, the center of the verse, where Jesus very succinctly says who may obtain this eternal life – anyone who believes in Him!  That’s it – it’s no more complicated than that.  If you have not accepted this free gift of His, and would like to know more details about how you can accept this gift, please read God’s Simple Plan of Salvation – it explains, in detail, our need for a savior, and how Jesus fills that.  If you have accepted Christ, rejoice in Who has claimed you for His own.  He gave His life so that we could live with Him forever – praise God!

This week, we come to the most popular 3:16 of them all.  It’s a verse so popular, people can write just the reference on a piece of poster board, and those seeing it know exactly what they’re trying to say.  Yes, today’s 3:16 comes from the book of John.

¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.— John 3:16

This verse is part of the larger context of Nicodemus’s visit to Jesus at night, described in John 3:1-21.  While we won’t recount that story in detail, it is interesting to note that John 3:3 is the source of the term “born again,” and it came from Jesus.  Also, we won’t rehash what we looked at two weeks ago, regarding man’s need for God; if you missed it or would like to re-read it, feel free.  Rather, I’d like to focus on what the Old Testament says about the coming of Jesus.  Notice that “gave” is past tense; at this chronological point in the Bible, most references to God’s Son were in the future tense.

The coming of Jesus is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament, and it starts early in Genesis.

¹⁵ I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.— Genesis 3:15

This was God speaking to the serpent, after it had been used to deceive Adam and Eve.  The “He” in this verse is pointing to Jesus.  As we continue from there, Moses wrote in Leviticus 4 about the sin offering; while this description doesn’t mention Jesus by name, the picture of how the sacrifice was slain is a foreshadowing of the way Jesus would die, His blood spilled out all over the ground.  However, His blood didn’t just cover sin – it completely washed it away!  Further on, the Israelites began complaining about God leading them out of Egypt, and God sent poisonous snakes into their camp.  Through their deliverance from the snakes, we have another picture of salvation, and the way Jesus would die.

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake [image] and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover. ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.— Numbers 21:8-9

Jesus even brings this up when He’s talking to Nicodemus!  He really was trying to tell people what was coming.

¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…— John 3:14

Isaiah paints what is probably the most poignant picture of the suffering Savior.  Before we talk a lot about it, I’ll let you read what Isaiah had to say.

² He grew up before Him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like one people turned away from;
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.

⁴ Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.

⁶ We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.

⁸ He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of My people’s rebellion.

⁹ They made His grave with the wicked,
and with a rich man at His death,
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.— Isaiah 53:2-9

As a child growing up, this was a passage that I had to memorize.  As I worked to commit the words to memory, I either did not ever take the time to view them all together as a whole, or maybe I just didn’t know enough to really, really get it.  Verses 2 and 3 describe an image to which I can relate, and I suspect you can too; have you ever seen what a root looks like?  This person blended in, or maybe even stuck out in an undesirable way.  People took one look and despised Him, turning away from Him.  I’ve had people literally turn their backs to me and walk away, and it’s no fun.  How much more did this hurt the One who had given up everything He had in heaven to come here with the power to save us?  I can also tell you that it wasn’t love I felt in my heart towards the people who walked away from me.  Not only did Jesus take this abuse, this hate borne of misunderstanding, He continued His mission – His mission of even more suffering, untold torture, and eventual death – all not for what He had done, but for the sins that these very same people who rejected Him had done!  What an amazing, unimaginable love He must have for us!

Verse 6 is one of the more well-known verses in this passage.  We have all done wrong, every single one of us – if you’re like me, several times daily.  We have all “turned to our own way.”  No matter what we’ve seen, no matter what blessings God has given us, we all keep veering off the path, seeking our own way.  (Yes, even saved people still sin; Jesus’s sacrifice paid for that sin too.)  The King James Version translates the word “punished” in that verse as “laid on” – the picture I get from that is of our sin being piled and piled and piled upon Jesus, until He broke from the heavy load.

Verse 7 presents a concept that is completely foreign to many people today – Jesus did not defend Himself against the false accusations that were made against Him.  The Sanhedrin council levied all sorts of charges against Him, and He presented no defense for them.  The Roman authorities could find no fault with Him, even taking the step as to publicly wash their hands of any evil that the people wanted to do against Jesus.  As a child, this was one verse I didn’t understand.  I understood it as prophecy that was fulfilled as recorded in the Gospels, but I didn’t have my head completely around it.  Why didn’t He defend Himself?  I believe there are two main reasons.  First, verse 7 – this was prophecy concerning the Messiah, and had He defended Himself, this prophecy would be unfulfilled; this would have given His detractors a reason to speak against Him.  Second, it would have done no good whatsoever; the people who were coming against Him were not going to stop until they had Him.

Finally, verse 9 is just neat.  ”They made His grave… with a rich man.”  Joseph, from whom Jesus’s tomb was borrowed, was a wealthy man who was also a follower of Jesus.  (I wonder if Joseph gave Him a special 3-day rate…)  The detail in these prophecies that are fulfilled really increases my faith, and I hope it does the same for you.  Confidence in the Scripture is important, because without the solid foundation of Scripture as inerrant, our knowledge of God could not be certain.

So, how do you live forever?  Jesus told us, right up there in the second paragraph of this devotional.  Did you miss it?  ;)  All kidding aside, it really is as simple as Jesus explained to Nicodemus – “so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”  Paul put it this way to the church in Rome…

⁹ if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.— Romans 10:9

If you have never done this, I pray that today is the day that you trust your life to Jesus.  Life is tough, and there’s no way I’d want to go through it without God on my side.  If you’d like this broken down even further, check out God’s Simple Plan of Salvation.  If you are a Christian, remember the sacrifice that Jesus had to make to be able to give you this free gift.  Thank Him, and be sure to share His gift with others that you see.

Today’s passage comes from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone ruins God’s sanctuary, God will ruin him; for God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.— 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

This passage is short, sweet, and to the point.  Before it, Paul is explaining to the Corinthian church that Jesus is the foundation of His church, no matter who actually brings the message (verses 5-15); and he follows up these verses by instructing them on the folly of the world’s wisdom (verses 18-23).  So, let’s look at these two verses, and other Scriptures that support them.

Verse 16 declares that we are God’s sanctuary, and that His Spirit lives in us.  This is one of those things that we’ve heard over and over again – so much that we may have lost the importance of it.  The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus when He was telling His disciples about things to come:

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. ¹⁷ He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.— John 14:16-18

Did you catch that at the end of John 14:17?  He is in us!  The Father wanted to send Him to the world, but the world could not receive Him.  So, the only way the Holy Spirit could be here is if He came to reside in someone who knew the Father.  We are the ones He chose as His sanctuary, His place to live among men!  The end of 1 Corinthians 3:17 emphasizes the point – “God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.”

However, the first part of that same verse contains a strong warning – “If anyone ruins God’s sanctuary, God will ruin him.”  Sure, this is a warning to those who would draw Christians aside from the faith, but notice that there is no exemption for the sanctuary coming to ruin on its own.  We as the sanctuary are responsible for ensuring that our part of the sanctuary is clean; pure, free from sin, and a strong testimony to God’s grace.

I’ve told my sons this several times before – I don’t like anyone hurting my sons, even another one of my sons (their brothers).  Just as this continues to come up (did I mention I’ve told them that several times?), often we are the biggest hurdle to overcome in keeping our sanctuary clean.  It’s (comparatively) easy to rebuff Satan’s advances when he’s trying to get us to do something that we don’t want to do; it’s much harder to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t do something that we want to do, in spite of its being wrong.  Paul explored this conundrum when writing to the church in Rome.

¹⁵ For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.— Romans 7:15-20

Notice verse 18 – “nothing good lives in me….”  This is the same “in me” that Jesus referred to when He said that the Holy Spirit would be “in you.”  Continuing in verse 18, “For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.”  We know what is right; we want to do what is right; but yet we fail at doing what is right.  What gives?

Herein lies the importance of surrendering to God’s grace.  He knows we are flawed vessels, yet He has empowered us to be holy sanctuaries.  He has provided Scriptures like the ones we’re looking at today to explain His expectations and His goals for us.  In particular, this passage in Romans should alert us to a challenge; this is the battlefield upon which spiritual warfare is fought.  The sanctuary will not stay clean on its own – only as we yield to Christ and let Him point out the dirty spots will it become and stay clean.

I’m sure you’ve heard about how bank tellers are trained to spot counterfeit money.  They don’t take them into a room with a large table, sit them down, and educate them on all the tell-tale signs of fake money.  They train them constantly in handling known-good currency.  They are so intimately familiar with the real thing that they can instantly spot a fake when it passes through their hands.  In the same way, this is how we can keep our sanctuary clean.  By constantly seeking out and spending time with God (the real thing), we’ll be better able to spot other things when they try to creep into the sanctuary and defile it; and, with a holy sanctuary, the Holy Spirit can use us to the fullest for His work!

I pray that we will be able to keep the sanctuary clean, by maintaining a near-constant fellowship with God, and allowing Him to use us.

This week, we look at 1 Thessalonians.  As chapter 3 of this book does not have 16 verses, let’s look at 4:16 instead.

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.— 1 Thessalonians 4:16

This is part of the passage that Paul wrote to encourage the believers not to worry about those who had died.  Here is the entire context, verses 13 through 18.

¹³ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. ¹⁴ Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. ¹⁵ For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.— 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

I remember this being read at one of my grandmother’s funerals, and it was comforting, even though I was a young child at the time.  However, in this passage, there are two ways out of this world before the apocalypse.  (We’ll not debate eschatology here today; as my pastor said a few weeks ago, “I’m going on – if you’re staying, send me a postcard.”)

The first of these is through death.  Death is not a happy topic for anyone – the end of life on this earth means that we will accomplish no more, and that those who remain alive will no longer have the companionship of the one who has died.  However, for the believer, death is not “the end,” but a transition to a new phase of life.  That doesn’t make those left behind any less lonely, but it does encourage them that they will see their loved ones again.  Also, as we age, many of our bodies begin to wear out, often in painful, debilitating ways.  While it’s not something commonly said at the time a loved one dies, sometimes death is a gift from God, His way of saying “you’ve endured enough – come on home!”

The second of these is through being caught up in the air while still alive.  For those alive when Jesus returns, this will have to be the biggest rush imaginable – better than any thrill ride at any amusement park!  There have been many who have written stories about what this may be like; the best-selling of those is the Left Behind series from Jerry Jenkins and Dr. Tim LaHaye.  But, the truth is, we can read Revelation for ourselves, and try to guess at what certain things might be, but we won’t know until we’re observing it from a very, very safe distance.

There is a catch, though; these two ways to escape are only for believers.  The Bible paints a much more grim picture for those who do not escape.  From the seal judgments described in Revelation chapter 6 and the first part of chapter 8, to the trumpet judgments described in chapters 8, 9, and the end of chapter 11, to the bowl judgments in chapter 16, the three-and-a-half years after the Rapture are not going to be pretty.  For those who have not accepted Christ, this is the only choice they have.

So, then, we see that there are two paths, but only one Way.  Accepting Christ as your Savior is the only way to avoid these things.  As Jesus said,

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.— John 14:6

I pray that each of you know Jesus, and have accepted Him as your Savior. He is the only way to heaven; His payment for your sins is free, but it is a gift that must be willingly accepted.  If you want to learn more about this, check out God’s Simple Plan of Salvation.

This week, our journey brings us to 2 Thessalonians 3:16.

¹⁶ May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.— 2 Thessalonians 3:16

This is an end-of-the-letter salutation from Paul to the church at Thessalonica.  Paul began and ended most all of his letters by talking about the “grace and peace” of our Lord, and his hope that it would remain with those to whom he was writing.  This theme of peace is one that is woven throughout the Bible.  The word “peace” (or some form of it, like “peacemaker”, “peaceful”, etc.) is found in 266 verses in the HCSB.  We’re not going to look at the other 265 verses, but we’ll look at a few of them.

Peace was used as a greeting to Gideon…

²³ But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you.  Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.”— Judges 6:23

It was also used by the angels, when announcing Jesus’ birth…

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!— Luke 2:14

David used it to describe the safety that he felt from God’s protection…

⁸ I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety.— Psalm 4:8

In fact, Isaiah prophesied that one of the Messiah’s names would deal with His peace-making qualities…

⁶ For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders.  He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.— Isaiah 9:6

In these four verses, we see a common theme – the source of peace is God, through His Son Jesus.  But how to we get this peace?  Ask God for it!  According to Peter, the disciple of Jesus who went on to lead the early church…

¹⁰ For the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, ¹¹ and he must turn away from evil and do good.  He must seek peace and pursue it, ¹² because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.— 1 Peter 3:10-12

But we don’t even have to take Peter’s word for it. Jesus told His disciples,

²⁷ “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.— John 14:27

Ask, and you will receive – that’s a promise from God.  I pray that the peace of God will overwhelm you as you live for Him on this earth.

This week, we’ll take a look at 1 Timothy 3:16.

¹⁶ And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:

He was manifested in the flesh,

justified in the Spirit,

seen by angels,

preached among the Gentiles,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.

— 1 Timothy 3:16

Paul wrote this to Timothy after going over the qualifications for pastors and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13).  The standards Paul laid out are not easily attained.  Paul completes the discussion, though, by telling Timothy that he has written these things so that he will know how people in the family of God should behave, and then writes the verse above.  This last verse gives us insight into Jesus’ life, which Paul believes will help us live up to the standards that God has set out.

First, Paul says that “He was manifested in the flesh.”  Jesus came to earth as one of us – a human being Who encountered all the temptations we will ever encounter, yet He remained without sin.  He eventually gave up His life on a cross, so that through His sacrifice, we can escape Hell and obtain Heaven.  However, He did not stay dead – three days later, He resurrected!  Just this part is a great “mystery”, but it should inspire us to do what we can to make sure that His sacrifice is as effectual as it can be.  Whenever one person accepts His finished work as payment for their sins, it does not diminish the grace remaining for everyone else; just like the old hymn “There’s Room at the Cross” says, “Though millions have come, there’s still room for one.”

Second, Paul writes that He was “justified in the Spirit.”  During the three days that Jesus’ body was in the tomb, He was in the Spirit, taking our punishment.  He was separated from God (the only time that has ever happened or will ever happen), being tormented for our sin.  Through this, He was justified, and we can be justified as well.  This payment is complete.

Third, Paul writes that Jesus was “seen by angels.”  Wouldn’t that have been great to see – how the angels must have welcomed Him!  I’m not sure if this is talking about the angels that stayed behind in the now-empty tomb, or if this was the host of angels in Heaven who saw Him.  But, either way, I’m sure they must have been excited to see Him alive again.  He had done what had been promised more than 4,000 years prior, and through it defeated Satan for good.

Fourth, Paul says that He was “preached among the Gentiles.”  This was important for Timothy, as it is for most of us reading this.  As John wrote…

¹¹ He came to His own,

and His own people did not receive Him.

— John 1:11

The Jews of that day, for the most part, rejected Him.  But, He still came to earth to not only save the Jews, but to extend that salvation to the rest of us (Gentiles) as well.  He Himself preached among Gentiles, and after He ascended back to Heaven, He continued to be preached to Gentiles.

Fifth, Paul says that He was “believed on in the world.”  This shows that, even though Paul was writing to Timothy early in the life of the church, many had already believed on Jesus, and accepted His payment for their sins.  It’s always encouraging to have an example, someone who has come before you and accomplished the same thing you want to accomplish.  Paul is encouraging Timothy and the believers at his church, letting them know that others have believed on Him, and already obtained the forgiveness they desired.

Finally, Paul says that He was “taken up in glory.”  Jesus did not stay on earth once He had resurrected – He returned to Heaven.  This is important, and it ties in both with what Jesus said, and with what Paul had written to others.  Jesus said…

² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you.  I am going away to prepare a place for you. ³ If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.— John 14:2-3

And Paul, writing to the church at Thessolonica…

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord.— 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

So, how do you understand mysteries?  I don’t know.  :)  There are still things about what Paul has written that I don’t understand.  But, what I do know is that we can understand the parts of this mystery that Paul wrote to Timothy.  Each of these parts points back to a central theme – Jesus’ finished work of salvation.  Because we have received this salvation, we should live as those who have been forgiven, and encourage others to accept this gift as well.

This week, we’ll look at 1 John 3:16.

¹⁶ This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us.  We should also lay down our lives for our brothers.— 1 John 3:16

John is reminding the recipients of his letter that Jesus provided the ultimate example when it came to love.  He gave everything for us.  But one of the most amazing parts of His sacrifice is that it was just that – a sacrifice.  No one took Jesus and killed Him against His will.  In fact, Jesus mentioned in John 10:17-18 that He would lay His life down willingly.

¹⁷ This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own.  I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again.  I have received this command from My Father.”— John 10:17-18

Jesus’ sacrifice is truly our example.  But, if we were saved, and then died for someone else, there wouldn’t be very many Christians around!  Giving up our lives is noble, and there are many who have done that for others – military people, police, and firefighters risk that and often make that ultimate sacrifice for their fellow man.  But rather than put our lives on the line, this should remind us that anything God asks us to do less than that is really no trouble at all.  Laying down our lives can just mean giving up something of ours for the benefit of someone else.

¹³ No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.— John 15:13

These are Jesus’ words.  May we follow His example, and lay down our lives for others.

Revelation 3:16 is our text for this week.

¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. — Revelation 3:16

We first should look at the context of this verse.  This is the part of Revelation where Jesus is writing the letters to the seven churches, and this is from the letter to the church at Laodicea.  Verses 14-22 comprise the entire letter to the Laodiceans…

¹⁴ To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation says: ¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy, and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. ²⁰ Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. ²¹ The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²²“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

— Revelation 3:14-22

In verse 14, the Author of the letter identifies Himself as “the Amen,” the “faithful and true Witness,” and the “Originator of God’s creation.”  The first term is not an uncommon term – most people, when they pray, will end their prayer with “Amen.”  This means “so be it,” and implies that what has preceded it is valid and true.  The next term, “Witness,” reminds the readers that Jesus came and remained a faithful Witness to the Father (John 14:24b).  The final term, the “Originator,” speaks to the power that the Author has over the people to whom He is talking.  He existed long before they did (John 1:1), and their very existence is due to His working.

The biggest problem that Jesus has with this church (expressed in verse 16) is that it is no longer working for Him.  The members aren’t actively supporting evil, but they have become lulled to sleep, as it were, while on the watch.  It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing*.  This is all that Satan has to do. He doesn’t have to get us to turn to evil, he just has to get us to turn from good!  He can do this through distractions, busyness, or, in the case of the Laodiceans, complacency.

As is always the case, though, Jesus doesn’t just find fault; He tells the church what they need to do.  They had a false view of themselves in their minds, which He identifies in verse 17.  They think that they are rich, and have fine clothes, and are well-fed, not realizing that they are actually poor, naked, and hungry.  They are like the person described in James 1:23-24, that look at themselves in the mirror, then immediately forget what they just saw.  The church knew better, and Jesus had better things in store for them.  In verse 18, He offers them the very best in wealth, clothing, and food; and, in verse 19, He assures them that He rebukes those that He loves.  This echoes Hebrews 12:8, where the author contends that if you don’t receive correction, you are not a child of God.

If the passage stopped there, that would be good enough.  But it doesn’t! In verses 20 and 21, Jesus offers them even more – a personal, intimate relationship with Him.  The picture is beautiful; ever a gentleman, He stands at the door and knocks.  If we let Him into our hearts, we can have fellowship with Him; and, though this fellowship begins here on earth, we will also be together with Him, victorious over sin, and will be with Him on His throne!  What a transformation – from making God vomit (v. 16) to reigning with Him (v. 21)!

The key to this is in verse 20.  He is standing at the door and knocking.  If you have never let Him in before, I pray that you will consider it.  If you have, but have been shutting him out, filling your heart with everything but Him, I pray that you will let Him back in.  He can do wonders in cleaning out the dust and grime, but He’s not interested in making you feel badly about it.  He simply yearns for that fellowship with you – whether you let Him in is your call.

* This quote is commonly attributed to Edmund Burke, but cannot be confirmed to him – see the “Quotes” section of the link.

Today’s Scripture is from Isaiah 40:26-31.

²⁶ Look up and see:
who created these?
He brings out the starry host by number;
He calls all of them by name.
Because of His great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?

²⁸ Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.

³⁰ Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,

³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.

— Isaiah 40:26-31

It is very easy to get discouraged in life. We may try our hardest to do something that we think is good and right, and yet we feel like we’re just spinning our wheels. Then, we may look at others who are not following God, and they seem to be doing well. This quandry is not unique to the Christian of the 21^st century; even Jeremiah the prophet asked God, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do the treacherous live at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1)

The Jews had forgotten the promise made to their father Abraham; “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘Your offspring will be that numerous.’” (Genesis 15:5) Isaiah reminds them of this in verse 26, that not only did God create the stars, He knows each one by name. Then, in verse 27, he asks them “why do you assert: ‘My way is hidden from the Lord…?’”

In verses 28 and 29, Isaiah continues to remind them of the absolute power (omnipotence) of God. It is He Who gives “strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.” (v. 29) These words also speak to our need of yielding to Him. If we try to do everything within our own power, we will not be able to use His power through us. Remember that Jesus said, “You can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5) When we admit that we are powerless on our own, we can allow God to use us as an instrument of His power. And, once we let go of the controls, we can also let go of worrying about the results – how liberating!

In verse 30, Isaiah reminds us that even young people fade. If you have been around toddlers, you have seen this for yourself. They have a seemingly endless supply of energy; yet, at some point, they crash and have to sleep. I’ve often wished I had that much energy! But even that falls far short of the power that God gives to His children, as verse 31 tells us.

This last verse is the most well-known verse in this passage. It does encourage us that we will be able to continue our Christian life without growing weary or tired. But the picture of an eagle is quite intriguing. We’ve all heard the saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” Eagles fly very high and smooth, and from their vantage point, they can see more than just where they are now. Seeing the “big picture” is one way that God uses to keep us encouraged, and to reveal to us His plan for our lives. Proverbs 29:18 says “Without revelation, the people run wild.” Instead of running around in circles, we can follow God’s direction.

Be encouraged. No matter what is going on in your life, it is not happening unnoticed to God. He is in control of everything in your life, and “all things work together for the good of those who love God…” (Romans 8:28) Pray that He will give you the strength to endure, and that He will reveal His will for your life and His purpose in your circumstances.