Jesus

Promises of God – He will fight for you!

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).

In the book of Exodus, there is an amazing situation that comes about when you get to chapter 14. This is a moment, early in the outset of the people of Israel, when they have fled Egypt and headed for the wilderness. Even having been “let go” by Pharaoh (Ex. 13:17), his hardened heart led him to chase after the Israelites with an army. You can probably imagine how terrifying it might be for people who where servants, having nothing, to see the Egyptians rising up and giving chase. However, in that moment of panic God was there for them. He not only protected them with the pillar of cloud (Ex. 14:19), but He also gave them a way to safety (Ex. 14:16).

Just as God fought for the Israelites when they were stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, God has fought for you through Jesus. He fought and defeated the power of sin in your life. This means  you can do the right thing even when it’s difficult. Even the apostle Paul said that he had a hard time doing the right thing because his selfish desires kept urging him to do something else. Everyone who wants to please God faces this problem. However, Jesus went up against all of your selfishness and temptations. He fought the battle to clear the way for you to do all the right things. The wonderful fact is that He won that fight.

Moses told the Israelites, “You shall hold your peace.” That’s true for you. You can stand firm because Jesus has already won your battle. Does that mean you just hang around, doing nothing? No, you can determine to stay strong, stay close to Him, and keep believing that He’s already won.

You are not alone. God has always been there for you. God has been fighting for you from the beginning. He was willing to give up His Son in that fight for you. He wants to be there for you and give you peace, but He can’t force it upon you. If you want true peace and safety no matter what gets thrown your way, then draw near to God.

The angel of the LORD

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Several times I’ve read Genesis 16, as I’m sure you have. In this passage, “the angel of the LORD” appears to Hagar. One commenter has suggested that “this special individual spoke as though He were distinct from Yahweh, yet also spoke in the first person as though He were indeed to be identified as Yahweh Himself, with Hagar recognizing that in seeing this Angel, she had seen God (v. 13). Others had the same experience and came to the same conclusion (cf. Gen. 22:11-18; Gen. 31:11-13; Ex. 3:2-5; Num. 22:22-35; Judg. 6:11-23; Judg. 13:2-5; 1 Kin. 19:5-7). The Angel of the Lord, who does not appear after the birth of Christ, is often identified as the pre-incarnate Christ.”

You will, of course, find references in the New Testament to “an angel of the Lord”, but none to “the angel of the Lord”. None of these NT references are equated with divinity as is the angel in the OT passages.

I’d be interested in hearing other thoughts on this.

Promises of God – His promise to deliver His people

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“So I have come down to delver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8).

The children of Israel had been delivered from Egypt, but thanks to doubting and unbelief, they wandered in the desert from 40 years. However, there is something we need to remember. Year number 41 came, and they didn’t wander anymore. They entered into the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey God had promised them. Maybe, for whatever reason, it seems you are in a desert period in your life. Maybe you feel like you’ve been stumbling around for 40 years. Don’t worry! Year 41 is on its way.

Look at these examples: Noah and his family were on the ark while it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Day 41 came and the rain stopped. For 40 days Goliath showed up every morning to taunt the people of Israel, but day 41 came and David took him down! Of course, that was with the help of God as we might imagine. There are plenty of examples like this in God’s Word. They may not all have the number 40 attached to them, but we can see people go through struggles or troublesome times all throughout. The key factor that you will notice in all of those instances is that God is there to deliver those that trust in Him.

God has promised to bring you out of your “Egypt” as well. If you will hold on to your faith in Him, He will not let you down. Whatever situation you are going through right now, don’t give up. God is on your side. So, if it seems like trouble has been raining down on you, don’t worry because day 41 is on the way. The rain is going to stop. Whatever giant is in your life, day 41 is coming and that giant will be crushed. We have the power to conquer any obstacle because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given us that through Him (Rom. 8:37).

We may not know or understand the timing, but we can know that He will deliver us out of our “Egypt,” our struggles.

Promises of God – Nothing is too hard for Him!

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything to difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”” – Genesis 18:13, 14

When difficulties beset us, we tend to try and work our way out of them (on our own) until a situation comes along that we can’t handle or is too hard and we just give up and lose hope. Sarah is an example of this. They were promised a child and when that promise wasn’t being fulfilled quick enough she tried to take matter into her own hands by offering her maid Hagar as a way to obtain that child (Gen. 16:1-2). She couldn’t wait for the promise from God, putting trust in Him, and wanted to trust in what she could do.

To add a little more context, this promise was given when Abraham and Sarah, his wife, were both well on in years. Abraham was about 100 and Sarah about 90. Past the point of childbearing as is mentioned in Genesis 18:11. So, this would come across as a ridiculous promise to any normal person, which is what led to Sarah’s laughter.

Like Sarah, we look at what we understand about how the world works and go off of that knowledge. Sarah knew children were out of the question for her body at that age and all of us would agree that to be true. We are not here to deny how the world works. What we have to do is push past those things to the one who made the world! God created all things and governs all things. Just because something doesn’t work regularly for us, doesn’t mean that God can not dictate a change in that normal process.

Though some things in life seem too difficult for us, nothing is too hard for God. Sometimes He does His most amazing work when all hope seems gone. He gives hope when all seems hopeless. He fills us with peace when we’re in the middle of chaos. He saves the souls of people who deserve death. He makes the impossible possible. Think about the hard times; the last second, the darkest hour, the deepest hole. They are “mission impossible” for us. Trust Him with your hard times. Every one of them is “mission possible” for Him.

God has never promised that there wouldn’t be difficulties in our lives. However, He will be there for us, helping us through if we let Him. Sometimes we sing a song called Trust and Obey. In the song we sing, “trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” God has promised and proven time and time again that nothing is too hard for Him! He now offers true happiness to all through His Son if we are willing to trust and obey.

Promises of God – A Promise that ALL will be Blessed

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Genesis 12:1-3 says, “1Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you: 2And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

God had a plan for a man named Abram. God knew that Abram would believe Him, and that Abram would live out his faith through his actions. Because of His plan, God promised Abram that the world would be blessed because of him. God blessed the world through Abram in two ways.

First, Abraham (the name God gave Abram) became the prime example for everyone who would ever put their faith in God. His descendants were honored and proud to be called the “children of Abraham” (maybe too much so). However, Paul said that anyone who has Abraham’s kind of faith is a child of Abraham. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29).

Second, is the greatest blessing God gave through Abraham. Jesus is what God was really getting at with the promise. Jesus was a descendent of Abraham. God redeemed all of the sin in our lives through Jesus, a descendant of the man whose greatest claim to fame was the simple fact that “he believed in the Lord” (Gen. 15:6).

Why is such a blessing needed? Romans 3:23 states the reason very simply and directly. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We all have done things that go against what God teaches. This sin separates us from Him. The blessing through Abraham is one that gives us all a chance to get back into a right relationship with God.

This promise was given to Abraham and through him to us, but as was said earlier, it was all part of God’s plan from the beginning because He knew we were going to need it. Ephesians 1:3-7 says, “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

Through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, God has given us the ability to come back to Him, to be His children. He made a promise and kept it so that each of us could be blessed, even at the cost of His own Son. Now it is our turn to choose whether to believe and follow Him like Abraham did or to continue living our lives however we want and remain lost to God. What side of the promise do you want to be on?

Domino Effect

Posted on by Bob Mathews

The best way to avoid a pattern of negative choices is to seek wisdom from God to make good choices from the start. That’s the ultimate way to live as a follower of Jesus—fueling our daily decisions with God’s wisdom! That can lead to a positive domino effect, where one good choice leads to another good choice—and on and on it goes. And thankfully, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be forgiven and set back upright again even when we do make a poor choice.

Proverbs 3:5-8 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all you ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in our own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.”

Jesus cares about your decisions. Think of some choices you made today or this week, do you feel good about those choices? Are there some choices you would like to go back in time to change? In the passage we read, we’re warned to not rely on our own understanding. Why is that so hard to do? Because we like to be in control.

It’s true that God is in charge of everything, but he cares deeply about us and about all the little choices we make in everyday life. Jesus has the wisdom we need to make solid choices, and he wants to give that wisdom to us!

Your choices affect other people. I’m sure that all of you can remember a choice someone else made that affected you, either positively or negatively. God designed us to live life together, not alone. What’s one wise choice you’ve made that’s improved your relationships with other people?

Most of us know that relationships—with friends, family, colleagues, classmates, teammates—are really important. But sometimes we forget how much better those relationships could be if we sought wisdom from Jesus. The next time you’re about to make a choice that you know will affect someone else, ask Jesus to help you make the right decision. This Scripture says he’ll show you the right path to take.

Your choices either build up or tear down your reputation. Think about this: You can quickly gain a bad reputation because of one bad choice, and then it can take a long time to get rid of that bad reputation. Like it or not, our choices cause people to see us in a certain way. As Christians, we bear the name of Jesus Christ. We can make choices that honor him and reflect him.

Listen to this statement: “It can take five minutes to gain a bad reputation and a year to lose that bad reputation.” Do you know anyone in your life that has proven this statement to be true? If so, what can you learn from that person’s situation? Not trying to say we have to be perfect, but simply trying every day to be better.

What’s one choice you can start with today to create a positive domino effect in your relationship with the Lord?

What do you rely on?

Posted on by Bob Mathews

This is a question that popped into my head yesterday. With all the cold weather around the country, it should be no surprise that we got our share. The snow was nice to see and it was exciting for our young son to experience it for the first time. However, troubles come with snow most of the time. It is always a possibility that power may go out when the weather gets bad enough. Sure enough, we lost power sometime in the middle of the night. This is not something we haven’t dealt with before though. My wife and I have lost power before but this time seemed very different. It was the first time that we went without power with a baby in the house. It made me realize just how much we needed that electricity. If it was just us, we could have managed the cold. Our son has needs that only the electricity could supply. He doesn’t understand how to keep himself bundled up for warmth when the temperatures are freezing. Luckily, he will drink cold milk but it is definitely not his preference. All that to say, we rely on the ability to flip a switch and have power at our fingertips more than we ever realized.

It made me think though, do I rely on God and Jesus this much? Are they so important to our everyday lives that without them our days grow difficult or even unbearable? The truth is, we must rely on God and Jesus that much. Without them there would be nothing, no life, no you or me. “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). You can continue reading on from there and see God go on to create all aspects of life including people. If you look at John 1:1 and following you would see that Jesus was there at the beginning with God as the Word that helped to create all things and continues to hold all things together. Unfortunately, after we were created, like bad weather causing problems, sin was brought into the world by going against what God commanded. This continues today whenever we choose to go against God. Because of our sin we are separated from the one who we need the most. Luckily for us, this is not the end of the story.

Insert God’s love here. If we look further into the gospel of John, we get to the famous passage John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” This is not the only passage we should know, but it does give us an idea about why we need to rely on God and Jesus so much. God loves us enough to show us grace and mercy. Mercy because we deserve punishment that He is willing to forego. Grace because He is willing to also bless us with a gift that we don’t deserve and could never earn in spite of our sin. But the only way we could be blessed in either of these ways is because He was willing to allow His Son (Jesus) to die for our sins and it is our belief, trust, and obedience to Him that affords us the blessings of His sacrifice.

So, what do you rely on? Is it the amount of money in the bank? Is it the job that pays the money? Is it the car that gets you to the job? Is it your family that takes care of you? Is it the government that provides what you need? The truth, however sad it may seem to be, is that all of those thing like electricity could be gone. And they may never come back. Nothing on this earth will last forever or ultimately be reliable. God and His Son are the only truly reliable sources that you will ever find. They were here at the beginning and the will continue after the earth is no more. Don’t take them for granted like electricity. A day is coming when the light switch of life will no longer work. When that day comes it will be too late to start believing and relying on them. If you have a desire not to perish and have eternal life, than choose to rely on Jesus today. It is those that believe and follow Him that have blessings from God that are necessary for eternal life.

What was nailed to the cross with Jesus?

Posted on by Bob Mathews

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:13-15 — NIV

The verse I want to focus on is verse 14, but I kept all 3 verses for context. Actually, for the full context, read the entire book of Colossians. It’s only 4 chapters, so it shouldn’t take more than 15-30 minutes.

having canceled the written code, with its regulations

I’d like to suggest it wasn’t the Old Law that “stood opposed to us”.

A reasonable person might read this and think, “How many ‘written codes‘ did God give?” Certainly the Old Law comes to mind. Any others? In fact, this is a popular interpretation of this passage — based on the NIV translation — but I’d like to suggest a different interpretation. (Are we under the Old Law then? No, but that doesn’t mean that’s what Paul was writing about in this verse.)

Here are the same 3 verses, from the New American Standard Version:

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Colossians 2:13-15 — NASV

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees

Suddenly that doesn’t sound so much like the Old Law. In fact, I’d like to suggest it wasn’t the Old Law that “stood opposed to us”. In fact, the Law was perfect (Psalm 19:7). If it was the Law that was imperfect and that “stood opposed to us”, surely Jesus would have come to destroy the Law, but he didn’t (Matthew 5:17).

So what was “nailed to the cross” with Jesus (v. 14)? I believe context leads us to the interpretation that it was the fact that the Old Law could not save — that no one could keep it perfectly except the One Who was perfect already. You know the song — “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.” That was “the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” — not the Law itself, but our slavery to the debt of having to keep the Law perfectly in order to achieve righteousness. This segues perfectly into that last word Jesus spoke from the cross — tetelestai (commonly translated into 3 English words, “it is finished” ). This word literally means “the debt has been paid”.

So what did Jesus nail to the cross?

He nailed to the cross our certificate of debt. It was that certificate that said under the Old Law, we must keep the Law perfectly in order to be justified, but under the law of grace, we can be counted as righteous — we can be justified — by Jesus having paid the debt on our behalf. Hallelujah!

The faith of Jesus

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Not faith in Jesus. The faith of Jesus.

Did Jesus have faith? Did He need faith? How does the Spirit describe faith?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

That’s one of those types of statements that to me is like describing grace as “unmerited favor”. It sort of makes sense, but it’s hard to understand what that really means without seeing some examples.

First, let’s look at how faith is used in the New Testament…

There are two New Testament Greek words for faith — one a noun (pistis) and the other a verb (pisteuo). The verb form is generally translated believe.

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. (Matthew 9:22)

“The time has come,” [Jesus] said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

The word translated believe here is the verb form of faith (pisteuo) for which there is no English equivalent.

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”(John 6:29)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The word translated faithfulness here is the Greek pistis.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Everything Jesus did glorified the Father, and such action was living testimony of His own faith.

Several things are clear from these examples:

To have faith in someone means to put your confidence in him.

Faith is an action word, regardless of whether it’s used as a verb or a noun. In other words, there is no such thing as faith without action (James 2:14-26).

Jesus expected His followers to have faith.

In order to be pleasing to the Father, we must have faith.

Reading Hebrews 11:1 without context, one could easily draw the conclusion that Jesus did not have faith in the Father because he didn’t need faith in the Father.

“substance of things hoped for”. Jesus didn’t hope for eternal life with the Father, for “who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:22-25)

“evidence of things not seen”. Jesus had already seen the Father. He didn’t need any further evidence.

Therefore, one might conclude Jesus didn’t need faith. Now I’d agree that Jesus didn’t need to hope for what he already had, and he didn’t need any evidence of God’s existence, but I also believe that drawing the conclusion from Hebrews 11:1 that Jesus had no faith is as faulty a conclusion as one could possibly draw. Jesus had confidence in His Father; He knew God would fulfill His promises — every one of them. Everything Jesus did glorified the Father, and such action was living testimony of His own faith.

Hebrews 11:1 is not intended to be a complete, final, last-word definition on faith. Like many sections of scripture, it is given to us, written in words that we can understand, to help guide our understanding of the concept of faith. Like the rest of scripture, it would also be a mistake to consider this verse in isolation. It only makes sense in the context of the whole scope of God’s revealed Word.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. If you’re so moved, write a comment below.

Lettuce Statements

Posted on by Bob Mathews

We all need a little lettuce in our spiritual vegetable gardens. Not literal lettuce but the kind we find in the Book of Hebrews. The writer offers us great motivation in the form of “let us.” Every time we hear that phrase our ears should perk up and listen, and we should obey the command.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, no forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:19-25 (NASB)

Let us draw near to God. We can have sweet fellowship with the Father, having our hearts sprinkled with Christ’s blood and having been spiritually cleansed in the waters of baptism. Through Jesus, our mediator and high priest, we can confidently talk with our Creator and receive his blessings.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. We can be determined and convicted, resting on the promises of God. He is faithful and just. He is able to fulfill all the things he has spoken to us. The glory of heaven that God has promised his faithful children is the focal point of our faith.

Let us consider how we may spur one another on. We can have a great impact on the faith of others. We can urge them on. We can light the spark that may motivate other Christians to greater heights of service. Our motivation may make the difference between heaven and hell for the soul of another person.

Let us not give up meeting together. We can make a significant impact on others by our commitment to the assembly. It is one vehicle by which we draw near to God, express the hope we have, and spur one another on. It is also one indicator of our faithfulness to Christ. It should be a little piece (peace) of heaven on earth.

Why do we have the ability and confidence to draw near, hold fast, consider one another and meet together? This is where we have to switch from the veggies to the meat. It is all possible “by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19). Jesus gave his life to save your soul. He shed His blood on our behalves. What does that sacrifice mean to you? Is it everything or nothing?