1 Christmas Even

First Sunday After Christmas

first posted January 1, 2006

Note that First Sunday after Christmas lections takes precedence over the lections by date.

1 Samuel 1:1-2, 7b-28,       Birth of Samuel
Colossians 1:9-20,   The supremacy of Christ
Luke 2:22-40,      Jesus’ presentation in the Temple

Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. The other wife had borne children, but Hannah was barren, and felt inferior because of it. The family used to go up to the Temple at Shiloh each year, where Eli and his sons Hophni and Phinehas were priests. When she went up to the Temple, Hannah prayed for a son, promising to lend him to the Lord all his life. As she prayed in the Temple, her lips were moving soundlessly in prayer, and Eli the priest saw her, and supposing that she was drunk, rebuked her. She protested that she was not drunk, but praying fervently.

When the family returned to their home, Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel. At the next annual trip Hannah did not go with them to the Temple. She stayed home and nursed Samuel until he was weaned. Once the boy was weaned she took Samuel up to the Temple along with a sacrifice offering, and left Samuel to be raised in the Temple by Eli, fulfilling her promise to lend Samuel to the Lord all the days of his life.

Paul wrote to the church at Colossae in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) from prison. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians was that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they could lead a life fully pleasing to God, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; that they might be strengthened, by God’s might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to God for making it possible for us to share in the inheritance of the saints, having transferred believers from the dominion of darkness (sin) into Jesus’ kingdom of light (righteousness), having received redemption and forgiveness of sins through Jesus.

Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the first-born (therefore having priority and authority over) of all creation” (Colossians 1:15; see John 1:1-5; 14). All things were created by him and for him. He holds creation together. He is the head of the Church, his body of believers. He is the first-born (again: having priority and authority over) from the dead. He is pre-eminent in everything. “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

Through Jesus, God reconciles (a change from enmity to friendship) all things to himself, making peace by the blood of the cross. We were once estranged from him, hostile in mind, and doing evil. God initiated our reconciliation by sacrificing his body of flesh on the cross to cleanse us so that we might be holy, blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that we continue to trust in Jesus without wavering from the hope of the gospel which Paul proclaimed and the Bible records

Jesus was circumcised, apparently in Bethlehem, eight days after his birth, according to Jewish Law (Leviticus 12:2-8), and then was brought to the Temple for the purification ritual prescribed by law after 33 days. A righteous man by the name of Simeon had been looking for the coming of the promised Messiah, and had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. Led by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple while Jesus was being presented for purification, and Simeon took the child in his arms and gave praise to God, and then declared that he was seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation, which would enlighten Gentiles and glorify Israel. Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and told Mary that the child would be the fall and rising of many in Israel, and would be a sign which would be opposed. Mary’s soul would be pierced, and Jesus would reveal the innermost thoughts and attitudes of many people.

An aged prophetess named Anna, who stayed in the Temple day and night, also came into the Temple while Jesus was there and she “spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (the coming of the Messiah; Luke 2: 38).

Hannah is an example of a person of faith, who prayed fervently to the Lord for deliverance from barrenness and shame. The Lord heard and answered her prayer, and she fulfilled her promise to lend Samuel to the Lord’s service for his whole life.

Paul urged Christians to seek the knowledge of God’s will and spiritual wisdom, so that they could lead lives fully pleasing to God. Christians have been delivered from sin and spiritual darkness, and have received redemption from slavery of sin and death, forgiveness, and the light of spiritual insight and righteousness, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. If we realize that God has given us new life and deliverance from barrenness and shame, we should give thanks to God and use our new lives to please and serve him!

Jesus is God made visible in human form (Colossians 2:8-9, John 20:28). He is the first-born of Creation. God’s plan, from the beginning of Creation has always been to create a kingdom of his people who would willingly choose to trust and obey him. Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation from eternal death and destruction (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus Christ has been “built in” to the very structure of Creation (John 1:1-5; 14).

Jesus is also the illustration and example of what God’s people are to be and a demonstration of a Holy Spirit-filled life and the truth of the resurrection of the dead. Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ, “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ within us (Romans 8:9) through obedient trust in Jesus. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-34), only his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). It is possible for one to know with certainty whether or not one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

Simeon was a righteous person who was seeking the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah, the Savior and God’s anointed eternal king. Simeon was living in obedience to the Holy Spirit. As he was led by the Holy Spirit he saw God’s promise of a Savior fulfilled in the Christ child in his arms, and he gave praise and thanks to God.

Simeon is an example of what God’s people are called to be. As we trust and obey the Lord and seek his redemption and salvation, he will manifest himself to us, through his Holy Spirit (John 14:21), and we can embrace and receive him. He is gentle as an infant, but also the almighty triumphant risen Lord. Only by his Holy Spirit within us can we lead lives fully pleasing to God. Only through the indwelling Holy Spirit can we have a personal fellowship with the Lord. We need to come to that personal infilling and fellowship with the Lord today, while there is still time to see and receive him before we die. Today is the Day of Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2); no one can be certain of tomorrow.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? 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)?

January 1

first posted 12/31/03

Isaiah 62:1-5, 10-12 Behold, your salvation comes
Revelation 19:11-16 King of kings and Lord of lords
Matthew 1:18-25 The Birth of Jesus

The vindication of God’s people approaches. The entire world will see our vindication. We will be given a new name (indicating a change in status). In the hands of the Lord we will become a crown of beauty. The Lord delights in us. In that day we shall be as the Lord’s bride and he will rejoice over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. Prepare the way for the people; build a highway; erect a big signal flag. “Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion (children of God), ‘Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him’” (Isaiah 62:11). We shall be called “The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord”, “…sought out” and “…not forsaken” (Isaiah 62:12).

John’s vision of the rider of the white horse, who is called Faithful and True, The Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has a name which no one knows but himself (his greatness surpasses human understanding) (Revelation 19:12). He judges in righteousness (Revelation 19:11). He is clad in robes dipped in blood (symbolizing purification by his sacrificial death on the Cross) and he leads an army which is clothed in pure white linen. He is the commander of the heavenly armies. “From his mouth issues a sharp sword (God’s word: Hebrews 4:12) with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9); He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15).

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph, but before they had “come together” in marriage she became pregnant (see also Luke 1:26-2:40) Joseph was going to divorce her quietly, not wanting to put her to shame. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that Joseph should go ahead and marry Mary. She would bear a son and they should call him Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins*. His birth would fulfill the prophecy that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and his name would be Emmanuel ("God with us;" see Isaiah 7:14). “And at the end of eight days (from his birth) when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 1:31).

The prophet foresaw the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, to redeem us so that we could become God’s people. In Jesus we receive a new name, “Christian” and Jesus’ own name. In Jesus’ name we’re forgiven and restored to God's people, and to eternal life in “Zion”, the heavenly “New Jerusalem”. The prophet also foresaw the second coming, when Jesus returns as the righteous judge of all the earth, bringing vindication to those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus (it’s not enough just to call ourselves by his name; Matthew 7:21-23), and condemnation (recompense; Isaiah 62:11c) to those who have rejected Jesus and his word.

The revelator’s vision is of the victorious Christ’s return to judge the earth in righteousness. Jesus will come in glory and power. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus as their Lord will be purified by his blood as he is pure and as the heavenly armies he leads are pure. He will execute the wrath of God the Almighty on those who have rejected him. Jesus is Faithful and True, The Word of God, The King of kings and Lord of lords. His name is above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). The greatness of his name is beyond our human understanding. Do you bear the name of Jesus? Is your name in his book of life?

*“The Hebrew and Aramaic forms of ‘Jesus’ and ‘he will save’ are similar. The point could be suggested by translating, “You shall call his name ‘Savior’ because he will save’”. The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Matthew 1:21n, p. 1172, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

January 2

first posted 01/01/04

1 Kings 19:1-8 Elijah flees to Mt. Horeb
Ephesians 4:1-16 Christian maturity
John 6:1-14 Feeding the five thousand

After Elijah had defeated and slain the prophets of Baal at Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40), Ahab, king of northern Israel, told his pagan Queen, Jezebel, a worshiper and instigator of the worship of Baal in Israel, what Elijah had done to her priests. She swore to kill Elijah, and Elijah fled into the wilderness of Judah. Discouraged and afraid,Elijah asked the Lord to take away his life. An angel of the Lord twice came to him bringing him a cake of bread and a jar of water to sustain him. Elijah ate and drank what the Angel had brought, and then traveled forty days and forty nights to Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai, in the Sinai Peninsula; the “mountain of God”, where Moses had received the Ten Commandments) on the strength of that food.

While Paul was a prisoner in Rome, he wrote to the churches in Asia Minor, urging them to live out their calling humbly and patiently, with forbearance and love; to hold on to the essential doctrines and to maintain unity of faith, in the midst of a diversity of spiritual gifts. Regardless of our specific individual calling and spiritual gifts, we are all called to work for the up building of the kingdom of heaven, and we all are to grow in faith and knowledge unto the fullness of spiritual maturity, as we have an example in Jesus, so that we are able to stand unwaveringly in the face of challenges to our faith. Instead of meeting opposition with worldly tactics such as human cunning and trickery, we are to speak the truth in love. We are to grow up into the likeness of Christ, as a member of his body (the church), with Jesus as its head, in the same way that parts of a physical body are joined together and function in harmony under direction of the head, growing and making progress together harmoniously.

Jesus took his disciples off to a place where they could be alone, to the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. A multitude followed Jesus because of his reputation for performing healing miracles. Seeing the multitude coming, Jesus asked Philip, one of the disciples, “How are we to buy bread so that theses people may eat?” Jesus had asked Philip in order to test his faith; Jesus himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied that it would cost a lot of money to provide even a small amount of food for each one. (The amount was equivalent to a laborer’s wages for two hundred days work.) Another disciple, Andrew, volunteered that there was a boy among them with five barley loaves and two fish; but that they would not go very far among so many. Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down. There were about five thousand. Jesus took the boy’s bread and fish, and when he had blessed the food he distributed it to people, “as much as they wanted” ( John 6:11b). When they had eaten their fill, he had the disciples gather up what was left over, and they filled twelve baskets. When the people realized what Jesus had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!” ( John 6:14b).

Elijah was obedient to the Lord, and faithfully spoke God’s word. The Lord was faithful to Elijah, providing supernatural food for him in the wilderness, and bringing him safely through danger and wilderness to the “mountain of God”.

Paul was a prisoner for the Gospel, in a spiritual wilderness of his own, but he taught and practiced patient endurance and love in the midst of adversity. He trusted in the Lord’s ability to provide for his needs and to bring him through. God supplies the resources we need to accomplish what he calls us to do. All believers are called to serve the Lord for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. As we follow the Lord’s call and direction, we will grow in faith and obedience unto Christian maturity; into the likeness of Christ. Christian maturity is not something that is instantly or automatically attained when we’re baptized or when we join a church. It happens as we spend time with the Lord in a personal relationship and as we practice being led by his Spirit. The Lord supplies the resources to enable and sustain us.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus’ disciples were with the Lord full time, night and day, for about three years. They had many opportunities to see what he was able to do, and to be taught by him. That process was taking place in the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus asked Philip what Philip thought they should do. Andrew had an idea, but he wasn’t sure it would help. Jesus knew what he was going to do, and he taught his disciples to trust in the power and providence of God. As a result, many, including “The Twelve” disciples of his inner circle, grew in faith and spiritual maturity [Even after the resurrection, they weren’t fully ready to carry on Jesus’ ministry until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2), and disciples continue to grow spiritually as long as we continue to live in this world].

I can personally testify (and this journal is one example) that as we walk in faith and obedience, the Lord supplies the physical and spiritual resources that we need to fulfill his calling. Are you growing daily in fellowship with Jesus? Have you discovered how willing, able and faithful our Lord is to meet our needs and sustain us when we trust and obey him?

January 3

first posted 01/02/04

1 Kings 19:9-18 Elijah at Mt. Horeb
Ephesians 4:17-32 Renounce pagan ways
John 6:15-27 Jesus walks on the Sea

Fleeing from Queen Jezebel, Elijah the prophet came to a cave at Mt. Horeb. The Lord asked Elijah what he was doing there in the cave and Elijah explained how he had vigorously pursued the Lord’s will in calling Israel to repentance, but that the people of Israel had resisted and slain the prophets so that Elijah alone was left, and that they sought to kill him. The Lord told him to go out and stand at the mouth of the cave, and the Lord revealed himself to Elijah, not in a great wind, or an earthquake or fire, but in a still small voice. The Lord again asked Elijah what he was doing there and Elijah repeated the same explanation. The Lord told Elijah to return the wilderness of Damascus (Syria) where he was to anoint Hazael to be King over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in place of Elijah. The Lord prophesied that Hazael, Jehu and Elisha would execute the Lord’s judgment upon Israel, but that there would be a considerable righteous remnant (seven thousand).

The Apostle Paul exhorts believers not to resume the worldly ways of the pagans around them. Those who are worldly are ignorant of God, and have become hardened of heart, indulging in all sorts of uncleanness. Believers are to remove like filthy garments the worldly ways in which we once walked, and by being renewed in the spirit of our minds, to re-clothe ourselves in true righteousness and holiness patterned according to the likeness of God. We are to cease speaking falsehood; from now on, we are to speak the truth with love. We are not to hold grudges. We are to avoid situations which tempt us to sin. No longer are we to take what we have not earned by honest labor, but to share what we have with others liberally. We are to speak no evil; let our speech reflect what is righteous and edifying (upbuilding) to our hearers. Let us not do anything which would grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let us put away all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice; be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God has forgiven us.

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus, realizing that they were about to come to force him to be their king, withdrew into the hills by himself. His Disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee in the boat without him. It was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea arose because a strong wind had come up. They had rowed about three or four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the sea. They were frightened, but Jesus spoke to reassure them. He got into the boat with them and immediately they arrived at their destination. The multitude which had been fed had remained on the other side overnight. They had seen the disciples leave without Jesus, but since boats from Tiberias came near the place and Jesus was not there, they got into boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they asked him when he had come there. Jesus replied that their interest in him was because he could provide food. They had focused on the material element, and had missed the spiritual significance of what Jesus had done. Jesus admonished them to seek spiritual food which nourishes unto eternal life, which only Jesus can provide, rather than simply satisfying their physical hunger, since both physical food and physical bodies will pass away.

The Lord showed Elijah that he was able to sustain Elijah in the wilderness and bring him into the Lord’s presence. The Lord did not need dramatic displays to demonstrate his power. Two small cakes and two small pitchers of water were sufficient to bring Elijah through forty days and nights to Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:5-8). The Lord didn’t invoke earthquake, wind or fire to convince Elijah that he could protect and provide for Elijah and that God could deal with his enemies. God declared that those who were disobedient to God’s commandments were going to be destroyed, but there was a remnant which had been faithful and obedient whom God would save. All that was necessary was for Elijah to trust and obey the Lord’s still small voice.

Paul reminds believers that we are not to follow the ways of the world. Our goal is not the gratification of our physical appetites, but rather the upbuilding of our spirits into the likeness of our Lord, in righteousness and holiness. We are preparing for eternal life with our Lord in Heaven.

Jesus didn’t multiply the loaves and fishes to acquire political power, although this episode demonstrates the political potential, had he chosen to pursue it. The people who were fed were living in their flesh, pursuing worldly desires and appetites, without regard for their spiritual needs. Jesus was trying to reveal to them another dimension of life around them, which is spiritual and eternal. Jesus is the provider and sustainer of that life. We cannot take Jesus by force and make him fill our expectations, or gratify our worldly appetites. We must accept him as our Lord and trust and obey him.

God revealed himself to Elijah, not in a spectacular display of power designed to frighten him into submission, but in a still small voice intended to calm and reassure him. God listened to Elijah’s fears and reassured him. Jesus revealed himself to the multitude, not in an attempt to gain power over them, but to show them a better way of living, where they needn’t constantly worry about where their next meal was coming from, or who might be dominating them politically. Jesus revealed himself to his disciples in the darkness and the storm and their fear, to reassure them and calm the storm and get them quickly and safely to their destination. God reveals himself to us in Jesus, who came as a tiny baby, then humbly went to the cross, in obedience to God’s will, to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven. As we trust and obey Jesus, he will reveal himself to us more fully (John 14:21) and sustain us through the wilderness finally into the presence of God and eternal life in heaven with him.

January 4

Joshua 3:14-4:7, Crossing the Jordan

Ephesians 5:1-20, Christian living

John 9:1-12, 35-38, The man born blind

The people of Israel set out from their encampment to cross the Jordan River, with the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant leading them. When the priests’ feet touched the water, the water stopped flowing and stood up in a heap far upstream, at Adam (south of the river Jabbok) beside Zarethan, (which is east of Samaria, on the east side of the Jordan, about 10 miles north of Adam). The water of the Jordan was completely cut off, so the people crossed over opposite Jericho on dry ground, and the priests carrying the Ark stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until all the people had crossed over. When the people had passed over, the Lord instructed Joshua to have twelve men, one from each tribe, each pick up a stone from the riverbed where the priests had stood, and carry them to the place Israel was to camp for the night, leaving them in a pile as a memorial to the Lord’s act of bringing them across the Jordan on dry ground. They were to remember what God had done for them and teach it to their children.

Paul exhorted Christians to copy the love and forgiveness of God, as his beloved children. We must live motivated by love, as Jesus loved us and gave himself (on the Cross) as a sacrifice and offering to God for us.

Let us not even mention immorality, impurity or covetousness. Let there be no filthiness or licentiousness among us. Let us instead give thanksgiving to God. We must not be deceived; no immoral, impure or covetous person will have any inheritance in God’s eternal kingdom. These things will bring God’s wrath upon those who disobey God’s word. We must not even associate with those who do such things. We were once in spiritual darkness, but now we are light in the Lord, and must live as children of light. The light of righteousness produces what is good, right and true. We must seek to know and do what is pleasing to the Lord. Works of darkness do not produce the fruit of righteousness.

We must not participate in darkness, but expose it to the light of the Lord’s righteousness. Evil is shameful even to mention. Instead we are called to rise from spiritual death (through spiritual re-birth by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit; John 3:3, 5-8), and the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) within us will give us light.

We must be careful how we live, not as those who are spiritually foolish, but rather as spiritually enlightened, not wasting our time on earth, but understanding God’s will. Instead of getting drunk (in the worldly way of celebration), let us be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and with psalms and hymns to the Lord, always giving thanks to God our Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus encountered a man who had been born blind, and Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus whether the man’s blindness was caused by his own sin or the sin of his parents. Instead of placing blame, Jesus taught his disciples to see this as an opportunity for the works of God to be revealed in the man. Jesus told his disciples that we must do the works of God while we have the light of God. Jesus declared, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

Jesus made mud of dirt and spittle, in the manner of healers of that time, anointed the blind man’s eyes, and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam (Siloam means “sent”). The man did as Jesus had told him, and he came back with his vision restored. Some of his neighbors and those who had known him as a beggar recognized him (and realized that he was no longer blind) but others thought the man just resembled the blind beggar. The man testified that it was indeed he, who had formerly been blind. The people asked him how his vision had been healed, and he told them that Jesus had anointed his eyes with mud and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and his vision had been restored as he did as Jesus had told him. They asked where Jesus was, but the man did not know.

The Jewish religious leaders excommunicated him from the synagogue for proclaiming that Jesus had healed him. When Jesus found out, he went to the former blind man, and asked if he believed in the Son of man (Jesus). The man asked to identify who Jesus was referring to so that the man could believe in him. Jesus told the man he was seeing and hearing the Son of man, and the man said “Lord, I believe,” and worshiped Jesus. Jesus declared that he had come into the world for judgment, to heal those who recognize that they are spiritually blind, and to reveal the spiritual blindness of those who deny it. Some Pharisees (a faction of strict, legalistic Jews) heard Jesus say this, and asked Jesus whether he considered them “blind.” Jesus declared that if they had acknowledged their spiritual blindness they could have received forgiveness and healing, but because they denied their blindness, they remained guilty.

God’s people are to remember what God has done for us. In a sense we are all God’s people because he is our creator. God has given us life and everything that we enjoy in his good creation (Genesis 1:31a). The history of God’s dealings with Israel is intended for our instruction (1 Corinthians 10:11). The crossing of the Jordan River is also an intentional metaphor for the river of physical death. Through Jesus Christ, we are able to pass through physical death in to the eternal Promised Land of God’s Kingdom in heaven, without being affected by physical death; without getting our feet “wet.”

If we realize God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself, for our forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s word) and salvation from eternal death, we should want to seek and know God’s will so that we can do what is pleasing to him. Christians are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, learning to be godly in our thoughts, words and deeds, emulating God our Father, revealed in and through Jesus Christ. We are specifically warned not to tolerate immorality and wickedness within the Church fellowship.

God has given us life in this world for a purpose. We are to seek God and come to a personal relationship with him (Acts 17:26-27) by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus baptizes with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, only his disciples who trust and obey him (John 1:32-34; 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 with the Holy Spirit is the “second birth” (John 3:3, 5-8) which we must have to have eternal life. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus who opens our minds to understand the Scriptures (the Bible; Luke 24:45), and guides and empowers us to know and do God’s will for us personally and individually.

Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they had received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christians today are also to stay within Church, which is the “New Jerusalem,” the “Holy City of God” on earth, learning to be disciples of Jesus Christ, until they have received the Holy Spirit, and then they are to go into the world and complete Christ’s mission of forgiveness, salvation and discipleship (Matthew 28:18-20). That mission cannot be accomplished in our own human ability. It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples. Are we accomplishing the work God called us to do or are we wasting our time on earth pursuing our own self-interest? Are we teaching our children what God has done for us?

Jesus came to heal spiritual blindness and give eternal life to those who are spiritually dead, which describes each and every one of us, before we come to faith in Jesus Christ. The blind beggar was healed as he trusted and obeyed Jesus’ command to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The healed man demonstrates spiritual growth. As he trusted and obeyed Jesus, he found that Jesus’ words are true and reliable. The healed man began to tell others what Jesus had done for him. When Jesus found him after he had been expelled from the synagogue, the healed man was ready to do anything Jesus asked of him. He just needed the information necessary to comply, and Jesus revealed himself to the man. The healed man confessed his faith and worshiped Jesus, his Lord. He was expressing his thankfulness for what the Lord had done for him, and had begun cooperating with Jesus’ mission by telling others.

Jesus has promised that he will come and manifest (reveal) himself to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:21).

January 5

first posted 01/04/04

Jonah 2:2-9 Jonah’s prayer
Ephesians 6:10-20 The whole armor of God
John 11:17-27, 38-44 The raising of Lazarus

Jonah, the reluctant prophet, prayed to God from the belly of the whale. In the midst of great distress as a result of his disobedience to God, he prayed, and God heard his prayer. Jonah felt trapped by death, swallowed up by disaster, overwhelmed by floodwaters. Then Jonah prayed to God and God delivered him from death, and restored him to the living. Jonah praised and thanked God for his deliverance and recommitted himself to obey God. He testified that only God can deliver us from sin and death.

Christians are in a war, with the forces of evil, for our souls. This world is presently under the domination of Satan and his demons, who are fighting against God and his angels, for our souls. The Lord has already won the victory at the Cross. We need to put on the armor which God supplies through Jesus, in order to be saved. The armor of God consists of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God, which is the weapon with which we can fight back. We need to maintain the mental attitude of a soldier by keeping alert and persevering in prayer in the Spirit for our leaders and comrades in the battle.

Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany. When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived she went out to meet him, and told Jesus that he could have healed Lazarus and prevented his death if he had been there. Even though Lazarus had died, Martha believed that Jesus would receive whatever he asked of God. Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise again. Martha believed that Lazarus would live again in the resurrection at the Day of Judgment. Jesus told Martha that he was the resurrection and the life; that whoever believes in him will live, even though he dies, and that whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die. Jesus asked Martha if she believed this and she said that she did. She also acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus, Martha, and others went to Lazarus’ tomb, and Jesus asked that the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb be removed. Martha protested that, since Lazarus had been dead four days, there would be an odor. Jesus reminded her that he had promised that if she believed, she would see God’s glory. Jesus prayed to God, and then called Lazarus to come out. Lazarus came out still wrapped in grave cloths, and Jesus’ commanded them to free Lazarus from his bindings.

Jonah had been disobedient to the Lord’s command. As a result he came into disaster. He had been captured and swallowed by death. He was in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights (Jonah 1:17). He prayed to God in repentance and faith, and God heard his prayer and saved him from the very mouth of death. God alone had the power to deliver Jonah from sin and death, and restore him to life.

This earth is in a life-or-death spiritual struggle with the forces of evil. We are all sinners and all have fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God alone can deliver us from our bondage to sin and death, and Jesus Christ is his only provision for our salvation (Romans 5:8, Acts 4:21). Jesus defeated Satan and won our salvation on the Cross when he died as a sacrifice for our sin. His resurrection from the dead is the proof of that victory over sin and death. Our salvation is the free gift of God; we don’t deserve it, can’t earn it, buy it, or take it by deception or force (Ephesians 2:8-9). We must receive it (John 1:12) by inviting Jesus to be our Lord (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is the armor of God which we need to put on in order to be saved from sin and death. The armor consists of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. (We don’t do these things in order to earn salvation; we receive them through faith in Jesus.) We need be alert and to pray.

Jesus has promised believers that even if we die, he will raise us up again to eternal life, and that if we live in him, we will never die. Jesus raised Lazarus as a sign so that we might know that he is the Lord of Life. Jesus promised that “the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment (condemnation; damnation; eternal death)” (John 5:28-29). [There is no such thing as reincarnation: people die once, and after that comes judgment; see Hebrews 9:27.] All who die before Jesus returns on the Day of Judgment will be called forth from the tomb as Jesus called forth Lazarus. Those who, like Lazarus, have trusted and obeyed Jesus, Jesus will order freed from the bonds of death, and they will receive eternal life. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to obey him, Jesus will order cast, bound by sin and death, into eternal death with Satan and his demons in Hell.

When we feel swallowed up by disaster, overwhelmed by the floodwaters of distress, trapped in sin and death, the Lord will hear and deliver us, if we pray to him in faith, in the name of Jesus.