11 Pentecost A Year

11 Pentecost - Sunday
Posted July 27, 2008

Isaiah 55:1-5 -- Spiritual Sustenance;
Psalm 104:25-31 -- God Our Sustainer;
Romans 8:35-39 -- Our Confidence in God;
Matthew 14:13-21 -- Feeding the Five Thousand;

Isaiah:

Come, everyone who is spiritually thirsty; come to the spiritual, life-giving, waters (John 4:13-14; John 7:37-39). Come everyone who is spiritually poor, and receive spiritual food (John 6:33-35, 48-51), obtain spiritual wine and milk, without cost and without price.

Why labor and spend hard-earned money for what is not bread and for what does not satisfy? Heed (listen to and obey) the Word of God and eat what is spiritually wholesome and satisfying.

Listen to and obey God's Word and come to the Lord, and he will make a covenant of steadfast certain love with you, as he did with David. Notice that the Lord made David a witness to all people, and a leader and commander of the people of God.

God's people will call all nations, and people who have never heard of us will hurry to come to us, because of the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified us.

Psalm:

Consider the vastness of the ocean, full of living things from the smallest to the largest of creatures, beyond our knowledge of, or our ability to count them. Man ventures forth in the largest of ships, seemingly tiny in relationship to the vast ocean, relying upon the Lord to restrain the forces of nature.

All creatures depend upon the Lord to provide their food when they need it. When the Lord provides it they gather it up, and are satisfied with good things. When the Lord turns away, they are dismayed; when the Lord takes away their breath they die and return to the earth from which they were created. When the Lord sends forth his Spirit, they are created and the Lord renews the face of the earth.

"May the glory of the Lord endure for ever, may the Lord rejoice in his works" (Psalm 104:31).

Romans:

No person or thing in this world can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ; not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword. The prophecy of Psalm 44:22, that Christians were continually being killed for the Gospel, and were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, began to be fulfilled in the first-century Church. But in all those things, Christians are victorious, through the love of God for us in Jesus Christ. Nothing, not life or death, not supernatural beings, whether good or evil, present or future circumstances, the height of heaven or the depth of the grave, nor any other thing or circumstance in this creation can separate us from God's love for us in Jesus Christ.

Matthew:

After John the Baptizer had been executed, Jesus took his disciples to an isolated spot by boat. The crowds who were following Jesus anticipated where they were going, and walked there along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus and his disciples landed he saw the crowd and had compassion for them, and healed the sick among them.

At evening, the disciples suggested that Jesus dismiss the crowd so that they could go into the nearby villages to buy food. Instead Jesus told his disciples to feed them, although they only had five loaves of bread and two fish.

Jesus had the crowd sit down on the grass. Jesus took the food from his disciples and blessed and broke it into pieces, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. The crowd ate their fill and were satisfied, and the disciples collected twelve baskets of leftovers. Those who were fed were about five thousand people.

Commentary:

We have all been created as eternal beings in physical bodies. We're all born physically alive but spiritually dead. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's one and only provision for forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation from eternal condemnation and destruction in Hell (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus has been designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8), and this is only possible by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Spiritual rebirth is a personally discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Jesus is the source of spiritual (eternal) life-giving water, and that spiritual water is the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit within his disciples (John 7:37-39). Jesus is the "bread of life" which comes down from heaven and gives (spiritual) life to our lost and dying world (John 6:51).

Jesus offered his body as the only sacrifice acceptable to God, once for all time and people who are willing to receive it by faith, for the forgiveness of our sin and salvation from eternal destruction.

On the night Jesus was arrested he celebrated the Passover feast with his disciples. Jesus instituted a New Covenant (New Testament; Matthew 26:26-29) of Salvation by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) through faith (obedient trust) (Ephesians 2:8-9), a covenant of steadfast certain love, to replace the Old Covenant of Law. The Old Covenant required constant animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin.

Jesus became the perfect unblemished sacrificial "lamb" of the Passover, and the "Lord's Supper" (the Eucharist; Holy Communion) became the New Passover feast. Jesus' body and blood sacrificed on the cross are the spiritual bread and wine of Holy Communion. Holy Communion is the foretaste of the fellowship we will have with the Lord in eternal life. The feeding of the five thousand is a preview ot that fellowship.

Jews had been specifically forbidden to drink blood or eat meat with blood in it (Genesis 9:4), because of the belief that the blood contained the spirit of the animal. God wants us to be filled with God's Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9), not the spirits of animals.

The Word of God is the milk by which new believers are fed and grow spiritually. Jesus is the "living" Word of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh in this temporal world (John 1:1-5, 14).

God invites all of us to come to him through Jesus Christ to receive spiritual life, nurture, and sustenance. The Church is the New Israel, the New People of God. God's people extend the call to all nations to come to forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. All those who realize that they are spiritually hungry and thirsty can come and be spiritually filled and satisfied; can receive, without charge, what is beyond price.

All creatures of this Creation including ourselves are completely dependent upon the providence of God, for life, breath, food, clothing, shelter, health and protection, whether we realize it or not. Our biggest accomplishments are large in comparison to us, but tiny in comparison to God.

God is not obligated to be all that an all-powerful, loving and merciful God implies, if we are unwilling to be his people. If we refuse to listen to, trust and obey God's Word, God is not obligated or willing to hear and answer our prayers (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).

God gives us physical life and breath, and he also gives spiritual life and breath to those who trust and obey Jesus. The Lord renews his people by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The testimony of the Holy Spirit within God's people testifies that we are in Christ and have eternal life, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to show us that there is existence after physical death, and to deliver us from the power of sin and death (Hebrews 2:14-15; Romans 6:23). Jesus' sacrifice of crucifixion is the evidence of God's steadfast certain love for us (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17).

So many people today are trying to do everything they can to nurture and sustain their physical bodies, but give no thought to the nurture and sustenance of their eternal spirits. Many also are seeking spiritual things in all the wrong places.

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)?

11 Pentecost - Monday

Posted July 28, 2008

Psalm 85:8-13 -- Oracle of Assurance;

Hear what the Lord God will speak, "for he will speak peace to his people, his saints (godly people; holy ones; consecrated to God's service), who turn to the him in their hearts" (Psalm 85:8b-c). The Lord's salvation is near for those who fear the Lord. Glory will fill our land.

"Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground and righteousness will look down from the sky" (Psalm 85: 10-11).

The Lord will bless us with good things and cause our land to be fruitful. His righteousness will lead us in his ways.

Commentary:

God is the God of peace (Philippians 4:9). God's Word is the way of peace with God and with our fellow humans. Sin (disobedience of God's Word) causes enmity and strife with God and with our fellow humans.

All of us are sinners and fall short of God's righteousness (doing what is right and good and true according to God's Word; Romans 3:223; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and does not want any of us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). God has foreseen our need for salvation from eternal destruction. Jesus Christ is God's one and only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), who God designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).

Jesus is the Prince of Peace who God promised in his Word (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word, lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24), with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39,41; compare Genesis 1:3).

Jesus is the only way to have peace with God and peace with our fellow humans (John 14:6). We will have peace with our brethren in Jesus Christ, but we will have tribulation and persecution in the world by those who are not "sons of peace" (Luke 10:6). Jesus knew and warned that his coming would not bring peace, but division, in the world (Matthew 10:34; John 16:33). But the peace Jesus brings is not like what the world calls peace; it is peace which is eternal (John 14:27).

God's people are those who turn to him in their hearts, in their innermost selves, not only in outward word and appearance. Jesus is the only way to forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with God. Jesus is the only way to come to know and have fellowship with God. Jesus is the only way to have eternal life in God's kingdom in heaven (John 14:6).

God's people are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus and have been spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). "Born-again" Christians are the New Israel. They are the Saints of God, who have been sanctified and made holy by the blood of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Those who fear the Lord (have the appropriate awe and respect for the Lord's power and authority) will trust and obey Jesus and will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The infilling by the indwelling Holy Spirit is a discernible ongoing experience; it is possible for one to know personally for oneself whether or not one has received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The testimony of the Lord's salvation is within them, by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the righteousness, the steadfast love and faithfulness of God made manifest in this world in human flesh. Jesus is the righteousness of God who leads us and shows us how to know and follow God's way into God's eternal heavenly kingdom.

The Promised Land of God's eternal kingdom in Heaven will be filled with the glory of the Lord; full of the steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace of the Lord. By the indwelling Holy Spirit we can begin to experience that now in this lifetime as a foretaste of its complete fulfillment in eternity.

God has blessed us with life and every good thing in this Creation (Genesis 1:31). All of the bad things that exist in this world are the result of mankind's sin: disobedience of God's Word and idolatry (loving any thing or person as much as or more than God; money, possessions, pleasure, success, power, home, and family are examples of modern idols).

Through Jesus Christ God blesses his people with forgiveness, salvation, eternal life and all the good things in Heaven for eternity (Ephesians 1:3). Only through Jesus Christ can we produce fruit for the eternal Promised Land in Heaven (John 15:4), apart from Jesus we can do nothing in this world that will have eternal value; that will last beyond our physical lifetimes.

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)?

11 Pentecost - Tuesday

Posted July 29, 2008

1 Kings 19:9-18 The Still, Small Voice

Elijah had fled to Beersheba, in the southern border of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, from the pagan queen, Jezebel, wife of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who had sworn to kill Elijah. From there he had traveled forty days to Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai; the Mountain of God) in the wilderness of Paran in the Sinai peninsula. There he took refuge in a cave.

The Word of the Lord came to Elijah and the Lord asked what Elijah was doing there. Elijah told the Lord that he was very "jealous" on the behalf of the Lord, because the people of God had forsaken the covenant with God. They had torn down the altars to the Lord and had slain the prophets of the Lord. Elijah believed that he was the last of the Lord's prophets to survive, and his enemies were seeking to kill Elijah.

The Lord told Elijah to stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. Elijah did so, and the Lord passed by. There was a mighty wind, strong enough to break the rocks of the mountain, but the Lord was not in the wind. An earthquake followed the wind, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Fire followed the earthquake, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, Elijah heard a still, small voice. When Elijah heard the still, small voice, he wrapped himself in his cloak and went to the entrance of the cave, and he heard the voice ask Elijah what Elijah was doing there. Elijah repeated his answer, saying that the people of Israel had broken their covenant with God, had torn down the altars to God, and slain God's prophets, that Elijah was the only one left who was loyal to the Lord, and that his enemies were seeking to destroy Elijah.

The Lord told Elijah to return to the Syrian wilderness (in the vicinity of Damascus, Syria, north of Israel. There Elijah was to anoint Hazael to be King of Syria, Jehu, son of Nimshi, to be king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), and Elisha, son of Shephat, at Abel-Meholah (east of the Jordan River in the territory of Manasseh, to be the prophet of the Lord to succeed Elijah. The Lord declared that those who escape destruction by Hazael will be slain by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be slain by Elisha. Yet the Lord declared that he would leave a remnant of seven thousand people in (Northern) Israel, who had not worshiped and served Baal (the Phoenician idol, worship of which Jezebel had promoted and encouraged).

Ahab was the archetype (ultimate example) of a wicked ruler of Israel. He was king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel of the divided monarchy. He married a pagan Phoenician woman (which God had strictly forbidden; Exodus 34:12-16). As queen, she established her pagan religion, the worship of Baal, in the Northern Kingdom (also strictly forbidden by God's Word).

Elijah had publicly opposed and rebuked Ahab and Jezebel by the Word of God, and she had sworn to destroy him. Elijah had fled to the Mountain of God (where God had revealed himself to Moses and the Israelites and had established the Covenant of the Law, the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses).

Elijah had fled to the Lord and sought his protection. The Lord manifested himself to Elijah, not in great displays of nature, but as a still, small voice.

Elijah thought he was the last faithful servant of the Lord, but the Lord knew that there were still seven thousand who were faithful to the Lord in the Northern Kingdom. Elijah was afraid of Jezebel's power and her vow to destroy Elijah, but when the Lord told Elijah that the Lord still had work for Elijah to do, Elijah trusted and obeyed God's Word and returned to the area and duty he'd fled. On his way he anointed Elisha as his successor as the Lord had commanded (1 Kings 19:19-21).

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was at war with Syria. Hazael became King of Syria (2 Kings 8:15) after killing Ben-hadad II, and began wearing down the Northern Kingdom, as the Lord had told Elijah (2 Kings 10:32).

Jehu was secretly anointed by Elisha's servant as king of Israel. The commanders of the army of the Northern Kingdom accepted Jehu's anointing, and immediately he went to Jezreel where Jehoram, then King of Israel, was recovering from a battle wound, and killed him (2 Kings 9:24). When Jehu was in Jezreel, Jezebel opposed him publicly from an upper window. Jehu called out for loyal supporters, and two of her eunuchs threw her from the window and Jehu trampled her to death under his horse (again fulfilling God's Word to Elijah; 2 Kings 9:30-33).

Ultimately the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. with the fall of Samaria, the capital, and the ten northern tribes of Israel ceased to exist, because of their disobedience of God's Word and idolatry. The Southern Kingdom of Judah (of two tribes) was the remnant of Israel.

God's Word is absolutely true and reliable, and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Jesus is the "living Word (of God)," the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived out in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-3, 14).

When we take refuge in the Lord, we can be assured that our enemies will not ultimately prevail over us. There is genuine security in this world only in the Lord. Trusting in any other thing or person is idolatry and will ultimately fail and lead to eternal destruction.

In Old Testament times, only a few people chosen by God to be his prophets (spokesmen of God's Word), like Elijah, had a personal knowledge of and relationship with God. Jesus came into this world to make it possible for all who trust and obey Jesus to have that personal relationship through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to knowledge of and fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is possible only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6), the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived out in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14), by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself, whether or not one has been "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

The Lord is not far from us. If we truly seek him he will allow himself to be found by us (Deuteronomy 4:29; 2 Chronicles 15:2c; Isaiah 55:6). If we trust and obey Jesus he will manifest (reveal) himself to us (John 14:21).

This lifetime is our opportunity to learn to hear, discern, trust and obey the still, small voice of God within us. We can discern the voice of God from the voice of Satan, the tempter, by knowing the Word of God, the Bible. Satan knows and can quote the Bible scriptures (out of context) to tempt even Jesus, the Son of God, the "living Word" (Matthew 4:1-11). Note that Jesus refuted and defeated Satan's temptations by quoting the Word of God in the context of the whole.

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)?

11 Pentecost - Wednesday

Posted July 30, 2008

Romans 9:1-5 -- Paul's Sorrow for Jews;

Paul honestly and sincerely had great sorrow and anguish for his fellow Jews. He could wish to give up his own eternal life and salvation for the sake of his brethren and kinsmen by race. They are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption as children of God, the glory (spiritual treasure; heavenly bliss), the covenants, the scriptures, the worship, and the promises (of God). The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob's sons, the heads of the twelve tribes) are their ancestors and Jesus is a fellow descendant and Jew according to his physical being. "Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen" (Romans 9:5c RSV note "n").

Commentary:

Christians have no joy in the fact that the Jews, the chosen people of God, through whom God gave us forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word), salvation from eternal condemnation and destruction, and eternal life in paradise restored in heaven with the Lord (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), have rejected their spiritual heritage and have lost the promises of God that God intended for them to have. Paul made every effort to include his fellow Jews in the Gospel ("good news") of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.

Everywhere Paul went as a missionary of the Gospel, he taught in Jewish synagogues, trying to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, and some did accept the Gospel and convert, but many others organized persecution against Paul and his message. In spite of persecution by the Jews for the Gospel, Paul continued to risk his physical life in order to bring salvation to the Jews.

The Jews were so unreceptive that Paul had to become the missionary to the Gentiles, who were willing and eager to hear the Gospel. Paul hoped that the Jews would see the conversion of the Gentiles and the changes in the Gentiles lives and realize and desire what the Jews were missing (Romans 11:11-14). If the only way for the Jews to be saved was for Paul to give up his own eternal salvation, Paul would have been willing to do so.

Paul believed that the rejection of Jesus by the Jews made it possible for the Gospel to be spread among the Gentiles, so that salvation could be received by all people. The fact that the Jews initially rejected Jesus does not mean that they are excluded forever (Romans 11:7-32). Many Christians believe that in the tribulation of the "Last Days," the "Great Tribulation" (Matthew 24:1-31) preceding the Day of Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), many Jews will be converted and saved. But Jews must be saved by the same Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Gentiles (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Matthew 23:39).

Paul mourned for his own people as had Jesus. But Jesus declared that the Jews would not see Jesus until they accepted him as the Messiah sent to them by God (Matthew 23:37-39). Jesus declared that he is the (only) way to receive salvation (from eternal destruction, the only way to know (divine, eternal) truth (see 1 Corinthians 1:17-29; 2:1-8), and to have eternal life. No one can come to God the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6).

The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and as the result, God lifted his favor and protection from them. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. Israel ceased to exist as a nation, until the state of Israel was reestablished following World War II. Judaism effectively ended at Jesus' crucifixion, when the veil of the temple separating the people from the holy-of-holies, the presence of God, was supernaturally torn from top to bottom, symbolizing that Jesus had become the new and better way into God' presence (Matthew 27:51). The destruction of the temple effectively ended the sacrificial system required by the Old Covenant of Law, and the temple has never been rebuilt.

At Jesus' crucifixion, God lifted his favor from Israel in hope that, in the tribulation which followed, the Israelites would return to obedient trust in God as they had in the past, as, for instance, the exile of Judah, the remnant of Israel, to Babylon for seventy years, from the destruction of the temple to the dedication of the rebuilt temple (2 Kings 25:8-11; Jeremiah 25:11-12; Ezra 6:15). In the Jewish tribulation of World War II, some Jews converted only superficially to Christianity, hoping to avoid persecution as Jews. Many others became embittered toward God for allowing the holocaust.

In Jesus, by faith (obedient trust), all are united in one Lord and one Holy Spirit, one God and Father of us all Romans 3:30; Ephesians 4:4-6). In Jesus Christ there is no longer distinctions between Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for we are all one in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26-28).

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)?

11 Pentecost - Thursday

Posted July 31, 2008

Matthew 14:22-33 -- Jesus Walked on Water;

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus sent his disciples off in the boat while Jesus remained and dismissed the crowd. Then Jesus went into the hills by himself to pray. The boat was by then far from land, tossed by waves and making little progress because they were going against the wind. In the fourth watch (just before dawn) Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him they were terrified because they supposed it was a ghost. Jesus spoke, identifying himself and telling them to take courage and not be afraid.

Peter asked, if it was Jesus, that Jesus invite him to come to Jesus on the water, and Jesus told him to come. So Peter got out of the boat and came to Jesus on the water. But seeing the wind he became afraid and started to sink. He called to Jesus to save him, and Jesus reached out and caught Peter. Jesus said, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt" (Matthew 14:31)? When Peter and Jesus got into the boat the wind ceased and all those in the boat worshiped Jesus, declaring that he was the Son of God.

The disciples had set out in the boat according to Jesus' command, but they found themselves in a storm, with the wind and waves against them, and making little progress. When Jesus came walking on the water they were terrified, because it was humanly impossible. But Jesus spoke to them, identifying himself, and calming their fears.

Peter wanted to try walking on water himself, and he believed that if Jesus told him to, he could. But once out on the water, he let the force of the storm intimidate him and cause him to doubt. He was starting to sink, but he called out to Jesus and Jesus reached out and took his hand and kept him from sinking. When Jesus got into the boat the storm ceased. What the disciples had witnessed increased their conviction that Jesus is the Son of God.

Commentary:

Life is like that for disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus has told us what he wants us to do, but when we set out, we can expect to encounter opposition and resistance. But if we're doing what the Lord has told us, he will come to us as we make the effort, and with his help we will accomplish what he sent us to do.

Peter had a lot of enthusiasm and was quick to try something new. He had faith that by Jesus' command that Peter could walk on water, as he saw Jesus doing. When the storm caused Peter to doubt he called out to Jesus to save him and Jesus kept Peter from sinking.

If we are doing what Jesus commands, he will supply what we need to accomplish what he has told us to do. He will keep us from sinking. He will calm the storms of life, and he will get us to our destination. In the process our faith will grow to spiritual maturity.

Trying to do the mission of Jesus Christ without first being "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is like setting out in a boat into a storm without having Jesus on board. It's like trying to walk on water, without Jesus there to help. After his resurrection, Jesus warned his disciples to stay in Jerusalem (the Church is the New Jerusalem) until they had received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), before carrying out the "Great Commission" Jesus had given them, to proclaim the Gospel and to make disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).

Once we are "reborn" we have Jesus in our "boat" with us. We will have the assurance of knowing with certainty what he wants us to do, and he will be there to provide the resources we need to accomplish what he has told us to do.

The indwelling Holy Spirit might seem frightening to those who haven't experienced him. There are other, evil spirits, as well as the Holy Spirit. So Christians must test the spirits, to see if they are of God (1 John 4:1). The Holy Spirit will never act or speak contrary to the Word of God, the Bible. We need to know the Bible in order to be able to test the spirits.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9). Jesus and God the Father are one (John 14:8-11; Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus' life reveals what God is like in human flesh to the world. The Holy Spirit is the fullest personal revelation of God and Jesus to us individually and personally.

We first come to know the nature and character of Jesus through the Bible record. Jesus is gentle and humble (Matthew 11:29), loving and kind. The Holy Spirit is near to each of us (Acts 17:26-27), and he will identify himself and calm our fears. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we will have a personal fellowship with Jesus and God the Father, and will experience his love and goodness.

One must be "born-again" to see the kingdom of God all around us now, and ultimately, to see the kingdom of God and eternal life in heaven (John 3:3). Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

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)?

11 Pentecost - Friday

Posted August 1, 2008

2 Samuel 22:12-29 -- David's Song of Praise;

This text is recorded also as Psalm 18 (v. 11-28). The Lord is described as a storm. In David's distress he called upon the Lord, and the Lord came down from heaven to David's aid (2 Samuel 22:7, 10).

The Lord is shrouded in darkness, surrounded by rainclouds, sending forth bolts of lightening, his voice like thunder. His rebuke laid bare the channels of the seabed, and his breath exposed the foundations of the earth.

The Lord reached down from heaven and lifted David out of the "flood" of his distress. The Lord delivered David from enemies stronger than David. David's enemies had attacked David, but the Lord preserved him, brought him forth to safety and delivered him because the Lord was pleased with David.

The Lord rewarded David for his righteousness. David was innocent of wrongdoing. He had followed God's ways and had not wickedly deviated from them.

David remembered and lived in accordance with all of God's teachings. He didn't stray from them. He was guiltless in God's judgment, and therefore the Lord blessed David.

The Lord shows loyalty to those who are loyal to the Lord. The Lord deals blamelessly with those who are blameless. The Lord is pure to those who are pure, but deals perversely with those who are perverse. The Lord delivers the humble, but humbles those who are haughty. The Lord is a lamp to his people; he lightens their darkness.

Commentary:

The Lord has great power beyond human ability or understanding. The illustration of a thunderstorm symbolizes that power which is beyond human control.

Those who trust and obey God's Word can call upon the Lord in times when they are overwhelmed by their situation or their enemy. The Lord will reach down from heaven and lift them out of the raging "flood" of their distress and deliver them to safety.

I personally testify that I have experienced that kind of raging "flood" in my own life, and that the Lord rescued and delivered me. I had been going my own way instead of his way, and I wasn't blameless or pure. I believe from my experience that when we sincerely call upon the Lord he will respond with help and deliverance, not because we are blameless, but because he is loving and merciful. But God's mercy is intended to bring us to repentance and faith (obedient trust; also see Personal Testimonies, sidebar, top right).

David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20; 1 Samuel 13:14), but David wasn't completely blameless. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11:2-12:24).

We are all sinners and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23), revealed in Jesus Christ. If we accept Jesus as our Lord and trust and obey his teachings, Jesus' righteousness is attributed to us by God. That is the only way we can be righteous in God's judgment. Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation from eternal destruction (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

In order to call upon the Lord in time of trouble we must believe that he exists and that he is willing and able to help us (James 1:6-8). If we want the Lord to hear and answer us we must be willing to hear and apply his Word in our daily lives (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right). The Lord responds to us the way respond to him.

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12a); the light of life (John 1:4-5; 8:12b); the light of spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9); the light of righteousness (John 3:19-21).

11 Pentecost - Saturday

Posted August 2, 2008

Romans 10:4-18 -- Righteousness by Faith;
Luke 7:36-50 -- Saved by Faith;

Romans:

Christ is the end of the Law, that all who have faith (obedient trust) will be justified (found not guilty in God's judgment).

Moses taught that those who are righteous by the Law must keep all of it (Leviticus 18:5; James 2:10). The righteousness which is based on faith doesn't require superhuman effort on our part. We are not required to do what is impossible, like ascending into heaven to bring Christ down, or descending into the grave to raise Christ up from the dead. The word of faith, the Gospel, is near to us, on our lips and in our hearts. "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved" (from eternal condemnation and destruction; Romans 10:9). In order to be saved one must believe (trust and obey) and confess. God's Word promises that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame.

There is no difference between Jewish and Gentile Christians; both have the same Lord and receive the same spiritual riches with all who call upon him in faith. Every one who calls upon the name of the Lord (In faith: obedient trust) will be saved.

But in order for people to call upon the Lord in faith they must believe, and how can they believe what they have never heard, and how can they hear without a preacher, and preachers must be sent. Paul quoted Isaiah 52:7, saying that the feet of evangelists which bring the evangelists to us, carrying the Gospel ("good news"), are lovely. But as Isaiah also said, not all believe the message (Isaiah 53:1). Faith comes from hearing the Gospel proclaimed. But can anyone claim to have not heard? The issue is not that they have not heard; but they have not believed what they have heard. The Psalmist said that the voice of the evangelists have gone out to all the world, and their words to the farthest corners of the earth (Psalm 19:4a, b).

Luke:

A Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner at the Pharisee's house. As Jesus sat at the table a woman of the city came to Jesus, bringing an alabaster jar of ointment, and knelt at Jesus' feet. She was weeping and she wet his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Then she kissed his feet and put the ointment on them. The Pharisee thought to himself that Jesus couldn't be a prophet, or he would know what sort of woman, a sinner, she was, and would not allow her to touch him.

Jesus told a parable (a story of everyday experience used to teach spiritual truth). Jesus said that a lender had two borrowers, one who owed ten times what the other owed. The lender forgave both debts. Jesus asked the Pharisee which of the debtors would love the lender more, and the Pharisee supposed that it was the one with the greater debt. Jesus told the Pharisee that he was correct.

Jesus directed the Pharisees' attention to the woman and said that the Pharisee had given Jesus no water to wash his feet, but the woman had washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Pharisee had not greeted Jesus with a kiss, but the woman had constantly kissed Jesus' feet. The Pharisee had not anointed Jesus' head with oil, but the woman had anointed Jesus' feet with ointment. The woman's many sins are forgiven, because she loved Jesus greatly, but those who are forgiven little, love little.

Jesus spoke to the woman, saying that her sins were forgiven. The people at the table asked among themselves who Jesus is, that he forgives sins. Jesus told the woman that her faith had saved her and she could go in peace.

Commentary:

Jesus is the end of the Law in the sense that salvation is no longer based on keeping the Old Covenant (Testament) of Law. Jesus established a New Covenant of salvation by Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

That doesn't mean the Law is obsolete. The Law was given (through Moses) to show us what God requires, and to restrain us until the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ. No one was ever able to keep all of the Law all of the time, so constant sacrifices had to be offered to God for the forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word). The Law couldn't make us righteous; it just showed us our unrighteousness. Jesus has become the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for all time and all people who are willing to accept it by faith.

Jesus is the end of the Law in the sense of its fulfillment (Matthew 5:17). Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and cleansed of sin, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, through whom we know and are empowered to live according to God's Word by love for his forgiveness, rather than by fear of punishment. We are freed from the Law of sin and eternal death, provided that we are living in obedience to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ within us (Romans 8:1-9).

"Faith" is a very misunderstood concept in my culture today. Faith is not "wishing on a star;" not getting whatever we believe if we believe "hard enough." Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus Christ. If we believe that Jesus is Lord, we will allow him to be our Lord, and we will do what he teaches. It is not sufficient to call Jesus "Lord" without believing that he is our Lord in our hearts; and if we truly believe that he is our Lord in our hearts, we will demonstrate that by what we say and do (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

In the first-century Church, there were some Jewish converts who wanted Gentile Christians to conform to Jewish Law, the requirement of "circumcision," for example. Paul (and others) resisted this idea. Jewish Christians were no different than Gentile Christians; both depended upon the grace of God through faith in Jesus, rather than works (keeping) of the Law (Galatians 2:16).

There's a parallel in the nominal "Church" today. Some "Churches" today teach conformance to Jewish Law. Some teach that believers must do "good deeds" in order to be saved (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right). Doing "good deeds" is not the means by which we are saved, but rather the evidence that we have been saved (Ephesians 2:10). Some "Churches" make distinctions among Christians based on Church ritual, as for example, the amount of water used for baptism (sprinkling versus immersion), or the age of the candidate (infant versus "believers" baptism). Just being "born into" a particular denomination is no more advantageous to our salvation today than was being born a Jew in the first-century Church.

In order to call upon the Lord Jesus in faith we must believe in Jesus, and faith comes from hearing (and reading) the Word of God. We can hear the Word of God from "born-again" preachers and evangelists who have been sent by the Lord. But there are also many false preachers and evangelists and false teachings, even within the nominal "Church" today (1 John 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).

In order to discern God's Word from false teaching, we need to read the Bible for ourselves, from cover-to-cover, so that we know what it contains, and so that the Holy Spirit can recall it to our minds as needed (John 14:26). An average reader can easily read the Bible in one year, and there are many Bible-reading plans available (see Links to Free Bible Study Tools, sidebar, top right). Then we need to continue the practice of reading the Bible on a daily basis, such as this devotional, seeking insight and guidance from God's Word on a daily basis.

We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10). The woman who anointed Jesus' feet acknowledged her sins with her tears and believed in her heart that Jesus would forgive her, and her loving gesture was in gratitude for his forgiveness. She was saved by faith as she acted on that faith. Jesus spoke the words of forgiveness and peace to the woman.

The Pharisee was just as much a sinner as the woman, but he didn't realize and acknowledge his sinfulness. He thought he was even more righteous than Jesus, because Jesus seemed not to notice that the woman was a sinner and allowed her to touch him. The woman's sins were forgiven, but the Pharisee's were not, as his own lack of love for Jesus demonstrated. The feet of Jesus, who brought forgiveness and peace to the woman, were lovely to her, but the Pharisee had no concern for Jesus' feet.

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)?