Tag Archives: salvation

Don’t Ignore the “But…”

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Psalm 145

This is one of many psalms that speak of the goodness of God. Verse three says; Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. Then David goes on to explain why that is true.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made. (verses 8-9)

God is good to every human being, merciful over the entire earth. We, along with every created thing is cared for and blessed by our good God.

But there is a distinct difference between how He relates to believers and non-believers.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. (verses 18-20)

Back in verse 17 David tells us God is righteous in every way. He’s kindness is seen in His care of His creation. Just look around and you know that is true.

But God is only near to and fulfills the desires of those who call on His Name. He has a relationship only with us who have received His forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, who worship Him in truth.

I think it’s time we start making that distinction, too. I recently was reminded of a popular praise song that says God restores every broken heart. Sounds right. In fact, the whole song is full of wonderful truth about God. But it’s partial truth. And it only applies to people who are saved by grace, although the song never makes that distinction.

Can the person who refuses to repent of sin sing that and apply it to themselves? The truth is God does restore the broken hearts of His children. But not everyone is His child. Do we give false hope to an unrepentant sinner when they sing about the blessings of knowing God, without making the important choice to surrender to Him?

Look at verse 20. That’s an important “but” in there. In fact, it’s the difference between life and death. I just think if we insist on inviting unsaved people into our worship services, we need to be careful about the message we are sending out to them. Not everything that is said or sung applies to them. And we’re wrong if we ignore the “but.”

Psalm 16

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These days it might be easy to be discouraged. It seems as though evil is out of control, and who knows where this is heading?

I read Psalm 14 and recognize the people David is talking about. Oh, that the salvation of our world would come out of Zion.

Then I remember… our salvation HAS come out of Zion. His name is Jesus. The problems we see in our world are the result of sin. The fool who says there is no God. A generation who has declared we are our own god. The blatant disregard for the Laws of God. And the rejection of the cross.

Psalm 16 reminds me that God is the answer. He alone is our refuge. Nothing good exists apart from Him. He holds our future and blesses those who call Him Lord.

It is God who gives counsel, who instructs, and upholds. He makes known the path of life, and in his presence is the fullness of joy. No matter what the enemy is doing, I know God lives… and I am His through the blood of His Son, Jesus.

Let this psalm encourage you today. Then, let it give you the courage to tell others, to live a life that reflects the joy you have in your salvation. It’s true we live in an evil age. But instead of sitting back and complaining about it, let’s share what we know is true so that others can share our joy.

It Took A Human

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Ruth

Naomi, as an elderly widow, had no means of supporting herself, much less the added responsibility for her daughter-in-law. There were no jobs for decent women at that time that could provide for women alone. She would have been sentenced to a life of poverty and shame, unable to help herself.

That’s why what Boaz did is so significant. And why it’s a picture of what Jesus did for us. According to Jewish law, a relative – a kinsman – would have been her only hope. He would have to step in, take on her debt, pay it, and welcome her into his own family with all the rights and privileges that affords.

Spiritually speaking, we are in the same position as Naomi. We are impoverished by our sin debt. We have no ability to dig ourselves out of the hole our sins have dug.

That’s why God became a human. The redemption of a human had to be paid by a human – a kinsman. So the human/God Jesus stepped in, took our sin debt, paid it, and welcomes us into His family with all the rights and privileges that affords.

That’s a simplistic explanation of the redeeming work of Jesus. So much more could be said. But if you are trying to make it through this life by hard work, good deeds, going to church, being the best version of yourself, you would be like Ruth out there in the field, working for a meal, but never enjoying the benefits of being part of the family of your Redeemer.

It’s not until you fall at the feet of the One who can save you, until you humble yourself and put yourself at his mercy like Ruth did when she placed herself at Boaz’s feet, that you can know the blessed relationship with your kinsman Redeemer available to you.

There is a Redeemer. His name is Jesus.

God’s Character

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Leviticus 24-27

My Study Bible reminds me that, although these rules and regulations we read in Leviticus are no longer in effect because Jesus fulfilled them all once and for all, God has not changed. He is the same Holy God today that He was when He gave Moses the Law. We can learn a lot about God’s unchanging character as we read the book of Leviticus. Here’s what I see:

  1. God is holy, and demands holiness of His children. His law paints a picture of that holiness. He expects us to be separate from non-believers in our worship, in the way we conduct business, the way we treat others, and in our speech.
  2. God is patient – but not tolerant. He never winks at sin or condones it. He always – always – punishes sin. Just look at the cross where He punished His Son without mercy for sins He did not commit, to be the perfect substitute for sinful people who deserve to be punished without mercy.
  3. God is just. The regulations were the same for everyone, no matter their social or financial status in the community. The rules were the rules and didn’t change just because the people didn’t like them or were offended by them. In the New Testament we hear Jesus tell us that in order to be saved, we must believe on the Son. It’s the same for every human being. It’s the “whosoever” of John 3:16.
  4. God looks out for the underdog. Those who are blessed have a responsibility to help those who are struggling. This is NOT a picture of our present day welfare system that keeps people in poverty. God expects His people, when we see a need, to meet that need so the needy person can get back on his feet and get back to work to provide for his own needs and reach out to other needy people who need a hand. God’s regulations, if followed, would eliminate poverty. Jesus often reached out and touched the outcast, the “less than’s” of the world. We are called to do the same because God still looks out for the underdog.
  5. God blesses obedience. The rules were given so He COULD bless His children. They were given so His children could live freely, safely, and in harmony. The rules were not given to enslave the people, but to free them from slavery to sin.

I see in Leviticus a God who longs to bless His children. And I am reminded that God is love. He provided a way for us to fellowship with Him (even as sinful as we are). He provided that way first through the Law, then and finally, through His precious Son, Jesus. God’s greatest joy is the intimate relationship He has with His obedient children.

God’s unchanging character is revealed through what we read in Leviticus and reinforced throughout Scripture. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever: Holy, Just, Loving, Forgiving, Compassionate, and honest enough to tell us He demands the same of us. He blesses obedience according to His riches in glory. And he punishes disobedience without mercy.

This unchanging God, who demands the impossible of sinful people, made it possible for us to obey when He died on the cross and took the punishment for our sin without mercy.

We can rest assured that God isn’t going to change the rules. We can know without a doubt that He is true to His Word. His character is unchanging. And He wants to have a relationship with you.

Prepare To Meet Your Holy God

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Leviticus 10-12

I wonder if we would take worship more seriously if the sacrificial system was still required of us. I wonder if the fact that God is so accessible to His children today has made Him less holy in our minds.

The book of Leviticus is a detailed look at God’s requirements for worship. The Jews were required to pay careful attention as they not only worshiped God, but as they prepared for worship. The priests had very specific instructions for the fulfillment of their duties.

I wonder if we really understand what it means that Jesus fulfilled every detail of those requirements. He didn’t simply erase the necessity of them.

These days so much attention is focused on how worship looks, how it makes us feel. We are encouraged to have fun, to get something out of worship. Clap your hands! Smile! Come on, show some enthusiasm! Give God a hand!

But I am reminded how often demonstrations of worship made God angry, made Him want to vomit. Enthusiastic worship cost Uzzah his life as we read in 2 Samuel 6. Later, when David followed God’s instructions, the same demonstration of enthusiasm was accepted by God. The difference was obedience.

Here in Leviticus we read that Nadab and Abihu lost their lives trying to worship God on their own terms. We can demonstrate fire of the Holy Spirit without truly having the Holy Spirit. And that is a serious offense against God.

Worship has to be a connection between us and Holy God. My Life Application Study Bible has this to say:

“Similarly, we need to be prepared for worship. We cannot live any way we want during the week and then rush into God’s presence on Sunday. We should prepare ourselves through repentance, correction of error where possible, and thoughtful anticipation of what it will mean to be in God’s presence with other believers.” (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Carol Stream, Illinois; 2007; p 210)

You can worship God with your head bowed, or your hands raised. And you can offend God with your head bowed, or your hands raised. The difference between worship God accepts and rejects is obedience. I guess I would encourage us to stop judging what someone’s worship looks like. You can’t judge someone’s heart, and that’s where worship happens.

So the next time you are privileged to join together for worship with other believers in God’s house – be prepared. The importance of that is a theme in Scripture. Prepare to meet your God with sins confessed and hearts cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Prepare to meet your Holy God in worship.

True Justice

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Leviticus 2-5

A couple of things stood out to me today as I read these chapters in Leviticus. One is that no one was exempt from offering a sacrifice for sin. Offering a sacrifice was the ONLY way a person could be forgiven by God. No exceptions.

If a person was too poor to offer a lamb, or even a couple of birds, he could offer a handful of grain. Being poor did not give a person a free pass. And the poor person didn’t expect someone else to bring a sacrifice for him. A person’s offering had to cost that person something.

The truth we see here is that each of us has to bring our own sins to the foot of the cross. We are responsible for our own repentance, our own acknowledgment of sin, and our own offering of ourselves to God in order to be forgiven. No one can do that for us. Dealing with our sin is something between ourselves and God in a personal, intimate encounter. It’s the same for every human being.

The other thing that stood out is actually related to the first. It’s the fact that ignorance is not bliss. Someone who sinned without realizing that what he’d done was considered a sin, was still guilty of sin. There was no such thing as, “My bad!” to get off the hook.

Once an action was revealed as sin, the guilty party had to offer a sacrifice in order to be forgiven of that sinful action. That’s why I think we who know the Truth need to be calling sin sin, not choice, not a character flaw, not a mistake or shortcoming.

Sin is serious. The wages of sin is death. And the only way to escape that eternal separation from God is to humble ourselves at the foot of the cross, to accept His gift of grace; the forgiveness of our sin.

The requirements are the same if you sin knowingly or unknowingly, if you are wealthy or poor, Jewish or Protestant, American or Iraqi. That’s what makes God’s conditions fair for all of us.

There is perfect justice because God is perfectly just. There is one requirement all humans must meet in order to receive eternal life. Jesus met that requirement when he died on the cross, then came back to life three days later. He is the perfect sacrifice for my sin and yours.

And you and I are required by God’s Law to “believe in the Lord Jesus.” Jesus, the Messiah, eternal God in the flesh, the fulfillment of the Law, the only way, truth, and life, the perfect Lamb of God.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

That’s true for every single person without exception. That’s true justice.

It Is Finished

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Exodus 28-30

The intricate details spelled out in these chapters of Exodus speak of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. What we read here are the demands of God for the forgiveness of sin. It wasn’t simply that an animal was sacrificed. Every inch of that animal was significant. Every drop of blood had purpose.

We all know Jesus died on the cross, the Perfect Sacrifice for sin. He fulfilled the requirements we read about in Exodus. Every minute detail was carried out to perfection when Jesus died.

This past Sunday our church celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. Taking communion can become mundane, just another “thing” we do. Oh, may it never be that to me again.

When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He was referring to the sacrificial system I read about today. He completed the requirements perfectly, once and for all. Every drop of blood He shed had a purpose. He became sin, and climbed up on that altar of sacrifice willingly.

I sinned. I deserve death, the eternal separation from Holy God. Jesus said, “Kill me instead.” And they did.

Let’s take time today to consider the eternal significance of Jesus’ voluntary death on the cross. Read these verses in Exodus and praise God for satisfying every intricate detail so that you and I can be saved from the awful consequences of our sin. Let’s worship and adore our Perfect Sacrifice who alone can say, “It is finished!”

Heaven

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John’s Revelation

Think about it: God will wipe away our tears. No more night. No more heartache and sin. No more cares and worries, sickness or death. And we we look upon the One who loves us with a love we cannot fathom right now.

I don’t know if there will be a thousand calendar years before we enjoy our eternal home. It doesn’t really matter if John’s revelation has a material interpretation or whether it is meant to be interpreted spiritually. This book, to me, is about hope.

It’s about redemption. It’s about Jesus and the fact that one day I will be in His Presence! I’ll look into those eyes, study that face, see those nail prints in His hands and know at last I am home.

I have no doubt about that. I know it is a fact because I have died, and God raised me to new life in Him. How? I admitted my sins and repented of them from a humble heart in need of a Savior. I’ve accepted the redeeming work of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and I know I can stand before the Holy God without fear because Jesus paid my death penalty and placed His holiness on me. It wasn’t my doing. It’s all Jesus.

Tomorrow marks a New Year, a new beginning for many. I pray that you will welcome in 2023 with Jesus, your Savior, at your side and in your heart. I pray that you will grow a relationship with Him by reading His Word every day, praying every day, resisting Satan every day.

Who knows if the ball will drop on 2024? It may, or may not. Reading God’s Word reminds me when Jesus returns (and He will) it will be too late to change your mind, too late to repent of sin and accept the Savior. Too late.

There is a heaven for God’s followers. And there is a hell for anyone who hasn’t accepted God’s saving grace.

Choose Jesus. And have a blessed 2023 as His precious child.

For Love

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1 John 4:9-10

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life though him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

I think these are some of the most beautiful verses about Christmas in the Bible. Would you do something? Re-read these verses and insert your name in place of the “us,” and “we,” and “our.” Hear God speak these words to YOU this Christmas day.

The baby whose birth we celebrate today was born for love of you. Yes, YOU!

Merry Christmas!

For The Sake of Christ

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Hebrews 11:24-28

The other day in Good News Club, one of the children asked if Old Testament people went to heaven since they lived before Jesus went to the cross. I said, “Yes. They had to believe in Jesus just like we do, only they called Him the Messiah. they didn’t know His name. But if they put their in faith in God to keep His promise, they went to heaven.”

Then today I read Hebrews 11 and, maybe I’ve seen it before, but Scripture actually says Moses not only believed in Christ, he gave up the treasures of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter to suffer for the sake of Christ. And that was thousands of years before Jesus was born!

Jesus! The baby whose birth the whole world is celebrating this weekend.

Jesus! The real flesh and blood Son of God who went to the cross to redeem us all.

Jesus! Our Savior who lives in heaven preparing a place for all of us who believe.

Jesus didn’t become the Savior. He was always the Savior. And there is no other name anywhere that will bring us to the Father. People have been putting their faith in Jesus since the beginning of time.

Have you?