Tag Archives: salvation

I Samuel 4-6; Faced With The Truth

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I’m not sure why we are not reading about a massive turning to God among the Philistines here in these chapters. When the ark was there, when God’s Presence was among them, they witnessed His Power first hand. They saw their pretend god, Dagon, toppled twice by God. God’s hand was heavy on them, and many people developed tumors, many died.

The Philistines knew the stories of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. They’d heard about the plagues. They’d listened to the many miracles Israel’s God had performed for them in the desert, how many armies God had defeated to bring the Jews to Canaan. Now, they saw the power of Israel’s God up close and personal.

The Philistines acknowledged that God was responsible for the things going on among them. But instead of bowing down before Him, their response was to send Him away. They chose to hang on to a worthless idol, an idol they had to admit was inferior to God. They chose to get rid of the God who had power over their own bodies, and continue on in their devotion to a god that never was a god.

Why?

I wonder the same thing about people who hear the Gospel, yet choose to hang on to some worthless belief instead of running into the arms of the One who loves them beyond understanding, who longs to fellowship with them, and who went to the cross to make that possible.

When faced with the Truth, why cling to a lie?

Father, I pray for all those who will hear the Truth about You today. I pray for pastors of churches where Jesus will be preached as Your Son, the Savior of the world. I pray that hearts will break because of sin when they find themselves face to face with You. Defeat Satan today in a mighty way. And may no one hearing Your Truth choose to hold on to any lie, any false god. But may they fall before You, accept Your grace, and worship You in spirit and in truth.

Samuel 1-3; Knowing God

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Samuel grew up in the church. No, really. He actually lived and grew up right there in the temple. His parents dropped him off there when he was a toddler. 3:1 tells us he “ministered before the Lord under Eli.” The apprentice priest. Samuel’s whole life was spent serving God.

I was struck today that, even after years of doing the right things, Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice when He called. 3:7 tells us why:

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

It reminds me of Matthew 7. Some people in this example were trying to talk God out of sending them to hell, arguing that they had prophesied in the name of the Lord, and had even cast out demons and performed other miracles in God’s name. Shouldn’t that earn them a ticket to heaven?

Jesus tells us that on that day when judgment is declared, God will say to those busy people, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

I hope you are an active, productive member of a Bible believing church. I hope you visit the sick, volunteer in the nursery, mow the lawn, and serve on all kinds of committees that help your fellowship make a difference in your community, to the glory of God.

But let me ask you if you recognize God’s voice. Do you know Him? Have you had that personal, one-on-one conversation with Him, and told Him your heart’s condition? Have you repented of sin, accepted His grace – the work of Jesus on the cross? Are you nurturing a relationship by reading what He wrote to you, by talking to Him, by listening for His voice very day?

Doing things for the Lord is great. But if you’re doing those things without knowing Him, without Him knowing you as His child, hear Him say that He sees you as an evildoer.

Samuel finally recognized God’s voice and said, “Speak Lord. I’m listening.”

I pray you’ll say the same.

Joshua 22-24; Choose

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I wonder how many times Scripture tells us to “choose.” I wonder how often Scripture either explains in words or in examples the blessings associated with choosing God, and the severe consequences for choosing anything else. Never underestimate the importance of your choices.

God’s made His choice. He chose you. He went to the cross for you. He bought your salvation and is willing to shower you with grace.

When the jailer asked Paul what he needed to do to be saved, Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16) In Joshua 24, the Jewish leader told the Jews to “choose today” who they would serve. Would they choose God, or the idols of their neighbors?

Choose Jesus today, my friend. Admit you are a sinner, and receive the forgiveness He died to give you. But let me remind you, if you say you aren’t quite ready to give your life to the Lord today, you’ve made your choice to reject Him today. Don’t do it.

Accept Jesus. Choose to obey Him. Choose today who you will serve.

Joshua 8-10; Wax or Clay?

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The Israelites had a reputation in Canaan. Or rather, the God of Israel had a reputation. The people inhabiting the Promised Land had heard the stories. Plagues in Egypt. Impressive victories in war. The Jordan River crossing. City walls collapsing.

Not only that, but the Canaanites knew the amazing God of the Jews had promised His children their land. If that happened, the Canaanites knew they would lose everything, including their freedom, maybe their lives. What to do?

The Gibeonites decided to go to the Jews and form a treaty. Five other kings decided to join forces to fight the Jews. One king heard the truth and chose surrender. Five kings heard the truth and chose to defy God.

Matthew Henry reminds us the same sun melts wax, and hardens clay.

It’s the same with truth today. I don’t need to give examples. You see it every day on a world-wide level, in our nation, our schools, in some churches, and in hearts of people close to us. We saw it when they hung Jesus on the cross.

Truth: There is ONE GOD, the creator and supreme ruler over all creation. Jesus is GOD’S SON, eternal God in human form. God is HOLY. He demands holiness of anyone who will come to Him. But we have sinned against Him. ALL OF US have sinned against Him. So in and of ourselves, there is NO HOPE, because the penalty for every sin is DEATH, eternal separation from God. But Jesus went to the cross to die, to pay the debt of our sin, of my sin, of your’s. And whether you want to believe it or not, Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to God.

Does that truth melt your heart, or make you angry? Do you want to surrender to God, or deny Him? Do you want to accept the truth, or fight against it?

I hope you’ll read these chapters in Joshua today. Find out for yourself what happens when people surrender, then enjoy God’s protection from the enemy. And find out what happens when people refuse to surrender, when they take up arms against God. They didn’t stand a chance.

Holy God, I surrender. I am a sinner who deserves your wrath. I deserve to die for the sins I’ve committed. But I’ve heard about You, how powerful and awesome You are. And when I hear You say there is only one hope of salvation, I believe it. So, God, I accept Jesus. I repent of sin, I turn my life over to You. Because the truth is, when I stand before You on that day, I don’t want You looking at me, seeing my sin. I want You to look at me and see Jesus. He is my Savior. And He is the Savior of anyone who surrenders to the truth.

Deuteronomy 1-3; “Why” Doesn’t Matter

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I will admit I am a bit disappointed in Moses. As he is teaching an important history lesson to the children of Israel before they finally go into the Promised Land, he says something that is only partially true. He says it in 1:37, then again in 3:26.

“It’s because of YOU,” he tells them, “the Lord was angry with me and won’t let me go with you into Canaan.” Now, while it’s true the Jews had been whining about not having water, their verbal attacks on Moses were not the reason God was angry with him. It was Moses’ own disobedience that resulted in God’s punishment.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. She shared that her son, a man who is celebrating fifteen years sober after many years addicted to drugs and alcohol, doesn’t want anything to do with church. A while back he attended a service, and an elderly saint said something that offended him, so therefore all Christians are judgmental and unkind.

Now being verbally attacked, whether you’re Moses or a recovering addict, is unfair, embarrassing, infuriating. You may have reason to be upset. But the fact of the matter is, when you stand before God, He’s not going to ask you how you felt you were treated by others in this lifetime. He’s not going to ask any of us WHY we refused to obey Him.

The “Why” won’t matter. But the “What” will.

What did you do with my Son? Did you repent of your sins? Did you accept His grace? Did you obey His Words? Did you live your life in such a way that drew others to the Savior?

When you meet Jesus face to face, the only thing that will matter is, does He know you? No excuses. No pointing fingers. Just you and Jesus.

What will you say?

Leviticus 15&16; We Are Healed

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It’s tempting to pass over the chapters that talk about diseases. I certainly don’t like reading them when I’m eating. But I sit here today and consider why God included these instructions to us in His Word.

What do you think? Should we read them, thank God for antibiotics, and move on? Or can there be a lesson we need to learn in 2017 in these verses?

All Scripture is given for inspiration, reproof, correction, instruction. So I’m thinking there’s a lesson here.

It occurs to me that we are all born with a terminal blood disease called sin. Left unchecked, that disease will kill us. But when we get a blood transfusion, so to speak, and have Jesus’ precious blood flowing through our veins, we are miraculously healed! No longer a disgusting disease. Clean!

Sin is not only terminal, but that disease is highly contagious.

So God, through Moses, is telling us to stay away from the disease (sin). Don’t touch it. Don’t take it lightly. Cleanse yourselves and your surroundings to prevent contamination. In other words, don’t put yourself in situations or have things around you that would compromise your spiritual health, that would tempt you to sin.  It’s clear that we live with, and love people who are diseased. But we need to be careful that their disease does not cause us to sin, too.

Isaiah 53:5 came to mind as I was thinking about disease. I have often heard that verse quoted as people claim the promise of healing from cancer, or some other sickness. After all, it says “… by His stripes we are HEALED.”

But when I read the whole verse, Isiah is referring to the sickness of sin:

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (NIV, emphasis mine)

Healed of what? The disease of sin. Our transgressions refer to our terminal heart condition, our iniquities our incurable blood disease. But through Christ, we are healed!

So that’s what I’m taking from reading this chapter this morning. Moses’ instructions help me understand that there are some things I need to do to prevent being contaminated by the world. And it’s pretty consistent with what Paul tells us to do as well. Flee. Resist. Strive. Turn.

I am clean through the blood of Jesus. No longer carrying a terminal disease. I am healed!

 

Exodus 30-31; Five Bucks. Five Bucks.

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Each Jewish adult was required to pay a ransom for his or her life. (30:12) The price was half a shekel, or about 8 grams of silver. So by today’s standards, a life was worth about five bucks. (chabad.org)

A rich person wasn’t worth more than a poor person. A poor person’s debt wasn’t simply forgiven for lack of funds. Men didn’t pay more than women. Healthy not more than the sick.

Five bucks.

This says two things to me. 1) We are all equal in God’s eyes. That may give you warm fuzzies, but the reality is we are all equally guilty in God’s eyes. We all have sinned. We all are his enemies. We are all in need of redemption. But…

2) Jesus paid it all!!

Jesus went to the cross and died once for all. My ransom cost Him exactly what yours did. The wages of sin is death. Jesus died. I’m no more special than you, no more chosen than you, no more loved than you.

Jesus paid my ransom at the same time and in the same way He paid yours. I am forgiven because I’ve accepted His work on the cross and claimed it for my own. I pray you have done the same.

Exodus 27-29; A Step Further

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There were a lot of hoops Aaron and his sons had to jump through before they could do the work of the priests. From the top of their heads to the tip of their toes, from what they ate to where they ate it, from what animal they used in the sacrificed to what they did with every inch of the animal, nothing was left to chance. Their instructions, which were many, were clearly spelled out so the Jews could have their sins forgiven.

But after all that, even if carried out to the letter, the ceremony and sacrifices could only cover their sins, none of it could actually take those sins away. (Heb 10:4)

Only Jesus can do that. (Heb 9:15, 26; Romans 3:23)

Scripture tells us that when Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, He washed our sins away, removed them as far as the east is from the west, buried them in the deepest sea, and promises never to remember them ever again.

What we read in Exodus is a picture of the intricate details Jesus fulfilled. But He went a step further. And I am praising Him today because He did!

Exodus 19-20; Good Folk

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I love knowing that all the Jewish people gathered around the mountain that day actually heard God’s voice. It must have been an incredible and terrifying experience. I love that God spoke to them in their own language, and I love that He came down to them to meet with them on their level. God is so personal.

We Christians know the Law God gave to the Jews wasn’t given as a recipe for acceptance. I am reminded that God was speaking to His already saved people. He had already rescued them from Egypt, and they were already free. They were already the children of God’s promise to Abraham.

The Law was given as a guide for living in Canaan, and ultimately to point them to Jesus. Following the Law has nothing to do with salvation. Oh, it’s a result of salvation. But it can never fulfill the requirements for salvation. It was never intended to.

So when people say they hope they’ve lived a good enough life to get to heaven, or if they are convinced they’re ok because they aren’t as bad as some mass murderer, they are wrong.

The Jews were saved when the blood was applied to their doorposts. It was the blood alone that saved them.

And it’s the Blood still today.

Exodus 17-18; Tap The Rock

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Someone said there is no thirst quite as painful as thirst in a desert. The pounding heat from the sun, the hot sand on your feet, the dry air burning your lungs with every breath can drive a person mad if they have no water. And it doesn’t take long before a person feels the overwhelming thirst in that situation.

Water. Water. Water is the only focus at times like these. And that is what the Jews were experiencing in the desert, when God instructed Moses to take his staff, tap the rock, and watch the refreshing salvation pour out.

Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, says that rock we see in Exodus is a picture of Jesus. If you know Him as your Savior, you most likely have experienced the refreshing that comes when the Holy Spirit is poured out in you, your sins are washed away, and you stand before a Holy God, absolutely clean.

Have you tapped into the Rock? I pray that is so.