Tag: redeemed

Worship, Our Present and Our Future

In the apostle John’s vision that he is given on the island of Patmos, he sees people from every nation singing praises to Christ. This is a picture of what it will be like in heaven. God’s message of salvation through faith in Christ is not limited by race, ethnicity, culture or national origin. What a beautiful picture of eternal life!

All these people are singing to praise the work of Jesus. He was killed so that he could pay a ransom for our souls with his own blood. He gathered us into a kingdom. He turned all of us into priests who serve him. And one day we will reign with him in the new heavens and the new earth.

Worship is a beautiful privilege. It’s something we get to enjoy now, and by God’s grace, something we will enjoy forever in heaven.

Jesus makes all of that possible. More than that, actually. Jesus makes it all a present and future reality.

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10, NIV).

Lord, thank you for redeeming me and giving me every reason in the world to thank and praise you. I will worship you now, and eternally, for all that you have done for me.

Our Bible reading for Monday, December 14, is Esther 9:1 – 10:3, Revelation 5:1-14 and Proverbs 30:11-23.

Header image based on "Worship" by Ashley Campbell, CC By 2.0

Live By Faith

There are really only two possible paths to God. One path works. The other does not.

One is the path of attempting to leverage the commandments and striving to be worthy. Rely on yourself. Obey the rules. Work hard. Be a good person.

The other is the path of faith. Not leveraging, but leaning. Not striving, but receiving.

This path involves relying on Jesus. He has obeyed for you. He has done all the work. Because of his perfect life, sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection, you already are counted as a good person in the eyes of God. You are worthy, by faith.

The first path — the path of works — is a deceptive and dangerous dead end, because to reach God by this path you must have a perfect record. Falling short is not allowed. Missing the mark is not permitted. No mulligans. No second chances.

This cursed path ends not with God, but in death. Because by the dictates of the law that is the only thing we are worthy of.

The second path — the path of faith — trusts that the perfect record already exists. But it also recognizes that this perfection does not exist with us. This side of heaven, it never will. It only exists with Jesus.

For sinners like us, this is the only path. Because we need forgiveness every day. We need chance upon chance upon chance upon chance. And God’s grace in Jesus Christ provides us with just that. Jesus is the only path — the only way — that any of us will ever need.

So live! By faith in him.

“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because ‘the righteous will live by faith'” (Galatians 3:10-11, NIV).

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my path to a restored relationship with God. Thank you for forgiveness, mercy and life — all as gifts of your grace. Send your Holy Spirit and grant me the gift of faith, so that I may receive and hold on to these wonderful gifts. I want to live by faith in you.

Our Bible reading for Thursday, September 17, is Isaiah 41:1 – 42:25, Galatians 3:10-25 and Proverbs 22:28 – 23:9.

Header image based on "The Narrow Path" by rabiem22, CC By 2.0

Come Out of The Hole

Imagine solitary confinement in “The Hole,” the darkest of dark cells. You can’t see, because there is absolutely no light in your windowless cell. You are under a sentence of death. The prison warden and all the jailers clearly enjoy their work. They are brutal and violent.

There are no friends here, only enemies.

This is the picture that Isaiah uses to portray our natural condition under sin. But now, imagine that jail door opening and the light streaming in. God has sent his Holy Spirit. He enters our dark prison cell through the teaching of the gospel.

He removes our chains, opens the cell door, leads us out past all the jailers and the warden himself. He takes us past the main gate of the prison out into the full light of day.

We are amazed. And we feel so grateful to lift our faces up to that warm sun, to see the blue sky, to enjoy the sight of the trees and the grass, to pull in a deep breath of fresh air. It’s an utterly transforming moment.

Isaiah puts it this way: “He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron” (Psalm 107:14-16, NIV).

Hundreds of years later, the apostle Paul personally experienced this transforming moment.

Paul knew the cell in which his wrong-headed Pharisee beliefs had once kept him. He knew the chains of trying live the “exemplary, perfect life” meant for humans to witness and praise. He knew the darkness of trying to earn and win his own way into God’s heart by being good and living righteously.

In fact, Paul even knew what it was like to be a collaborator with the prison officials and had at one time persecuted those who believed in Christ.

Then came his release from all that. Then came Jesus — on the road to Damascus — personally challenging him to walk out of that prison with him. Then came the Holy Spirit into his imprisoned heart to release him into the light.

“I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they praised God because of me” (Galatians 1:22-24, NIV).

Are you prepared for the total change that the Holy Spirit wants to bring about in your heart? Are you ready to come entirely out of your dark cell and live a Spirit-transformed life?

What “gates of bronze” or “bars of iron” do you need your gracious God to break down for you?

As Isaiah promised, and as Paul experienced, God wants you out of that dark prison cell. He wants you fully walking in the light. He wants you to experience the joy of freedom, and the peace that comes from knowing — as Isaiah words it — “the Lord’s unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”

Lord Jesus, lead me out of the dark prison cell of sin. Forgive me for the wrong I have done. Change my heart and my mind. Break down the gates of bronze and the bars of iron that limit me from being transformed into your image, so that you may be praised for the work of change done in me.

Our Bible reading for Monday, September 14, is Isaiah 33:1 – 35:10, Galatians 1:1-24 and Psalm 107:10-22.

Header image based on "the hole" by sean hobson, CC By 2.0

God’s Outstretched Arm

This was no small problem Moses was facing. His job was to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. But Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world, was a tad resistant to the idea.

Pharaoh had plenty of authority to back up his desire to keep the Israelites enslaved. In fact, when the Israelites requested a short leave so they could worship God, Pharaoh felt completely comfortable doubling down on the Israelites and increasing their workload instead. What were the puny Israelites going to do about it?

Moses was supposed to be helping the Israelites gain their freedom, and it seemed like all his efforts were merely increasing their servitude instead. Moses’ efforts only served to stretch the problem out further.

We’re not discussing your everyday, garden-variety problem here. We’re talking real problems. Big problems.

Do you have any problems like that? I’m talking about the type of problem that makes you feel far more like a slave than a person who’s been freed in Christ. I’m referring to the kind of problem in which the solution only seems to make matters worse. This is the sort of problem that comes with built-in, huge resistance to change.

Do you know what the beauty of these problems is? Eventually we come to the realization that we can’t solve them in our own wisdom or strength. Only God can.

Big problems are the precursor to witnessing God step in to create a big solution.

The Israelites slavery in Egypt was that kind of problem. Our slavery to sin is that kind of problem, too. On both occasions, God responded with the perfect solution. And it was a solution only God could provide.

Because the stretched-out problems we face demand the power of God’s outstretched arm.

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” (Exodus 6:6-8, NIV).

Lord, how awesome to know that whenever I’m facing a big problem in life, you are there to deliver me. It’s not all up to me to discover and implement the solution. My wisdom and strength are not nearly as important as your wisdom and strength, as you pointed out to Moses. Help me to rest in the power of your outstretched arm and find peace in knowing I am your very own.

Our Bible reading for Monday, February 9, is Exodus 4:1 – 6:12, Matthew 26:31-46 and Proverbs 4:10-19.

Header image based on "Embrace the City" by Mill, CC by-SA 2.0

Temple Project

The temple in Jerusalem had to be rebuilt at the end of the exile in Babylon. God called the Jewish governor, Zerubbabel, to play an important role in this rebuilding (Haggai 2:23). God instructed Zerubbabel through the prophet Zechariah that the beginning of the temple project would be all-important. It would determine success or failure.

“Then he said to me, ‘This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies… Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand'” (Zechariah 4:6, 10a, NLT).

Because Jesus redeemed us at a high price, our bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So with 2015 rapidly approaching, we can begin right away on our own “temple project” for the new year. What a great approach God gives us through Zechariah too!

  1. Success in building the temple is by no means impossible for me.
  2. I won’t rely on my own force or strength, but the Holy Spirit’s.
  3. Small beginnings are important. I won’t downplay them.
  4. Grab the tools (God’s spiritual “plumb line” = word and sacrament) I need and get going right away with the first task.

What a great encouragement to continue reading our Bibles daily in 2015. God rejoices to see the “plumb line” in our hand!

Our reading for Saturday, December 27, is Zechariah 4:1 – 6:15, Psalm 148:1-6, Proverbs 30:24-28 and Revelation 17:1-18.