God's Son in the Old Testament
�I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.� (Psalm 2:7)
�I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.� (Psalm 2:7)
There are many today (especially Muslims, Jews, and Christian �liberals�) who are monotheists, believing in one supreme God but rejecting the deity of Christ. They argue that the doctrine that Jesus was the unique Son of God was invented by the early Christians and that the God of the Old Testament had no Son. Orthodox Jews in particular emphasize Deuteronomy 6:4: �Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.�
The fact is, however, that there are a number of Old Testament verses that do speak of God�s only begotten Son. Note the following brief summary.
First, there is God�s great promise to David: �I will set up thy seed after thee, . . . I will be his father, and he shall be my son. . . . thy throne shall be established for ever� (2 Samuel 7:12, 14, 16).
Consider also the rhetorical questions of Agur. �Who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son�s name, if thou canst tell?� (Proverbs 30:4).
Then there are the two famous prophecies of Isaiah, quoted so frequently at Christmastime. �Behold, a [literally �the�] virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [meaning �God with us�]� (Isaiah 7:14). �For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace� (Isaiah 9:6).
Perhaps the most explicit verse in this connection is our text. �The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son� (Psalm 2:7). Then this marvelous Messianic psalm concludes with this exhortation: �Kiss the Son, . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in him� (Psalm 2:12). HMM
Because He Loves Us - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. -John 11:6
Lazarus was sick. But instead of going to see him in Bethany, Jesus intentionally waited two more days. Then He arrived in Bethany a full four days after Lazarus had died.
Sometimes it might seem as though Jesus is completely indifferent to our troubles. He might not do what we're expecting Him to do.
As Martha and Mary were waiting for Jesus to heal their brother Lazarus, maybe they thought, "He's going to let us down. Maybe prayer doesn't work."
But John 11:5 tells us, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Jesus delayed His arrival, yet we read that He loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
In the original language, the word for loved is the Greek word agape. It speaks of a sacrificial, agonizing love that loves a person in spite of his or her lovability.
It's the same word used in John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus died for every person. God loves us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our lovability.
Interestingly, when Martha and Mary sent word that Lazarus was sick, they said, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick" (John 11:3). The word they used for love is the Greek word phileo, from which we get our English word Philadelphia. It speaks of "brotherly love," the love that a friend has for a friend.
Martha and Mary were thinking only of friendship, but Jesus was thinking of sacrificial love. They were thinking only of their temporal comfort, but Jesus was thinking of their eternal benefit. They wanted a healing; He wanted a resurrection. He wanted to do above and beyond that which they could ask or think.
The Priority of Relationship
Revelation 2:1-7Ephesuswas the home of a tremendous ministry. Despite harsh persecution, the church planted by Paul endured opposition, spread the gospel, and was quick to challenge false prophets. But 30 years after the apostle left, John’s revelation included a stern warning for those believers.
Imagine how the words of Revelation 2 must have struck the Ephesians when they read them. After complimenting their service to the gospel, Christ said, “But I have this against you . . .” That phrase was no doubt extremely disconcerting. The Lord warned them that they had left their first love. In other words, all of their work was being done with wrong motives.
Christ called the Ephesians to remember their love for Him and their delight in His salvation. Service is no substitute for an intimate relationship, but modern believers continue to fall into this subtle trap. The commendable things that we do count for nothing unless they stem from a vibrant personal connection with God. Our work can’t be effective or fruitful unless He is in it.
In fact, God is more interested in you and your personal relationship with Him than in a thousand lifetimes of good works. He desires to be the satisfaction and delight of His children so that their service is a result of loving devotion.
There are plenty of wrong reasons to labor for the kingdom. However, God is satisfied only with service motivated by love for Him. He wants those with selfish intentions to return to their first love. In that way, hearts and minds can be renewed, and service to the Lord will be more fruitful.
His Word Is with Power
“And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” (Luke 4:32)
Recognizing God's Handiwork
Psalms 33:3-11
The work God does is creative. He made heaven, earth, and all living creatures. He formed Adam and Eve in His image and knitted each of us in our mother's womb.
His work is also powerful. Through His Son Jesus, He accomplished a great salvation for all who trust in the Savior. Our heavenly Father worked mightily to open a way for us to be reconciled to Him and adopted into His family. Not only that, but God's work is ongoing, and Jesus is the One who holds all things together (Col. 1:17).
In order to recognize God's handiwork, we need to pray in an active, persistent manner. Christ-centered prayers narrow our focus to the Lord. Then we can more readily identify His actions and see how to join Him. Self-centered petitions serve to distract us from Him.
The Father also wants our heart and mind yielded to His will. Pursuing our own agenda shifts the focus to ourselves and makes us lose sight of the Lord. But a submissive attitude prepares us to listen and obey. Regularly concentrating on God's Word will clear our minds and help us understand what the Lord is doing.
When we combine these disciplines with discernment and patience, we will have positioned ourselves to discover how God is working in our lives and in our world.
Our Lord is at work today--calling nonbelievers to saving faith and the redeemed to a closer walk with Him. His plans include individuals, families, and nations. Have you been too busy or distracted to notice what He's doing? Confess your inattention and refocus your heart and mind on Him.
LEARNING ABOUT CATASTROPHE
2 Peter 2:4-5
"For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgement, and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly�"
The great Flood at the time of Noah was more than simply the world's biggest rainstorm. Scripture paints the picture of an upheaval across the face of the Earth that combined floods, landslides, volcanoes and earthquakes. As the ground literally danced with earthquakes of unimaginable intensity, hills and mountains would have flowed like pudding.
Is it possible that modern science has been blind to evidences of such upheaval? A few generations ago, geologists who believe in evolution saw no notable evidence of any great floods on Earth. Gradually they began to conclude that much of our sedimentary rock is the result of great floods.
More recently, they have started to notice evidence that mountains can literally collapse and flow like pudding. Some landslides are simple landslides where part of a mountain collapses. But sometimes the collapse turns into a flow that travels for many miles, even across flat ground. Take, for example, the Blackhawk slide at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. Here, a mass of marble fell 1.5 kilometers down and then flowed another 9 kilometers across the nearly flat desert. One description says that it looks as if the mountain simply turned to chocolate milk. Once scientists understood that this happens, they began to recognize evidence showing that this phenomenon is not unusual.
As our scientific knowledge increases, the history recorded in the Bible becomes more dramatically illustrated � not disproved!
I pray, Lord, that as we near the time of Your return, I would be prepared, as was Noah for the flood. Help me to more intensely make my preparations, beginning today, so that I will not be caught unaware. Let my trust never waver from the forgiveness of sins that You have won for me. Amen.
Monastersky, Richard. 1992. "When mountains fall." Science News, v. 142, Aug. 29. p. 136.
God Is at Work
John 5:16-19
Throughout the Bible, we observe God at work in people's lives. Sometimes He acts in dramatic fashion, as in parting the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape the Egyptian army. At other times it may appear as if He's not taking any action. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother needed His help, but Christ delayed before traveling to their home (John 11:3-6).
Our Father has given us the Holy Spirit to help us recognize His presence and handiwork. The Spirit cultivates spiritual discernment in us so we can understand when and where He's at work.
In addition to spiritual discernment, we must develop patience because the Lord operates according to His timetable, not ours. After being promised numerous descendants, Abrahan had to wait until he and Sarah were beyond childbearing years before she conceived. Impatience can cause us to take matters into our own hands and make mistakes.
The Lord's efforts can bring delight, as was the case when Hannah bore a child (1 Sam. 1:27-2:1). His plan can also lead through painful times, which was Joseph's experience. Before the Lord elevated him to a position of authority to help his family, Joseph was sold into slavery and unjustly imprisoned.
Jesus told the disciples that His Father was always at work and so was He. We will be encouraged and strengthened in our faith when we recognize the ways in which God is operating. These glimpses of His handiwork will motivate us to stay the course and help us maintain a godly perspective on life.
The Mystery of Darkness
�And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.� (Revelation 22:5)
Resting in the Faithfulness of God
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
When plans are frustrated or life just seems to fall apart in some way, people often wonder, Has God deserted me? Why hasn't He answered my prayers? The Bible offers encouragement for such times by assuring us of the Father's faithfulness: "Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Deut 7:9).
Five attributes of God make this possible. First, He is omniscient, which means He knows everything, including our every need, thought, frailty, desire, and life situation in the past, present, and future. Next, the Lord is omnipotent, or all-powerful, so nothing is too hard for Him (Jer. 32:17). Then, He is omnipresent--since He exists everywhere at once, He is never beyond reach.
In addition, our heavenly Father cannot lie. Everything that He says is true and reliable. And lastly, God is unchanging. Our circumstances and the world around us may seem to be in a constant state of flux, and the Lord may even modify the way He chooses to interact with mankind in different generations. But His character is always the same. So when Scripture tells us that God is faithful, we can rest confidently upon that promise.
Circumstances can be painful. But even when situations seem overwhelming, believers can trust that our sovereign Lord knows all, is in control, and lovingly works everything for His children's good. We can rest confidently knowing that the unchanging God of all creation is taking care of us.
The Word of the King
�Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?� (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
Seeking Guidance
Psalms 25:4-5
When you're facing a decision, whether big or small, it is important to wait upon God for His direction and timing. And though it may sound paradoxical, there are three ways that we can take an active role in the process while we wait.
First, we should examine our heart, asking the Holy Spirit to expose any wrongs. If He brings something to light, it is important to take care of that sin immediately--by confessing, repenting, and doing whatever's needed to correct the situation. At times we push this task aside because the impending decision seems like our main concern. Yet we cannot hear from God or receive His full blessing until we deal with transgression.
Second, when seeking direction, we should listen patiently and attentively for the Lord to give the go-ahead. It can be difficult to wait, especially when emotions or logic lead us to favor one choice.
Third, the answer to our prayer at times requires our involvement. For instance, when people tell me they're out of work and trusting God to provide, I always want to know if they are actively looking for a job. Some are not; they are simply praying. We have responsibility not only to present God with requests and seek His guidance but also to be active in the process. Waiting on God is not an excuse to be lazy.
Prayer is a beautiful privilege that the heavenly Father gives to His children. He desires to lead us into a life of abundance. We should take an active part in seeking His will and listening for His voice. As we follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, we will experience all that the Lord has for us.
By Any Means
�And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.� (Acts 27:12)
Acquiring Wisdom
Proverbs 4:20-27
The most obvious source of godly wisdom is the Bible. You cannot think of a question or life circumstance about which God�s Word is silent. His principles for right character, conduct, and conversation apply to every situation and decision confronting human beings.
We�re all able to recall times when we didn�t respond wisely. Those incidents can be traced back to one of two possibilities--either we didn�t know a certain biblical principle or we knew the principle that applied but chose to ignore or violate it. To ensure that we� are familiar with God�s standards and the importance of following them, we�ve got to dig into His Word.
For example, suppose that you walk into the office and a coworker verbally assaults you with undeserved blame for a costly mistake. Your flesh and the world would have you respond in kind with anger and malice. But Luke 6:27-29 offers a different approach, that might go something like this: �Is there anything else? Thank you for telling me how you feel� (spoken gently).
Knowledge comes from learning biblical principles; wisdom has to do with applying them. The Lord cautions us to keep His Word in our heart and in our heads so that we will heed His instructions (Ps. 119:11; Prov. 8:33).
Wisdom is acquired as we pursue the Christian life--absorbing Scripture, doing what it says, and observing the result, which is for our good even when consequences appear less than favorable. Special classes aren�t required; God simply wants obedient hearts and a willing spirit.
Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ's Work, Not Mohammed's
by John Piper
What we saw in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.
If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads" (Psalm 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).
When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).
This was not true of Muhammad. And Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion."1[1] Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do... We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the cross."2[2] An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross.
That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).
The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.
How should his followers respond? On the one hand, we are grieved and angered. On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace his suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did his work by being insulted, we must do ours likewise.
When Muhammad was portrayed in twelve cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the uproar across the Muslim world was intense and sometimes violent. Flags were burned, embassies were torched, and at least one Christian church was stoned. The cartoonists went into hiding in fear for their lives, like Salman Rushdie before them. What does this mean?
It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).
1[1] Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Nairobi: Usima Press, 1980), p. 141.
2[2] Quoted from The Muslim World in J. Dudley Woodberry, editor, Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1989), p.164.
Statement of Christ's PurposeIf Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads" (Psalm 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).
When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).
This was not true of Muhammad. And Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion."1[1] Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do... We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the cross."2[2] An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross.
That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).
The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.
How should his followers respond? On the one hand, we are grieved and angered. On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace his suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did his work by being insulted, we must do ours likewise.
When Muhammad was portrayed in twelve cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the uproar across the Muslim world was intense and sometimes violent. Flags were burned, embassies were torched, and at least one Christian church was stoned. The cartoonists went into hiding in fear for their lives, like Salman Rushdie before them. What does this mean?
It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).
1[1] Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Nairobi: Usima Press, 1980), p. 141.
2[2] Quoted from The Muslim World in J. Dudley Woodberry, editor, Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1989), p.164.
�For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.� (John 13:15)
The Terror of the Lord
�Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.� (2 Corinthians 5:11)
A Full Life - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. -Isaiah 53:3
Jesus Christ was, according to the Bible, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He knows and understands the pain and hurt deep inside your soul when you have lost someone you love.
John 11:35 tells us, "Jesus wept." Tears rolled down His cheeks, tears of sympathy for Mary and Martha for all the sorrow that is caused by sin and death. And in that sense, Jesus has wept with us as well.
Death never was God's plan in the beginning. But now, because of the entrance of sin into the human race, all of us will die one day. Some will live longer than others, but we all will die. And we think the greatest tragedy is when someone dies young. While this is an extreme tragedy, I don't think it is the ultimate tragedy. I think the ultimate tragedy is when a life has been lived to its entire length and has been entirely wasted and squandered on sin.
I think of the words of Jim Elliot, who was a modern-day martyr of the faith, put to death as he tried to bring the gospel to a tribe in Ecuador known at the time as the Aucas. Jim was lanced through with a spear, and wrapped around that spear was one of the gospel tracts he and missionary pilot Nate Saint had dropped over their village from the air. In his journal Jim Elliot had written, "I seek not a long life but a full one like Yours, Lord Jesus."
We think that length of life is the ultimate goal. And yes, it's good to live long. But what is more important is to live right, to do what is right before God. What is more important is to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
God Goes With You - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. -Daniel 1:7
Nebuchadnezzar could change their names, but he couldn't change their hearts. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a God to serve and a stand to make.
The powerful king had made the call for some of Israel's finest young men. He wanted the brightest and the best. He wanted to indoctrinate and brainwash them in the ways of Babylon. And he wanted them to abandon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and worship the gods of Babylon instead.
Ancient Babylon was a wonder to behold, filled with jaw-dropping opulence. Yet there was no reverence for the Lord in that place. Everyone cowered in fear in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar.
It is believed by many commentators that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were somewhere between the ages of 14 and 19. They were good Jewish boys who had been raised by their parents in the way of the Lord. But their world, as they knew it, changed overnight. Torn away from their families, they were placed in an alien culture of paganism and unparalleled luxury. Up to that point, they would have lived in simple conditions. But they suddenly found themselves in the palace of the most powerful man on earth.
Maybe your world has changed recently. Maybe you were going a certain direction and have unexpectedly found yourself on a different path. Maybe you recently headed to college, and it is an entirely new world for you-and not exactly a world that is supportive of your Christian values. Maybe your business has sent you to a different city, or maybe you are stationed overseas. Here is what you need to know: Wherever you go, God goes with you. He doesn't live in one place; He is present with all His children. And He hasn't forgotten about you.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.