April 8, 2017
At least four spiritual principles were taught in this parable. 1. The Lord will come again.
2. The Lord might return unexpectantly at any time.
3. Faithfulness means being dependable to fulfill the responsibilities to which the Master has called you.
4. Faithfulness is based on what you do with the gifts God has given you. “To whom much is given, much is required.”
As the Lord asked Moses from the burning bush, “What’s that in your hand?” So, He asks you, “What are you doing with the calling and gifts I have given you?”
Will you be found to be a faithful and wise steward?
April 7, 2017
Moses was 120 years old when he passed the reins of leadership to Joshua. He was forty years a prince of Egypt, forty years a shepherd of Midian and forty years leading Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Now his job was finished. Moses, the Lawgiver and the Levite, had led Israel to the Promised Land, but Joshua, the faithful servant of Moses, from the tribe of Judah, was the one to lead them into it.
Two spiritual types are seen in these two men. Moses represents God’s law. And Joshua, whose name means, “Jehovah’s salvation,” represents Jesus (essentially the same name in Hebrew: Joshua – “Yehoshua” and Jesus – “Yeshua”). The law can only lead one to salvation, but is powerless to save. Whereas, Jesus saves.
The apostle Paul described this relationship between law and Christ (i.e. “grace”). He said that the law was like a “tutor” leading us to our need for Christ (Gal. 3:24), but was “powerless” to save us. Therefore, God sent Jesus.
“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering” (Rom. 8:3).
April 6, 2017
After warning his disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Jesus warned that ultimately all things that people have sought to cover up or hide, will be exposed. Our public persona will have its mask removed. As the Lord warned the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num.32:23).
Better to confess and repent of all sin, willingly exposing it to the light of Christ, so that you no longer walk in darkness. As the apostle John taught, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
April 5, 2017
Hearing the words that Jesus taught, a woman in the crowd shouted out that the mother of such a son must surely be blessed. Jesus did not correct her, but he did redirect her to the true source of blessing, namely, the Word of God. Rather than visualizing what a blessing it would be to have been the mother of such a son, Jesus wanted the woman to hear and believe the Word of God that he was teaching. In other words, Jesus told the woman that she didn’t have to be his mother to be blessed, she, and all those present, could experience God’s blessing by hearing and keeping the Word.
Many today tend to focus on secondary details of the gospel. They recognize the goodness of Jesus and the excellence of his words and work. Perhaps they even imagine what it would have been like to be one of his disciples. Yet, they do not believe and receive his Word. If only they would “hear” and “keep” it, then they would become, as the woman in the crowd seemed to desire, Christ’s “brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).
April 4, 2017
Does God give good gifts when we ask? Can we trust His response to our prayers? If we give ourselves fully to Him in prayer, will He test us with things we don’t want and take away things that we do?
Jesus answered these implied questions by asking His own, “If a son asks any father among you for bread, or fish, or eggs, will he give a rock for bread, a serpent for fish, or a scorpion for an egg?”
I’m sure His hearers must’ve responded with laughter at the ridiculous imagery of His rhetorical questions. “Certainly not!” They no doubt replied.
Jesus taught us to ask, seek, and knock in prayer expecting the Father to answer. We need not worry whether such persistence might cause the Father to give us hurtful or undesirable gifts. For if a sinful, mortal father knows how to give good, certainly the righteous God will give not only good gifts, but even the “Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Never doubt the Father’s love and care for you. You can depend on Him to meet your needs when you ask. More than that, He knows your deepest need, namely, the Holy Spirit. For God has sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself, so that we might be adopted into His family by the Spirit of adoption, that we might truly be called children of God.
April 3, 2017
The one whose word and deed is marked by wisdom and diligence will be “satisfied with good” and receive appropriate “recompense.” Yet, when has the world seen such a one who has both? In truth, the Lord Jesus is the only One who has demonstrated both word and deed in perfect balance and beauty.
As regards word, even the temple guards sent to arrest Jesus reported, “Never has anyone spoken like this man!” (John 7:46).
And as regards deed, the multitude who witnessed Jesus causing the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, were astonished and said, “He has done all things well!” (Mark 7:37).
Those who would be truly “satisfied,” and receive a desirable “recompense,” will trust in Christ’s word and work, rather than their own. As the apostle Paul wrote, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).
April 2, 2017
When Jesus sent out the Seventy to preach, he gave them instructions concerning whom they should look for as they entered a new town. He called this person, a “son of peace.” Today, missionaries refer to this as the “Person of Peace Principle.”
Pastor and seminary professor, Dr. Tom Wolf, has described this principle. He says that the missionary entering a new country or town should prayerfully look for a person identified by three “R”s. These three “R”s are:
– Receptivity (A person who is receptive to the gospel).
– Reputation (A person well-known in the community).
– Referral (A person who is ready to refer you to others).
When a person of peace is found, stay with them. Focus your ministry on them. God will use them to reach their community with the gospel.
April 1, 2017
Desire and thirst both seek satisfaction. The psalmist was once envious of the boasting and prosperity of the wicked, and didn’t understand why God allowed it. Yet, he brought his concern to the Lord and received fresh understanding. In the place of his envy for what others had, the Lord gave him a new thirst, a new desire for God Himself. He lifted his eyes to heaven and saw the rich portion that was his, namely, the Lord.
All things on earth will fade. Our bodies will fail. Why thirst for things that do not satisfy? Why be envious of things that will not last? Instead, let your desire be for the Lord. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus, who said from the cross, “I thirst” (John 19:28), so that we might find our deepest desire satisfied in Him.
March 31, 2017
The month of Abib was the month that the Lord had delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was therefore to be counted as the first month of the Hebrew year. Since the religious celebrations given by Moses were linked to certain times of the year, it became the role of the priests to certify the beginning of each new month based on the lunar cycle. The word “month” and “moon” are cognates in both the Hebrew and English language, and since the lunar cycle is 29.5 days, announcing the start of a new month was both science and art.
The word “Abib” means “fresh heads of grain,” or “green ears,” referring to the time of the year when crops of grain begin to come to a head. Today’s Jewish calendar no longer uses the name “Abib,” using the name “Nisan” in its place, which has been in use since the time when the Jews were released from Babylonian captivity (see Esther 3:7). The month of Abib corresponds to our months of March/April. Since the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle and our calendar is based on the solar cycle, the date for Passover varies each year, and with it, the date for Easter does as well.
Passover was to be always celebrated in the month of Abib to remind Israel how the Lord had “passed-over” the homes whose doors were covered with the blood of the Passover lamb. This foreshadowed Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was given for the sins of the world.
So, the timing of the celebration for Jewish Passover and Christian Easter are linked. And their dates continue to move around in our modern calendar. This explains the 35-day span where Easter can occur (March 22 – April 25, inclusive).
It was in the month of Abib, meaning “new heads of grain,” that Jesus fulfilled His saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:23-24).
March 30, 2017
Do you have a retirement plan?
The psalmist asked that the Lord not forget him when he became old and weak. He knew that the Lord had cared for him since birth, but he wanted to be sure that the Lord wouldn’t forget him in his final days.
As we age, we die by degree. Our sight needs correction and our hearing fades. Our joints lose flexibility and our hair grays. Each day seems to hold a new decrease and decline. Yet, we may still increase in the Lord! The time of old age can be a time of spiritual advance. While the body fails, the spirit may soar on eagle’s wings in the strength of our God.