Truth, Justice and the Godly Way©

And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Revelation 5:11, 12 (New American Standard Bible)


If you’re old enough to recall the 1950s then you may remember the half-hour television show “Super Man.” He was known as the “Man of Steel” and could do most anything to catch law breakers without being injured. He was the hero of America and as the show’s beginning narration went he protected “truth, justice and the American way.” He was a super hero who could always be called on to right the wrong done in his city of “Metropolis.”

As we see what is happening in the world any normal person can’t help but be alarmed. Truth is subjective to people’s agendas and justice is being perverted by those with power while the strong prey on the weak physically and financially. Cheaters are prospering. In the last few decades we’ve seen wholesome virtues run into the ground with evil seeming to flourish. Will it ever change for the better and fulfill the longing of human beings in every part of the earth? I have bad news followed by extremely good news. The bad news is as long as sinful men and women control the nations governments that harm and take advantage of its citizens evil will continue. The good news is a Man is coming who will ensure that truth, justice and the Godly way are restored. The Man who will bring this Godly society into being is Jesus Christ.

When He sets up His rule from Jerusalem as the King of the Earth, righteousness will reign. The weak will be protected by the rule of the saints of God (Revelation 20:4). There will be no more harm in all the earth by man or even the animal kingdom (Isaiah 65:25). The good care of mankind will be evident everywhere and people will want for nothing. Those who try to cheat, rob and steal will be dealt with under the righteous rule of the saints of God. It is sad that there is so much harm and cruelty being committed by the human race but in the plan of eternity it is momentary. There will be peace only when the Prince of Peace brings it. We wait with the greatest longing to see Him. Meanwhile let us be patient and think of how God has everything in His sight and nothing moves without His consent. We don’t need the man of steel. Jesus Christ is better, stronger and wiser in the eternal scheme of things. He will bring truth, justice and the Godly way and what He changes for the good will last forever.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Who Does God Think He is?

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?” Job 38:1, 2 (New American Standard Bible)


We all know the story of the most unfortunate man in the Bible; that of the godly man Job. He suffered tremendous agonies at the hand of Satan and became so worn down with travail and grief toward the end of his trial that he began to question God’s motives for his life.

It is surprising how many think they know better than the most powerful, wise Sovereign of the universe. God is perfect in all He does, including His understanding and wisdom. He sees beyond the present to situations that will bring growth that could lead us to seek Him with greater thankfulness and hope. People (including many Christians) are too quick to second guess God’s choices for their lives and the lives of others with such statements as “If I were God I would have done it this way” suggesting He had no clue as to what He was doing. When we look at that statement in its framework the absurdity of it is more than apparent. It could be likened to Peter telling Jesus when the Lord spoke of going to His crucifixion, “Not so, Lord! (Matthew 16:22).” How can you say no to Him if He is Lord?

The Lord goes on to question Job’s flawed concept of Him. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth!” He goes on asking penetrating question after question (Job Chapters 38, 39 & 40) making it plain to Job no one has the authority to rightly judge the things God does for He is the Perfect Ultimate in the entire universe. One of the most penetrating questions from God is “Will you really annul my judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified (Job 40:8)?” Job had nothing more to say except to confess his wrong conclusion of the Lord. God wants us to ask questions about Him but that’s much different than questioning His character. Since He is God He knows all things and how to handle them perfectly. Challenging God is giving darkened counsel with words without knowledge. God’s answer to Job reveals exactly who He is. Asking God who He thinks He is might be turned around with Him asking “Who do you really think I am?”

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Other Side of the Coin

But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:7 (New American Standard Bible)

The flipping of a coin to decide an issue goes far back into history. The Romans called the practice “navia aut caput” (ship and head) as a ship was imprinted on one side of the coin and the head of the emperor on the other. The British called it “Cross and Pile.” The cross was on one side of the coin while the bottom part of the die used to cast the coin was on the opposite side.

There are two sides to God’s coin that describes His nature and being. In flipping that coin many people expect it to come up on the “God is Love” side every time, meaning He will overlook sin and rebellion and be a benign Grandfather who looks the other way when sin is present or being practiced. In reality God’s greatest perfection is in His holiness. We cannot even imagine how much He hates sin and how harsh is His judgment of it. Because of that He absolutely abhors any blemish or spiritual impurity and there is always a penalty for it that must be paid.

In the biblical history of mankind the story is told that God’s perfect creation was disfigured by sin and rebellion. In the next thoughts following that tragedy God offers Himself as the ultimate payment for sin (Genesis 3:15) and those who believe in what He did for them will receive clemency while He takes the full brunt of His wrath against it.

While one side of heaven’s coin has a picture on it of God’s great love the other side depicts God’s hatred of sin and His wrath toward it. While He is a God of love He is also a God of justice and demands accountability and a payment for guiltiness. It goes against what human nature desires but if we are to believe in God then it is how His personality and being exist in eternity. He hates sin and will deal with it in the harshest terms. The good news is on the top side of the coin is the head of Christ the King who satisfied God’s demand for justice by shedding His blood on the cross of Calvary. In this interesting commentary when someone flips that coin in faith it comes up heads every time.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Right to Title

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36 (New American Standard Bible)

This week I’ve been contemplating the titles accorded to Jesus Christ. They are many and all are self-explanatory. He is:

The Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of David, the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star, the Alpha and the Omega, the Root and the Stem of Jesse, the I Am, the Lamb of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Resurrection and the Life, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Counselor, Teacher, Lord, God, Master, Healer, Emmanuel, Savior, the Logos of God, Messiah, Prophet, King of the Jews, the Second Adam, the Christ, High Priest, Head of the Church, the Bride Groom, Chief Corner Stone, the Sheep’s Gate, Firstborn Over all Creation, Anointed One, Judge, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Firstborn from Among the Dead, the Light of the World, the Word of Life, Lord of All, True God, Bread of Life, Author and Finisher of Our Faith, The Holy One of Israel, Deliverer, Good Shepherd, Mediator, Rock, the True Vine, the Way the Truth and the Life, the Door, Friend.

These are titles given to the Ultimate Human Being who is 100% God and 100% man. He is the One who mediates for us to God the Father. Who could stand for us more fully to the Father than another fellow human being? Who can represent us to God more perfectly than the purest human being in the universe? We have an Advocate with the Father who represents us, defends us against satanic attack and promotes our greatest interests all the time. He understands us to the very core because He became one of us and lived with us in this dirty environment called Earth.

His many titles have always been, are now and will forever be. They characterize the Word made flesh. He has demonstrated He has the right to bear them. In all of this there is one title that is particularly personal to us as His church; it is the title of friend. With all His majesty and splendor and regal titles this Mighty King speaks to us as His own beloved. He invites us to dine with Him. He says “I no longer call you servants but friends.” (John 15:15).

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Scourge of All Mankind

“Behold we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” Matthew 20:18, 19 (New American Standard Bible)



In the story of Jesus’ passion He was whipped or ‘scouraged’ before He was nailed to a Roman cross. We mostly reason that it was just part of that ancient system of punishment and do not give it much thought outside of its brutality but it was a definite part of the redemptive plan. The Roman flagrum was a vicious multi-thonged whip that had pieces of bone, metal or glass embedded in its cords. The person being whipped was tied in such a way that their back was stretched allowing the whipping to inflict the greatest degree of pain and damage, the pieces on the cords tearing flesh and breaking bone. Mostly it was the Roman equivalent of the ‘third degree.’ As the person was whipped and they confessed their crime the one doing the whipping would go lighter on the force of the strokes. If the person would not confess then each stroke would become heavier and heavier until the person could stand it no longer and begin confessing. Many victims died from shock and loss of blood due to the whipping.

Jesus received such treatment before He was crucified. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the healing we receive by the stripes of God’s Chosen One (Isaiah 53:5). The usual interpretation is healing of a physical sort although the meaning in the context speaks of sin and spiritual healing. The beating Jesus took was intercessory. It could be considered the scourge of all mankind for it was because of our sins that that scourging ought to have been given to us. These stripes were part of the penalty for our rebellion against God, God taking the punishment on Himself in our place. Jesus Himself asked the two men on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26). No other story is so ideal in its fullness and nobility. The stripes taken upon the Son of God were completely satisfactory to God’s judgment on all sin because they were taken upon Him, the one and only pure sacrifice for sin. Those stripes were planned to be taken by Him before the foundation of the world. Before you and I were born the price for our sins was in God’s mind already paid.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Seventy Bucks worth of Grace

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11 (New American Standard Bible)

It’s always interesting how the things we preach often wind up being the very things we have to practice. Such is the way of grace. I had a case in point just this past week. Some unscrupulous person put a virus on my computer. The thing popped up without warning and the estimate by my local computer store to remove it was seventy dollars, minimum.

As I was working to get my system back I sat drumming my fingers on my desk doing the slow burn. All the thoughts from “If these people would use their intelligence and talent for good” to “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest this guy’s armpits” ran through my mind. As I sat contemplating a good round of justice the thought suddenly came to mind, “Jesus died for this guy, too.” A lot of my steam vented at that instant as I thought of the things I’ve done in my life and to others that have brought grief and unhappiness. There is none righteous, no not one.

Fortunately my big brother is in town and he is a walking computer guru. With his help I got my machine back on track for just the hours involved. My “seventy bucks” didn’t go very far in delivering the grace that was merited toward this person. The person who was responsible for this transgression toward many computer users is still loved by Christ and His blood was shed for him too. In the case of grace given to you and me it didn’t cost God seventy dollars; it cost Him His Only Begotten Son. That grace is the gift that keeps on giving; wave upon wave upon wave of continuing favor. No recriminations and no fleas please. Granting grace mirrors the very nature of our Lord Jesus Christ and when it comes down to it there is no price one can put on that.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Lord's Prayer

“Oh righteous Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou didst send Me, and I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:25, 26 (New American Standard Bible)


When people speak of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ we generally think of “Our Father who art in heaven.” Those remarks in Matthew Chapter 6 were not so much a prayer as they were a guideline on how to pray. In reading through the gospels it seems that the real Lord’s Prayer makes up the entire 17th chapter of John. It is one of the most revealing insights into the who, what, why, when and where of God’s love for mankind.

In this prayer Christ reveals He has total authority (vs. 2). That He did not come to us through His own will but was sent by Jehovah God (vs. 3). He reveals He always existed with God sharing His glory in eternity before the earth was created (vs. 5). He was faithful to show Himself to the people God the Father gave to Him (vs.6). The words He spoke to them were not His but His Father’s (vs. 8). He goes on to speak of the care and protection He gave those His Father had placed in His hand and how He Himself guarded them so not one of them was lost (vs. 12). He prays they may be sanctified (vs. 17) and intercedes not only on their behalf but on behalf of those who will believe because of their testimony of Him (vs. 20). He finishes His petition with the request that those who do come to know Him as God’s Anointed One will be able to come to where He is and behold His glory (vs. 24).

This chapter seems the Crown Jewel of the gospels and the manifest “Mission Statement” of God’s plan for mankind. It is a prayer of disclosure, filial piety, petition, worship, authority, intercession, unity and prophetic insight. It is without doubt the most astounding prayer ever uttered in the history of mankind. The prayers of Christ are now for us an intercession. Robert Murray McCheyne wrote; “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”

Ken

http://www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com/