No Bones About It

But God, (who is rich in mercy,) for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by whose grace you are saved,) Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV

Remember when Zombie movies were the rage? No pun intended. They were the 'walking dead,' able to rise to any occasion and run amok, the living being their own fresh-meat smorgasbord.

Paul speaks of us being dead in our trespasses and sins. I've heard Christians say that to respond to Christ we each have a 'little spark' of life in us to hear and respond to the Gospel message, otherwise how could we do it? Believe me, in times past I've pitched my tent at that site and I can tell you the firewood there is green.

What brought me out of that belief was a sermon I heard on of Colossians 2:13. The minister said, “Dead means dead. Dead. It doesn't mean a little life, a spark of life, or a twitch of life. Dead means you aren't able to move, hear, act, or think. You can do nothing of yourself when you're dead.”

You might be thinking, “So if dead means like a door-nail how did I come into a living relationship with the risen Lord?” It's in today's Scripture verses. You hath He quickened together with Christ. It's a spiritual resurrection. He breathes life into the dead and stirs them to the possibility of eternal life in Him. How fortunate we have a living God who first loved us (1^st John 4:19).

It is a matter of life and death depending on where you will spend eternity, and with whom. Saying no to Christ's forgiveness returns the person to the grave, metaphorically speaking. They may continue to rise and walk like a zombie, but they are dead spiritually.

As the old song goes, two roads to choose, the road to glory or the fools highway. You can walk hand-in-hand with the King or shuffle along as a spiritual zombie. Sweet road to glory or the bitter end? Dead is dead but life in Christ is beautiful and eternal. Seek the Lord while He may be found. You'll no longer have to lie in the coffin of the old life but you'll be alive in Christ. No bones about it.

Ken

Jesus, I want to put my trust in You.  I believe Your death on the cross became God's perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.  I ask You to forgive my sins and be Lord of my life. Amen

Our Ashes, His Beauty

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:3

Throughout Hebrew Scripture when Jews in ancient Israel wanted to demonstrate their depth of sorrow, as they grieved they would put ashes on their heads. Ashes symbolized ruin and destruction and the fullest sense of pain and loss.

In our own lives we all experience the pain of fiery trials that bring ruin and destruction. We find ourselves sitting in the ashes of our existence, unsure why God allowed it and in our grief heaping the ashes of heartache and sorrow on our heads.

When Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) presented Himself and His ministry to Israel, He stood up in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, and was handed the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. He read that the Spirit of the Lord anointed Him to preach deliverance, give sight to the blind, give liberty to the bruised, and preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Isaiah 61, Luke 4:18-19). In other words, to give His Beauty for our ashes.

How can this be so? For those who ask Him, He can take the ashes of our lives and give us the beauty of His indwelling Holy Spirit. It sounds like a lopsided trade, doesn't it? Exactly. But that's what Grace is. It is not earned. It is received.  He can come after any inferno and bring new growth to fire-ravaged lives, no matter the gory details. He gives to us something we could never do for ourselves. When the smoke clears in any situation, He's the only One left standing with both the power and authority to restore us. Tell Him. Ask Him. Your ashes. His Beauty.

Ken

A Real Page Turner

That he might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7

Ever read a book you couldn't put down? Mysteries especially come to mind. That's what we call a 'real page turner.'

There have been many books written about heaven. All explanations fall short of its greatest glories. But even though they eventually fail some do resonate in our minds and may offer us a fleeting glimpse of that glory.

I heard one recently that did just that. A pastor commenting on our verse today said, “When I think on this verse I meditate on the vast riches of grace in the ages to come with Christ and what that can look like. I remember when I was a kid in our city library there was a huge Webster's Dictionary. Those dictionaries were very large and thick with pages. I imagine in eternity God having His own book, a book of His bounty towards us, while lavishing on us the riches of His favor for our first ten trillion years. We'll be blessed and astounded by what He has prepared for us and just when we think it can't get any better, He'll turn the page.”

How can one adequately describe heaven? Anything the wildest imagination can dream of, in heaven's realm of eternity, can only be multiplied to the nth degree. It will come from God's bounty, that He might reveal it to us in the ages to come in Christ Jesus. But speaking metaphorically, if there were to be a book of wonders in heaven what a page turner it would be. Book or no book, heaven will continually astound us, to be sure, and that for eternity. But what joy our Heavenly Father would have in turning those pages for us presenting new and eternal vistas of breathtaking delight. Every ten trillion years? I can live with that.  Have a blessed week. Shalom.

Ken

The Joy of Being Jewish

He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Psalms 47:4

As a Gentile I have a special place and love in my heart for the Jewish people. They are the diamond in the rough that will one day be the Jewel in their Messiah's Crown. They have been chosen by God to be his people that he loves with everlasting love and faithfulness (Jeremiah 31:3) .

Some, not yet all, are longing for their Messiah to come on the scene. He is spoken of throughout their Hebrew Bible, the Tenakh. Only One Man fulfills every prophecy recorded in it and that Man is Yeshua of Nazareth, Jesus Christ.

I am surprised that after watching oneforisrael.org it seems the majority of Jews today believe Jesus was Catholic, or a gentile Christian despot and persecutor, and are quite amazed to find out he was completely Jewish. All of his disciples were Jewish. One of them, Matthew, details Jesus' genealogy from Abraham (Chapter 1:2-16), and his contemporary, the historian Luke, traces Jesus' Jewish ancestry all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38)! As one Jewish man quoted, “I was surprised to find Jesus was more Jewish than I was.”

The Tenakh speaks of him in astonishing detail in over 800 prophecies. Many have been fulfilled concerning him and many are yet to be realized. Many of those prophecies include the restoration of the Jewish people into a holy and righteous nation with their HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, as their Anointed King seated on the rightful throne of his father David.

The seed of Abraham has received a special dispensation of the love and grace that has revealed to them their desired Messiah. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Hebrew men and women are wanting to know this man in his complete Jewishness. Was he a liar? A lunatic? Or was he the Lord HaMashiach fulfilled in Jewish Scripture? It's a question worth pursuing. The answer will amaze and, perhaps, leave you feeling very joyous. Shalom, and abundant blessings to the children of Abraham.

Ken

Hilarious Hearts

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2^nd Corinthians 9:7)

Once in checking out a new church I was shocked when the minister said, “We're going to pass the offering basket. If anyone is in need feel free to take from it as it goes by, and if you don't want to give from your heart, keep your money. We don't want it.” It took a moment for me to recover from my shock.

I grew up in a church denomination that could be somewhat insensitive to the giving of tithes or involvement in programs. I've seen every gimmick possible to guilt or bully parishioners into offering their time or pledging their money. The word 'cheerful' here in the Greek is hilaros from which our word 'hilarious' comes. But the idea here is not so much giving in a comical or uproarious sense but with a bright and merry attitude.

No one is pleased when someone shows them a begrudging attitude. And we're fooling ourselves to think God is pleased with it. If a person has to do anything with a resentful heart it's better not to do it at all.

Being pressured into doing anything only leads to frustration and resentment. That often festers when a person cannot say “No” to pressure and intimidation. They allow their outward “Yes” to be an internal “No.” Let every person decide in their heart what is appropriate in their circumstance to give what they will and God is OK with that.

The key is remembering whatever we do in word or deed do it in the name of the LORD Jesus with thanks to God the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17). God loves a cheerful giver. Perhaps according a little hilarity to the heart might be a good thing after all? It can make for a bright and merry outcome. Hilariously speaking.

Ken

First Things First

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17

After Jesus's resurrection His hopeful disciples asked, “Lord, are You now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”(Acts 1:6). The Jews were looking for a messiah that would establish a kingdom of might, power and influence. Their priorities were not yet set on God's priorities, that sin must first be dealt with before power could ever be established.

Scripture teaches that it was God's plan before the creation of the world to deal with sin (1^st Peter 1:19, Revelation 13:8). After Adam and Eve, as the federal heads of humanity, brought sin to our race, the LORD pronounced the remedy to restore us from our fallen state back into fellowship with Himself (Genesis 3:15). He said to the serpent (Satan) that the offspring of Adam and Eve would bruise his head but he would bruise the man's heal, referencing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and crushing the head of Satan, defeating the power of sin.

Jesus became the perfect sacrifice that can turn away God's wrath from any person lost in their trespasses and sins. Anyone who believes in His atoning work on the cross will have every sin forgiven. This was God's priority, declared through the Law and the Prophets, accomplished through His Son. God's intent was not first power, but pardon. Jesus said to seek His kingdom first and His righteousness and the rest will be added (Matthew 6:33).

There are some 300 prophecies in the Jewish Scriptures many of which speak of a suffering Messiah who offers redemption. Jesus fully met all of these, showing Him to be the only One who can save us all from our sins.

He came first as a servant but will return as the long expected King to sit upon the throne of His ancestor David in all glory, power and authority. Sin and death will be vanquished and righteousness established forever. The order of God's priorities. Not power but pardon. First things first.

Ken

Foreign Hearts

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:17-18

I was once asked by my pastor to create a 'helps ministry' for our fellowship. One part of this ministry he asked of me was to assist him in doing hospital visitation to our congregants, allowing him more time for study and sermon preparation (Acts 6:3-4). Every one I visited all said, “Where's the pastor? Isn't he coming to see me? What are you doing here?” Frankly, I found such ingratitude surprising, and disappointing.

It has been my observation that people who show gratitude seem happier than those who do not. Some of the symptoms of ingratitude are anger, resentment, a critical spirit, envy, and inconsideration. Evidences of gratitude are alertness, enthusiasm, lower levels of depression, determination, attentiveness, energy, and sleep continuity.

A case in point is the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed. Only one had enough godly gratitude to return and thank Him for His gracious kindness. That man was from a class of people living in Israel, despised by the Jews, and divided by ethnic and racial barriers; a Samaritan. He fell down at the feet of Jesus and gave thanks to Him. Jesus was not being harsh with the man calling him a “foreigner.” He was making a point to the Jews with Him not to enslave themselves to legalistic prejudice for God can work in any heart of gratitude.

The Psalmist was consistent in his thanksgiving and gratitude to God. Is it any wonder then that at this time Israel achieved its high point in history? It's a matter of heart. Having a heart foreign to gratitude is contrary to the heart of perhaps a foreigner who is praiseworthy and thankful. Think of what you do have in your life that can be considered a blessing, no matter how insignificant you believe it to be, and thank God for it. It can become a heartfelt habit.

Don't allow ingratitude to become something foreign to you. After all, as believers passing through this life we're foreigners ourselves. Be a foreigner with a heart toward appreciativeness and grace. Foster an attitude of gratitude. It pleases our LORD and can encourage others while bringing joy and an outlook of contentment.

Ken