Edges

“Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe I am He.” John 13:19 (NKJV)

Is Jesus trustworthy, even if He doesn’t give you the answer you want immediately? You may be in a dry time, experientially, praying for and wanting an answer, but while you’re doing plenty of wanting, you’re doing plenty of waiting. It mostly seems your fleeces aren’t even slightly damp with dew.

In my 65 years as a believer, I can only count one experience where God responded to my prayer as soon as I called to Him. I needed His immediate protection, and He gave it to me within seconds. But overall, His responses to my prayers have come over long periods of time.

But in those times of traipsing through the desert wastelands, as with Israel, my clothes or sandals never wore out (Deuteronomy 8:4, Nehemiah 9:21). Every desert has an edge-one that begins-and one that ends.

Nearly 1/3 of the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) and the Jewish New Testament (written by Jews) is prophetic, that is God’s foretelling of events He would do. Hundreds of those prophecies have already been fulfilled, proving their truth historically. There are at least 1000 concerning the return of Messiah Yehoshua (Jesus) yet to come to pass. Jesus tells John in Revelation 21:5 that His words are true and faithful.

If you’re feeling the heat through your sandals, there’s three things I can encourage you with. First, your sandals, or clothes, will never wear out; second, there’s an edge of exit even to your desert. He will keep you fed and watered up to the point He leads you out, and third, the words of Christ remain true and faithful.

He doesn’t lead us into desert sands for His sake, but ours. The greatest growth often comes from the hottest times. They are times that can sweat out impurities from our lives. His desire for us is to be free from the hurts, habits and hang-ups that are holding us back.

Whether Christ leads us for a time into the desert or answers us within seconds He is always faithful to feed us and lead us. Every desert has its edges. If He leads us in, He can lead us out. He has told us, so when it happens, we may believe He is God’s Anointed One. He forever remains the True and Faithful One, on every edge.

Ken

Righteous Robes for Wretched Rags

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2^nd Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

 

I’ll never forget the time the lights came on for a lady I knew. I had been reading from John’s gospel account of the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of Christ. No sermon or emotional appeal, only the word of God. All of a sudden, her head snapped up and she said, “Wait a minute; He was innocent. You mean they killed a man who was totally innocent? He didn’t deserve that. He’d done nothing wrong! Why did they do that?” Flesh and blood had not revealed that to her. It was the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ allowed it to be so, offering the righteous in place of the unrighteous, to complete God’s plan of redeeming the human race back into complete relationship with Him. We were in a state of wretchedness that once we believed He changed into righteousness.

It was nothing we deserved. It was His gift to us when we believed, in spite of anything we had ever done. That’s a difficult thing for the majority of us to comprehend let alone accept. I recall when my neighbor bought me a gift I said to his mom, “But I didn’t get him anything.”  I never forgot her reply. She said, “It’s a gift. You can’t repay a gift.” When we believed on Christ, His clean robe of righteousness was gifted to us. He draped it over our dirty lives, not only covering our guilt but forgiving all our sins (1^st John 1:9). Whatever shame you may be holding in your experience account, if you have put your faith and trust in Christ that account now reads 0.00.

Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame,” (Romans 10:11). We can have a wakeup call that says, “But He was innocent and I’m so dirty. How could he put such a beautiful robe around my shoulders? I don’t deserve it.” None of us do, but anyone who asks of Him receives one, for this is why that innocent one willingly died in our place. The love of God covers the earth (John 3:16). 

God was not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance (2^nd Peter 3:9). Amazing Grace. A robe for rags. It’s a gift, not a debt. You can’t repay a gift. All you need do is accept it.

Ken  

A Warrior in the Winepress

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. Judges 6:11 (NKJV)

Israel was again repeating her cycle of sin against the LORD. They would sin against God, He would bring their enemies to oppress them in order to discipline them, they would cry out and repent, God would deliver them, there would be years of good, then they would go back to rebelling against God. It was a sequence that played out for years. Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times, and that wheel squeaks on.

 In the time before Israel had kings, they had Judges. These men and women weren’t judges as we know who wear robes and sit in courts of law. They were chosen and empowered by the LORD to lead and guide His people.

It was at this certain time in Israel’s history He allowed His discipline to come in the attack and oppression of the Midianite and Amalekite people. They would invade and plunder Israel, destroying the produce of the earth as far as Gaza. The Israeli’s had to hide in dens, caves, and mountain strongholds, (Judges 6:2-4) to escape their cruelty.

One day an Israeli named Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from his enemies. He had no intention, nor inclination, that he was anything or anyone special when the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and called him a mighty warrior (Ju 6:12).

Have you ever thought God sees you as a mighty warrior when you’re hiding? He can and does. He can make you as powerful as a smooth stone in a shepherd’s sling that slays a Goliath, or use 300 warriors to strike terror into thousands, causing them to flee for their lives (Ju 7:16-22).

We are made in the Image of God, by and for the One, True, and Living God. He is unrestrained by past, present, or future years. He’s always known He might find us hiding while we thought we were living a normal, or even abnormal life. As a child of Christ our past is in the rearview mirror, our present is where He is right now to help us, and our future is secure. He sees us even if we’re working out of a winepress.

The Angel of the LORD was not your average angel but denotes a Being of full Deity. It could well have been a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ which was witnessed many times in the Old Testament experiences of the prophets and patriarchs-Emmanuel-God With Us.

He is with you and as His child knows where you are every second, and every circumstance. In every place you can walk, sit, work, or hide He can operate in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Gideon was hiding in a winepress, yet the LORD called him a warrior. He used him to purge the land and be the judge of Israel for the next 40 years. Where we are matters not. In our own strength, situations might cause us to want to hide, but He sees us as mighty warriors, even then. It can be from the pew, the living room or even a winepress. He is with us “unto the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Warriors can be found everywhere, winepresses included.

Ken

 

When Your Check Engine Light Comes On

You show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, he gives the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000 by the Sea of Galilee, and they were just counting the men. Add wives and children and a crowd of 15,000 could be a low estimate. It was getting late, and the crowd needed to eat.

Jesus took 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish and miraculously multiplied them to the point everyone was fed “as much as they wanted” with 12 baskets-full of leftovers (Jn 6:11, 13). He wanted to show He is able to easily meet every need. The people said, “This is the Prophet who is come into the world,” (Deuteronomy 18:15), and wanted to make Him king (Jn 6:14-15).

The next day the crowd followed Jesus and the disciples to the town of Capernaum. He knew they hadn’t come seeking the Son of God for spiritual renewal but for a handout because they had had their bellies filled the previous day. They were after food that perishes. They found happiness and not joy. Those are two very different things.

Happiness is based on things and circumstances; it can come and go. Happiness is leaving the mechanics in a repaired automobile. Happiness evaporates a few miles down the road when the Check Engine light comes on again. Happiness comes and goes because it is dependent on the moment. Happiness ends when hunger begins.

Joy on the other hand is internal well-being or even the anticipation of well-being. Its dependence is not on the external state of affairs, but the internal knowledge and trust that God dwells with us.

Jesus gently rebuked those that wanted to vote economics first and getting their hearts right last. He said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” They rejected Him anyway, voting with their carnal appetites, for momentary happiness, despising Him (Jn 6:42) and the joy only He could give them.

In this world we will have to face a few Check Engine lights. Jesus said so (John 16:33). Well, in so many words. I’ve discovered joy in my own life when I didn’t understand God’s ways-yet held to His worth-believing and trusting He remained good even when circumstances were not.

A full belly or a determined and seasoned heart? Fleeting or fulfilled? Peter’s answer to Jesus best sums it up: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know [emphasis added] that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Jn 6:68-69).

Jesus can bring happiness to be sure, but when that Check Engine light stays on and that smile turns to a frown, happiness fades but joy in Christ remains constant. Hopefully Jesus just doesn’t make you happy. Hopefully He increases and strengthens your joy. Only He has the words of eternal life. Who else can give that kind of rest? To whom else can you go when that light comes on?

Ken

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20

Outta The blue

 

My daughter and I were once touring Fort Pickens at Pensacola Bay, Florida. The fort was completed in 1834 and was in use for 113 years. It was one of the few forts in the South that remained in Union hands during the Civil War. It was closed to military use in 1947.

Right across the bay is Naval Air Station Pensacola where the U.S. Navy’s acrobatic flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, is based. During their practices the team has permission for low passes over the bay, and Santa Rosa Island where the fort stands. At one point my daughter and I were surprised, and delighted, as one of their jets unexpectedly roared by-there and gone-in a flash.

The word quickly in today’s verse is the Greek tachu (takh-oo). It can convey both the concepts of without delay or with swiftness. It demonstrates both the power and timing of the return of Christ.

We cannot know the day or the hour of His return for His church. We can know the historical signs that His return is at the door (Matthew chapters 25-25, Luke 21:7-36). Hundreds of God’s promises have been fulfilled throughout the millennia, so after careful scrutiny we can verify they are factual.

Don’t worry about the darkness of world events. Times change but Jesus Christ does not (Hebrews 13:8) and He will make all things new, and when He does it will be like a flash outta the blue.

We wait with hope for the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Ken

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Jesus Is Our Gate

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:2-3

In Bible times sheep were kept in a four walled enclosure at night for safety. The enclosures didn’t have a gate as we know it. The shepherd was the gate. He slept at the mouth of the enclosure that ensured any predators, human or animal, had to go through him. The only ones allowed into the pen were by his permission and always under his supervision. All others were the same as a thief and a robber. A good shepherd would lay down his life to protect his flock (John 10:11).

Shepherds will allow their flocks to mingle during the nighttime for safety and oversite. In the morning separating his flock is easy. He will simply call his sheep and only his sheep will recognize his voice and follow him. And as the Good Shepherd speaks, we, as the sheep of His hand hear. We recognize and trust the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow Him with assurance.

Jesus was giving a beautiful picture of what it means to be in the care of the Good Shepherd. Unlike an evil and malicious enemy who wants to slaughter us for lambchops, our Good Shepherd will never meet us at the gate with a butcher knife. His love for us has been eternal in the past, right now in our present, and in all our future.

He is the gate, and nothing gets by Him. When He speaks, we recognize His voice and willingly follow Him to still waters and green pastures. David the shepherd wrote that the Lord restores the soul and causes our cups to overflow with joy and trust.

As the sheep of His hand, we know His voice. His goodness and mercy will surely follow us all the days of our lives with the promise that we will dwell in His House forever. How good is our Good Shepherd, our Gate and our Great God!

Ken

It's No Mystery

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory 1^st Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)

With the number of mysteries on TV it seems many people love a good who dunnit. I suppose it helps that the mystery gets solved in an hour or two. But what if a show goes on for years? What if you died before knowing the answer?

Consider all the Old Testament believers. In the years previous to Christ’s first Advent, the full story of redemption was shrouded in mystery. That mystery was that God Himself would take on a human body to become the perfect sacrifice to restore the fellowship broken in Eden (Genesis 3:6-7).

Many saints breathed their last wishing to have seen that mystery revealed. They died with their faith in the God of Abraham firm with the hope of a resurrection to a better place in His presence (2^nd Corinthians 5:8, John 14:3). Today, we have the privilege of seeing that mystery resolved and solved.

Christ grants all people salvation by His blood and the forgiveness of our sins. These things were a debt we could never pay, but was paid by the God of creation by the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7), offered in all wisdom and intellectual insight to bring us peace with Him. All this was done in agreement with His good pleasure, which He planned with perfect purpose. He does so that in the fulfillment of His ages of matchless grace to all mankind that He might redeem together all things in Christ (Ep. 1:10).

We have in Him an inheritance, predestined, in the purpose and plan of God who works in accordance to His own will and counsel, presenting those of us who have trusted in Christ to exalt His praise and glory.

It is your hope. If you have believed and trusted in Him who is the word of truth you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. With Him we have the guarantee of our inheritance, a holy heritage. Christ is the answer to the mystery of the ages that we can know right now. Salvation exists in no other (Acts 4:12). Surely, we can rest assured in the fullest acceptance and forgiveness in Christ. No wondering who dunnit.  He’s told us.  Mystery solved.

Ken