LookingtoJesus

October 17

Bible Reading: Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3:1, “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”

In his book, “God’s Last Word to Man,” G. Campbell Morgan wrote of the tremendous importance of the Book of Hebrews, saying, “The letter of Hebrews has an especial value today because there is abroad a very widespread conception of Christ which is lower than that of the New Testament.”  So, in the letter, the author speaks of the superiority of Christ as opposed to: the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-3), the angels (Hebrews 1:4-2:18), Moses (Hebrews 3:1-4:2), Joshua (Hebrews 5:3-13), the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 4:14-7:28), and the old covenant (Hebrews 8:1-10:39).

John MacArthur has commented on this “better than” theme: “In this epistle, contrast reigns.  Everything presented is presented as better: a better hope, a better testament, a better promise, a better sacrifice, a better substance, a better country, a better resurrection, a better everything.  Jesus Christ is presented as the supreme best.”

John MacArthur

According to this theme, we are exhorted to “consider Jesus” (Hebrew 3:1).  In similar manner we are called upon to “consider him” in Hebrews 12:3. Two different Greek terms are translated “consider” in these two verses.  The first, in Hebrews 3:1, means “to understand fully, consider closely” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  It is a call by the author for us to fully comprehend the truth regarding who Jesus is.  The second, in Hebrews 12:3, is a strengthened form of a term meaning to account or reckon.  In that verse, it speaks of the need to take into account our own endurance in suffering in relationship to the example of Jesus.  The first usage of the term has to do with the person of Jesus, the second His work.

To consider Jesus is to consider Him who is of immeasurable glory. What will serve to instruct us in the truth concerning Him? The Holy Spirit’s is a “consider Jesus” ministry. He is even now at work convicting the world “concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). Such a work is necessary because Jesus is no longer present with us (John 16:8). It is the Spirit who opens blind eyes to behold “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). His ministry to the saints is also a “consider Jesus” ministry, in which He discloses His glory to us (John 16:12-15).

The Word of God bids us to “consider Jesus.”  The Bible is all about Him.  The law promised Christ.  The types, experiences, and prophecies of the Old Testament anticipated His coming.  The gospels record the details of His life and ministry.  The book of Acts speaks of the details of the birth of HIs church.  The epistles address His Church.  The Book of Revelation details His return in glory.  Jesus chided the Pharisees, saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 6:39; Luke 24:27).  The Bible is all about Jesus.  The words “Consider Jesus” would well serve as a fitting subtitle for it.

The Apostle Peter’s first sermon, to those who had crucified their Messiah, was a “consider Jesus” sermon.  And the people responded to it.  The Apostle Paul’s ministry was a “consider Jesus” ministry — “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).  I’ve heard of a pulpit inscribed with this reminder — “We would see Jesus.”  Those who preach and teach God’s Word need to do so in a “consider Jesus” manner.

Two particular aspects of His personhood are spoken of in this verse.  He is both “the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1).  He is called an apostle, but He is unlike any other apostle.  The term apostle means simply “one sent forth.”  Jesus is the Heaven-sent-forth Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-3; John 17:3).  He is the high priest.  There were other high priests, but none like Jesus.  A high priest is one who represents men to God.  Other high priests were merely human and needed to offer up sacrifices both for themselves and then others (Hebrews 7:27).  But Jesus, the God-man, made a sacrifice “once for all when he offered up himself” (Hebrews 7:27).  On this basis is able to “save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25).

Consider Jesus.  There is no one else like Him.  He represents the sole means of salvation for lost sinners (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).  He alone can satisfy our deepest needs and desires.  He is the best friend any of us can ever have.  One day every knee shall bow before Him, and every tongue confess Him as Lord (Philippians 2:9-10).  None but Jesus is more deserving of your depth-of-soul consideration.

Consider Jesus as if your eternal destiny were at stake in the matter, for it is!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

October 16

Bible Reading: Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

“Lifelong slavery.”  “Fear of death.”  These phrases speak to the tragic estate into which the sons of Adam are born.  “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).  Since the fall of man, sin, death, and the devil have worked to hold men in bondage and fear.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:12).  His was a “divine rescue mission.”  As the hymn says, “He left his Father’s throne above, So free, so infinite His grace!  Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race?”  In a glorious act of divine condescension, He was born of a woman and born under the law (John 1:14; Galatians 4:4).  He partook of flesh and blood that He might stand in our place and bear the punishment that we deserve in order that through HIs death and resurrection He might render the devil powerless.

In Christ, death met an insurmountable foe, because “it was impossible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24).  Satan’s power was broken at the cross when “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them” (Colossians 2:15).  The resurrection of the Lord Jesus has worked to secure eternal life for the believer, who no longer needs to feel threatened by it.  “When the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

F. B. Meyer has commented on this, “Scripture has no doubt as to the existence of the devil.  And those who know much of their own inner life, and of the sudden assaults of evil to which we are liable, cannot but realize his terrible power.  And from this passage we infer that that power was even greater before Jesus died.  “He had the power of death.”  It was a chief weapon in his infernal armory.  The dread of it was so great as to drive men to yield to any demands made by the priests of false religions, with their dark impurities and hideous rites.  Thus timid sheep are scared by horrid shouts and blows into the butcher’s shambles.  But since Jesus died, the devil and his power are destroyed.  Brought to naught, not made extinct.  Still he assails the Christian warrior, though armed from head to foot; and goes about seeking whom he may devour and deceives men to ruin.  Satan is not impotent though chained.  He has received the wound which annuls his power, but it has not yet been effectual to destroy him.  His power was broken at the cross and grave of Jesus.  The hour of Gethsemane was the hour and power of darkness.  And Satan must have seen the Resurrection in despair.  It was the knell of his destiny.  It sealed his doom.  The prince of this world was judged and cast out from the seat of power (John 12:31, 16:11).  The serpent’s head was bruised beyond remedy.  Fear not the devil, O child of God; nor death!  These make much noise, but they have no power.  The Breaker has gone before thee, clearing thy way.  Only keep close behind him.  Hark!  He gives thee power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt thee (Luke 10:9).  No robber shall pluck thee from thy Shepherd’s hand.”

F. B. Meyer

The believer in Christ need not fear death.  A dying man was fearful, even though he was a born-again Christian.  He expressed his feelings to his Christian doctor.  The physician was silent, not knowing what to say.  Just them a whining and scratching was heard at the door.  When the doctor opened it, in bounded his big beautiful dog, who often went with him to make house calls.  The dog was glad to see his master.  Sensing an opportunity to comfort his troubled patient, the doctor said, “My dog has never been in your room before, so he didn’t know what it was like in here.  But he knew I was in here, and that was enough.  In the same way, I’m looking forward to heaven.  I don’t know much about it, but I know my Savior is there.  And that’s all I need to know.”

Since the fall of man, sin, death, and the devil have worked to hold men in bondage and fear.  But Jesus defeated them all and we rejoice in His victory!

O death where is thy sting?
Where grave, thy victory?
O keys of hell, why change
Ye hands at Calvary?
Lo, on that hill
God’s wrath was placed,
Our sins erased,
And death made nil.

October 13

Bible Reading: Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1:1-3a, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

The main theme of the book of Hebrews is the truth that Christ is better—better than any angel, priest, or old covenant entity.  The readers of the epistle are thereby instructed and encouraged to find true rest and persevere in Him.

The superiority of Christ theme is apparent in these introductory verses.  Jesus is God’s final and preeminent revelation, surpassing all that which has come before (Hebrews 1:1).  Four points of contrast are made between the revelation which took place “long ago” and that which has been revealed in these “last days.”  The first, of course, has to do with the timing (“in these last days”).  Secondly, the agency of revelation is different (“by the prophets” vs. “by His Son”).  Thirdly, there is a difference in the recipients (“to our fathers” vs. “to us”).  Lastly, there is a difference with respect to the content of that which has been revealed (“many times and in many ways” vs. “by his Son”).

Jesus is the Divine Son.  He is also the creator.  John 1:3 ascribes creation to Him: “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything that was made.”  Likewise, Colossians 1:16 affirms that “all things were created through him and for him.”  Colossians 1:17 goes on to explain, using language similar to that found in Hebrews 1:3, that “he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

“In him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).  “He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).  What is the meaning of these statements? 

Pastor Phil Newton has commented on this, “We might have a mental image of Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders as we hear this statement.  But that does not convey the meaning of the word.  It is not a static bearing of the world as though it is some gigantic burden he bears.  But it is a word describing the dynamic of God the Son in relation to all things.  There is ‘movement’ in this term-a movement that helps us to understand that he is carrying all things forward on their providential course.  It is concerned, not only with sustaining the weight of the universe, but also with maintaining its coherence and carrying on its development.  He is both Creator (‘through whom He made the world’) and administrator of his creation.  When we begin to fret about how life will turn out for us, let us think again about how our Lord and Redeemer ‘upholds all things by the word of His power.’  Nothing passes out of his oversight and direction.  He has no alarm system in heaven for emergencies or surprises, for there are none with him.  No plunging stock market or troubled Middle East threatens his administration or encumbers it in the least.  He is still moving everything forward to accomplish his good providence.  This means that in spite of how we might be viewing our circumstances and difficulties, we are to take comfort and find strength in knowing that Jesus Christ is sustaining everything about us by his own powerful will.”

Phil Newton

Years ago, I worked as a reactor operator at Trojan Nuclear Power Plant.  In the study of Nuclear Physics, we learned of a force that works within an atom to hold it together.  The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by like-charged positive protons.  Being of the same polarity, they should oppose one another and disburse (as with the like charges of a magnet), but they are instead bound together by a mysterious force.  That unexplained force is called the “nuclear force” in physics.  But we know where its true power source lies.

Be it the expanse of the universe, or the smallest of particles, in Him “all things hold together!” What an awesome truth!  How this flies in the face of lost humanity’s vaporous ill-founded notions regarding self-sufficiency.  The fact that He holds all things together has direct relevance to us, for it is He who is the “Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).  He has the power to subject all things to Himself and will one day use that power to transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious one (Philippians 3:21)!  We can trust Him in all things!

The One who holds all things together is well able to manage the affairs of your life!

He holds the stars in the sky.
He holds the land back from the sea.
If He can do all of that,
Surely he can take care of you and me.
He’s got it all in control.
He’s got it all in control.
He’s put that reassurance,
Way down in my soul.
He’s got it all in control.

-B. J. Thomas

October 12

Bible Reading: Philemon

Philemon 11, “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.”

2 Timothy 2:20-21, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

“The Old Violin” is a poem about a battered old violin that is about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance.  But then a violinist steps out of the audience and plays the instrument, demonstrating its hidden beauty and value.  The violin then sells for a rich instead of paltry sum.  And so, it is when God works in the life of a person through the power of the gospel.  Just as a he took a useless slave, Philemon, and made him useful to Himself and to many.

Philemon is unique amongst Paul’s epistles inasmuch as it represents a personal letter from Paul to Philemon regarding a very practical and personal matter.  The letter gives us some insight into Paul’s way of dealing with such matters and speaks also to the gospel’s ability to transform lives and relationships.

Philemon was a well-to-do slave owner who resided in Colossae.  At some time during Paul’s ministry there Philemon heard the gospel and was saved.  Paul expressed thanksgiving to God for the faith and love that Philemon had demonstrated (Philemon 4-7).  One of Philemon’s slaves, Onesimus, had fled to Rome.  He somehow came in contact with the Apostle Paul and then became a believer (Philemon 10).  Onesimus became very dear to Paul and ministered to his needs while he was in prison (Philemon 12-13).  Paul would have liked to keep Onesimus with him, but he knew that Onesimus’ situation needed to be addressed.  Onesimus had wrongfully deserted his master.  So, Paul wrote to Philemon exhorting him to receive Onesimus back, but “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother” (Philemon 16).  Paul did not compel Philemon to abide by his wishes, but rather appealed to his “goodness” that he might respond of his “own accord” (Philemon 14).  Paul also reminded Philemon of that which he owed Paul, by way of having heard the gospel through Paul’s ministry.  Paul’s loving concern for his brothers, Philemon and Onesimus, was such that he himself was willing to repay anything owed by Onesimus to Philemon (Philemon 18-19).

What’s striking in the account is the transformative power of the gospel in the lives of all involved.  Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus were all men who had been saved through its influence.  Their salvation worked to radically alter their lives and their relationships.  In an interesting “God’s providence” kind of thing, Onesimus’ name actually meant “useful or profitable.”  It was a name commonly given to a bondservants by a master undoubtedly in the hope that they’d live up to it.  That was his name, but in his escape from Philemon he became “useless” to him (Philemon 11).  We should note that the lost sinner finds himself in a similar situation before His Creator.  We are created to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” but with respect to our intended purpose we are “useless” before Him.  Romans 3:12, “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless.”  It is by salvation in Christ alone that we can be made otherwise, as 2 Timothy 2:21 describes, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Onesimus was made “useful” to both Paul and Onesimus through God’s intervention in his life.  One can imagine him as a fugitive looking over his shoulder, fearful lest he be found out.  Burdened by a guilty conscience, and if not for wrongfully escaping from his master, at least for the other sins which he had done.  Where was he to go?  What was he to do?  But God intervened on his behalf and somehow brought him to Paul.  He heard the message of the gospel—how Christ died for his sins and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  How he could be saved from his sins through faith in Christ (Acts 16:31).  And he believed.  And he was saved.  And he was made useful.  By God’s grace he was conformed to his name.  He was made “useful” to Paul.  That former slave became very dear to Paul.  He is referred to in the book of Colossians as “our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you” (Colossians 4:9).  In an ever-expanding role of usefulness to God, he was made useful to Paul, to Philemon, and to the entirety of the church in Colossae.  By God’s grace, Onesimus, a former fugitive slave, was privileged to have his name recorded in God’s inspired Word for us to read about two thousand years later.  His story epitomizes God’s ability to make us useful to Him and others through the saving and transforming influence of the gospel.

“All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful of my life.” – Gloria Gaither

And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters’ Hand.

-Myra Brooks Welch

October 11

Bible Reading: Titus 3

Titus 3:3-7, “For we were once foolish ourselves, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.  But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

It is commonly and erroneously assumed by most that people are saved through human or religious effort.  We tend, in sin, to over appreciate man’s goodness and under appreciate the degree of God’s holiness.  We are all born sinners (Romans 5:12, 3:23).  “No one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12).  No one is deserving of salvation.

Grace has commonly been defined as “unmerited favor.”  There are two elements to that definition.  There is the “unmerited” part.  No one is deserving.  There is the “favor” part.  In salvation, God imparts favor.  The full measure of God’s grace is better appreciated when we consider what we have received in view of what we deserved.

This passage speaks to both these aspects.  In a glorious revelation of that which has transpired in the life of the saved person, this passage speaks to both aspects of this.  There is a before and after aspect to the passage.  Verse 3 speaks to the “way we were.”  Verses 4-7 speak to the manifold blessings we have received.

The folks to which Paul was referring to were undeserving of salvation.  They were foolish and disobedient.  They were ignorant of the truth.  They had foolishly denied their Creator and lived in a state of rebellion (Psalm 53:1; Romans 1:20-21; Colossians 1:21).  They had been led astray.  “The devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” was having his way with them (Revelation 12:9; Ephesians 2:2).  They were enslaved to “various passions and pleasures” wasting their days away in malice and envy.  They were hated by others, and hating one another.  There was nothing in them or about them that could deem them worthy of salvation.  They were lost sinners without God and without hope.  What was true of them is true of all in sin.  As the hymn puts it, “Guilty, vile and helpless we.”

These folks had heard the gospel and had responded to it by trusting in Jesus.  At the moment of saving faith, they became recipients of God’s grace that was manifested in them in various ways. 

In his “Systematic Theology,” Lewis Sperry Chafer speaks of the “thirty-three stupendous works of God which together comprise the salvation of a soul.”  He explains: “They are wrought of God; they are wrought instantaneously; they are wrought simultaneously; they are grounded on the merit of Christ; and, being grounded on the merit of Christ, are eternal.”

Lewis Sperry Chafer

Some of these works of grace are referred to in this passage.  This passage refers to some of these works of grace, emphasizing that they indeed constitute God’s “works of grace,” as seen in the statement “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness” (Titus 3:5). By grace, believers are born again and made new in Christ. They are cleansed from sin, filled with the Spirit, declared righteous before God, and given an inheritance. None of these blessings were deserved.  They can be traced back to their source — “the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7) and the ministration of Christ, who because of His grace, “became poor, so that (we) by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

How incredibly blessed we are as recipients of such grace!  We should shrink back with dread from the temptation to take any credit for that which God has done in saving us.  We are indeed God’s trophies of grace, displayed before all that they might behold the “immeasurable riches of his grace” (Ephesians 2:7).

“And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story—Saved by grace.”

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
reaching the most reviled,
by its transforming power
making me God’s dear child,
purchasing peace and heaven
for all eternity,
for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

October 10

Bible Reading: Titus 2

Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

January 5th, 1982.  It was a day I had been looking forward to for months, even years.  I had enlisted in the Navy six years earlier, and though I’d been a good submariner, even earning several commendations, all I could think about was being done.  Prowling around under water in a long steel tube with a hundred other smelly men has its shortcomings.  I was counting the days until my freedom.  At night, I’d sometimes dream about that day and alternately I’d have nightmares about somehow being stuck in the service.  I was waiting expectantly for the day I’d be set free. 

Our text speaks to how we as believers are waiting, but for something infinitely better, our blessed hope.  The term translated “blessed” means “spiritually prosperous.” Our passage speaks to two appearings of Christ (Titus 2:11,13).  By both we are “graced,” but in the second we will be so in transcendent fashion.  Note that this blessed hope which we are waiting for is not an event, but a Person–”the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy 1:1).

What are we looking for?  First, Jesus Christ is going to receive us to Himself.  In that, the longing of your heart, for which your heart is even now groaning (2 Corinthians 5:4-7), will be fully and finally satisfied.  Second, Jesus Christ is going to transform you to be like Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).  That great work of grace, which God has patiently and progressively been working out in you, will reach its glorious conclusion.  You will be like Him, and perfectly fitted forevermore to dwell in His presence.  Thirdly, Jesus Christ is going to have you forever to Himself, to worship Him and enjoy Him in His glorious presence.  We will marvel at Him!  And Jesus’ long ago prayer to the Father will be fulfilled (John 17:24)!

This waiting for Christ is an attitude of heart.  Much as I was eagerly looking to the last day of my Navy enlistment, we believers are to be expectantly looking forward to our blessed hope.  It is the one hope that is to rise above all others, preeminently so, in our minds and hearts.  But contrary to repeated admonitions in Scripture, I’m not sure we are always living with this kind of longing for His return.  It’s far too easy to set our minds on earthly things and we will inevitably gravitate to that if the Spirit is not at work in us.  We are earthbound by nature.  Much like an un-inflated hot-air balloon.  It’s only when you fill the balloon with hot air that it defies gravity and ascends above. The Holy Spirit has a ministry of focusing our eyes on Jesus, and thus lifting our hearts and thoughts to a higher plane.  To the extent that He fills us, and the Word richly dwells within us, we will live our earth-bound days with a heaven-bound mindset.  Helpful too, is the encouragement we can offer one another (Hebrews 10:25), as we collectively remind ourselves that our hope lies not in the here and now, but in the there and then!

We live in a broken world.  Sin is an ever-present reality, and death looms over us all (Romans 7:24; Psalm 23:4).  We are ever prone to look to human solutions to fix or avoid our plight.  But God is great at redeeming things!  And He has a plan!  Jesus is coming again.  He’s coming to take us home.  In an instant all will be changed!  For us, sin will be no more.  There will be no more mourning or crying or pain or death or tears when that new day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19).  We will see Jesus as He is, and we will marvel at Him (1 John 3:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:10).  Herein lies the salve for every wound, the comfort for every heartache, the fulfillment of every promise, the banishment of all evil, and the embracement of all that is pure.  The promises of God all lean heavenward, and when we arrive in that promised home in the presence of God, we will experience unimaginable blessings (1 Corinthians 2:9).

In his book “The Christian Life and How to Live It,” W. H. Griffith-Thomas commented on this, “Hope, in the New Testament, is always associated with the great future connected with the Lord’s Coming. Again and again, indeed no less than three hundred times, is the “blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,” brought before us as the expectation of the Christian, and the crown of all his aspirations and endeavors…We look forward with joy and satisfaction to the time when we shall see Him as He is, and be made like unto Him in His eternal and glorious kingdom… Joy looks upward, peace looks inward, hope looks forward. The Christian hope is fixed on the coming of the Lord!”

W. H. Griffith-Thomas

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”—C. S. Lewis

Someday we’ll cease our toiling here,
Our hopes are now on things above;
Someday, without a doubt or fear,
We’ll gather home to those we love.
Some blessed day, oh, joyful day,
When we shall speed from earth away!
Our feet shall press that golden shore,
To be with Christ forevermore.

October 9

Bible Reading: Titus 1

Titus 1:16, “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.”

George Mueller once said, “Our walk counts far more than our talk, always.”  Contrarily, recent surveys suggest a disparity in the walk of many American Christians.  For example: 75% of Americans claim to believe in God, but only 29% regularly attend church.  Even fewer are devoted to their Bibles, as only 25% professing Christians believe the Bible should be taken literally.  Arguably, the dichotomy between faith and practice has never been higher.  And it shows in the waning influence of the church in our society.  

The context of Paul’s instruction to Titus in this chapter had to do with false teachers.  These false teachers were “insubordinate, empty talkers” who were “upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach” (Titus 1:10-11).  So, Paul spoke of the need for these men to be silenced and instructed Titus to “rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13).

Jesus warned of such a thing in His “Sermon on the Mount,” saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day may will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  The folks Jesus warned about possessed a religious profession, even accurately identifying Jesus to be “Lord.”  They had some sort of religious practice, claiming to have done things in Jesus’ name.  But they were not known by Jesus, at least not in a saving sense (2 Timothy 2:19).  But they did not belong to Him, and that was evidenced in their walk.  They did not do the “will of (the) Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  They had a religious profession and practice but were in fact “workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), but, as Martin Luther once noted, the faith that saves will inevitably lead to good works (Ephesians 2:10): “(Saving faith) is a living, creative, active and powerful thing…(that) cannot help doing good works constantly.  It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing.”

Paul likewise warned of the worthless nature of a profession unaccompanied by possession of Christ: “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:5-6).  One’s “talk” is but “empty words” if unaccompanied by a “walk” that corresponds to some extent to a walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-23).

There needs to be some correspondence between one’s talk and one’s walk.  This side of heaven, perfection will inevitably lie beyond us (Philippians 1:6, 3:12-14). Nonetheless, there ought to be a discernible difference in the life of the believer.  The Apostle John put it this way: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).  God has worked to save us from sin so that He might “purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 3:14).  That’s the kind of walk that needs to accompany the talk.

If accused of being a Christian, would there be any evidence with which to convict you?

Lord, take my life and make it wholly thine;
Fill my poor heart with thy great love divine.
Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
I now surrender; Lord, in me abide.

October 6

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 4

2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In his insightful book, “Last Words of Saints and Sinners,” Herbert Lockyer wrote of the relative importance of a person’s dying words, saying: “As this volume deals with the last words of both saints and sinners about to enter eternity, what they had to say before their stammering tongues lay silent in the grave demands our deepest attention and most earnest concern.  If, when the soul is face to face with eternal realities, true character is almost invariably manifest, then we can expect the lips to express glorious certainty or terror concerning the future.”

Herbert Lockyer

We have, in this chapter, the Apostle Paul’s last words.  He knew that “the time of (his) departure (had) come” (1 Timothy 4:8).  Note the term that Paul used here, a term that spoke metaphorically of a ship being loosed from its moorings or a military breaking up an encampment.  It was time for him to journey home, and he knew where he was going (Philippians 1:23).

In this chapter, Paul reflected on his life and what mattered most to him.  His words speak to his total submission to the Lord, and his confident expectation as to where he was going.  Reflecting on his life and work and relationships, his focus was entirely on Jesus, whom he had faithfully loved and served.

He reflected on his past, saying: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  We are herein reminded that the Christian life is no walk in the park—it is a battle to be fought, a race to be run, a course to finish.  The Apostle Paul had been faithful in discharging the stewardship given to him.  How thankful we should be for his wonderful example!  Perhaps, you’ve faltered.  You’re not fighting or running, and you’ve lost sight of the finish line.  But your present circumstance is not the end of your story.  God is full of grace and mercy and is well able to intervene on your behalf and set you back on course.

He reflected on his relationships.  He called upon Timothy to come, and for him to bring Mark (the one who had once deserted Paul, but then was restored to service).  He mentioned others—one had deserted him, another had caused him much harm, and in his defense, he was abandoned.  But he harbored no ill will towards any, putting it all in the Lord’s hands to sort out.  Of the deserters, he said, “May it not be charged against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). In keeping with Jesus’ own example, he exercised forgiveness and approached his pending death with his relationships in order.

He reflected on what mattered most.  D. L. Moody once said, “The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.”  The main thing for Paul was knowing Jesus (and making Him known).  It’s not surprising then to read of his request to Timothy: “Bring…the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:14).  He’d spend his years writing of the Lord that he loved to the churches that he loved.  Nothing mattered more to him than that.  Indeed, he suffered for that very cause.  But he was undeterred to the end, and you and I have benefitted from his devotion! I’ve sat along the bedside of lots of dying folks, and I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of things that no longer mattered to them. A part of the challenge we face in life is aligning what matters most to us with that which matters most to God. The Apostle Paul did that. And we do well to follow his example.

He knew where he was going and how he was to get there, saying: ”The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18)!  How precious the truth of this verse!  I shared this with a friend not long before she died, reminding her that Jesus was there to walk with her on the last steps of her journey home.  The Lord will do that.  He who is “The Way” will do that (John 14:6).  He who is the “Shepherd and Overseer of (our) souls” will do that (1 Peter 2:25). He is well able to bring us safely home (Philippians 3:21)!  We can approach dying with confidence not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because we know the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead! 

How precious are these dying words of the Apostle Paul!  He had served well, expended himself in love and forgiveness, and trusted in Jesus ‘til the end.  He approached the end of his life with things in order–he loved Jesus, he had loved his friends and forgave his enemies, he kept his heart aligned to what mattered most, and he was trusting Jesus to bring him safely home when that time came. His perspective on death and dying is one we’d all do well to emulate!

“Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”—John Newton

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

October 5

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 3

2 Timothy 3:1, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty…”

Though we are witnessing unprecedented troubles and uncertainty in these evil days, we ought not to be surprised. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy two millennia ago about what lay ahead. The “last days” began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17). On that day, the church was born and the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Christ was first declared. In spite of God’s provision of a Savior and a gospel of salvation by grace, mankind, generally speaking, has not responded and the spiritual climate in the world can only digress until the time of Jesus’ return.

The list of vices in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is comparable to other such lists (Romans 1:28-32; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 1:9-10).  These vices speak to the attitudes and activities to which man inevitably gravitates apart from God’s intervention.  In Adam, all have inherited a sin nature (Romans 5:12, 3:23).  The “heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).  Men sin because they are born that way (Colossians 1:21; Ephesians 2:1-3).  Only Jesus can work to forgive and change us (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

The list of vices begins and ends with references to misplaced love — “lovers of self, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:2, 4).  The last days will be characterized by people’s misguided devotion to things other than God.  The entire passage speaks to evil nature of a godless society and a godless society is by definition one that has no room for God.  In place of love for God are love for self, money, and pleasure.  Love for such things characterizes the day in which we live.  The world is enamored with love for fame, fortune and fun.  These pursuits govern its thinking and way of life.  “Whatever makes you feel good” trumps all other concerns.  Seemingly, every store has a lottery and lotteries make big money because people love money.  There is even a magazine called “Self.”  The problem is that we were not created to invest our lives in such things. We were created to know and love the One who created us.  To set off on our own course, divorced from His purpose and plan, is a recipe for moral catastrophe.  Those who do not love God are also those “not loving good” (2 Timothy 3:3).  The remaining vices listed speak to the attitudes and actions that prevail in hearts and lives when a people have no love for God or good.

How is a person to navigate through the countless difficulties associated with such a day?  What could possibly work to guide a person on a “God-ward” course in such a “god-less” environment?  Such a person will undoubtedly face persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).  What can help a person stay the course when the going gets tough? 

Paul admonished Timothy to continue in what he had learned from childhood through the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-15).  It is those sacred writings which “are able to make (a person) wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).  The Bible is unlike any other book, for it is God’s word to us.  It represents that which has been “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).  It is the inspired Word of God and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).  With respect to the way of righteousness, God’s word works to direct us in that path.  It teaches us and outlines to us the pathway of right living (that which meets with God’s approval).  It reproves us when we wander from the path, reminding us that we have strayed.  It corrects us, instructing us in what we must do to get back onto the path.  It trains us so that we might stay on the path and headed in the right direction. Living in a world headed on a broad path leading to destruction, the Bible alone can guide us along the narrow way.

The Bible is elsewhere said to be a light to our feet and a lamp to our path.  In darkness, it is impossible to find one’s way apart from the provision of light from some external source.  God’s word is that light to us in the midst of this present darkness.  How are we to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and falsehood?  How are we to know if a thing is in fact pleasing unto God?  What will work to help us to stay the course on the narrow path that leads to life when everyone else is headed in a different direction?  God’s inspired and profitable Word alone can do that.  We will “do well to pay attention” to it “as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart” (2 Peter 1:19).  Living in the last days demands of us a careful devotion to the Word of God and adherence to that which it teaches.  It has been said to represent to us Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  In these last days we need to pay careful instruction to them!

Dark and difficult days demand devotion to God’s Word, that we might be led by its light in the path of righteousness!

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord,
And, trusting in Thee as my all,
Whatever of evil may cross my path,
I never, no, never can fall.

October 4

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 2

2 Timothy 2:8, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.”

Soon after the bombing in Pearl Harbor, our country awoke to a new cause.  The call to fight against the enemy captivated our society.  A new phrase, “Remember Pearl Harbor,” entered into its vocabulary.  Sometimes it was written out in full, sometimes it was simply abbreviated “RPH.”  It was inscribed on posters, pins, medals, patches, matchbooks, and even jewelry.  There was nowhere you could go without coming across something that would remind you to “Remember Pearl Harbor.”  That slogan helped our country to endure four long years of war and ultimately win the victory over its foes.

Some things are of such a degree of importance that we can’t afford to forget about them.  With respect to these things, memory loss is more than an annoyance. Our safety or well-being might be at stake.  There is such a thing as memory loss in the spiritual realm.  Amnesia is defined as the “loss of memory.”  It is possible for the believer in Christ to suffer a kind of spiritual amnesia such that he forgets about Christ, the gospel, and how he or she was saved.  That condition is more than a mere annoyance…much more. It would be fair to link much of our country’s present unraveling to its forgetfulness with regards to its God-centered Christian heritage.

In his final epistle, to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, Paul wrote these inspired words, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal” (2 Timothy 2:8-9).  At first glance, these words surprise us.  “Remember Jesus Christ,” how could we forget Him?  Paul surely did not.  Was it possible, somehow, for Timothy to forget?  What about us?  Could we be so lapse in our memory—so forgetful as it were—to forget that which is of utmost importance?

The command, “remember,” comes from a particular Greek word, “mnemoneuo.”  It means to be mindful of, to remember, to call to mind, to think of and feel for a person or thing.  It is related to our English word “mnemonic” which means “assisting or intended to assist memory.”  A “mnemonic device” is something that is useful in helping us to remember.  A person who would tie a string around his finger to help him remember something is using that string as a mnemonic device.

The term “remember” is a present, active, imperative verb.  It is an all the time command regarding something we ourselves are supposed to do.  What are we to remember?  Remember Jesus Christ.  Remember Him in who He is—the divine Son of God who came in human flesh to save us.  Remember Him in what He has done.  He died on the cross, “the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).  Remember Him in who He is to you.  Remember how He has intervened in your life.  How He revealed Himself to you.  How He loved you and gave Himself up for you (Galatians 2:20).  Remember how He worked to cleanse you from sin (2 Peter 1:9).  How He brought you into a personal relationship with Him.  How you’ve been subsequently blessed as a result of knowing Him.

We are sometimes forgetful, so God has ways of reminding us—The indwelling Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the fellowship of believers, the observance of the Lord’s Supper—these all serve as spiritual mnemonics.  In devotion to these we are less prone to forget that which should matter most to us.

In a message on this theme, Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “It seems then, that Christians may forget Christ!  There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous.  Nor is this a bare supposition: it is alas too well confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but a lamentable fact.  It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Savior; but, if startling to the ear, it is alas too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime.  Forget Him who never forgot us!  Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins!  Forget Him who loved us even to the death…Let us charge ourselves to bind a heavenly forget me not about our hearts for Jesus our beloved, and, whatever else we may let slip, let us hold fast to Him.” 

Charles Spurgeon

“When pressed by the foe, even to the point where one despairs of life, let us remember Him who could not be overcome by death, but arose in triumph from the grave.” – Harry Ironside

King of my life, I crown Thee now
Thine shall the glory be
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow
Lead me to Calvary
Lest I forget Gethsemane
Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary